Writing About Failure -- Postscript to the Atlas Mountain Race

Hike or bike -- the choice is yours

Writing about failure is not easy. It has taken me 10 months to finally pen down some thoughts about my failed attempt at the Atlas Mountain Race this past February. 

I've read too many race reports by athletes who underperform and then write a litany of excuses for why things went wrong. This blame train typically begins by underselling the athlete who showed up at the start -- "too many meetings," "too many commitments," "didn't have time to train," or my favorite "wasn't treating this as a race." This is usually followed by somewhat exaggerated tales of bad luck and misfortune during the race. 

I've never liked reading these types of reports. Why can't people just say sh** happened and leave it at that. I suppose at some alert or subconscious level, we all tie a little bit (or maybe a lot) of our self-worth to athletic performance. The drawn out justifications are then deemed necessary not only to satisfy others, but perhaps more to appease one's own pride. 

So it came as a shock to me that after quitting the race, all I wanted to do was scream about all the things that went wrong and convince my friends that I was still a good bike rider. The behavior in others I so despised finally made sense...

But I suppressed that hypocritical urge. I've waited 10 months to write anything so I (hopefully) don't sound like an excuse train running on high steam. Things went very wrong for me at the race, but most of it was my own fault. Let me begin at the start. 

Trying hard not to do this

A bit of background. I'm a decent athlete and have been racing bikes for many years now at the local level with some moderate success. I also love bikepacking and this blog is filled with tales of adventure that my wife and I have embarked on over the years. So a bikepacking race made all the sense in the world and the Atlas Mountain Race was to be my first.

I trained hard over the winter in DC, didn't race cyclocross so I could go on 5 hour training rides instead, consulted about training with a few experienced hands, and showed up in Morocco in good endurance shape. I've been in better condition in the past and since, but I showed up confident that I could handle 715 miles of laden riding. I also spent inordinate amounts of time thinking about my bike and gear, which I wrote about in a separate post here. Many of these decisions came back to bite me during the race, so its instructive to elaborate on those first. 

I carried way too much gear, plain and simple. If you see my pack list, it reads like I'm getting ready for a winter excursion and not a jaunt through a hot desert. Hindsight, of course, is perfect. Part of the reason for packing extra was that I had only ridden bikes in a desert once before and that was in January in San Diego on the Stagecoach 400 route. All I remember is how cold it got at nights. Morocco, in contrast, was a daytime frying pan that stayed lukewarm at night. 

Sums up the weather

The other main reason was sheer inexperience. I had never done one of these races before so packed too many extra things just in case I needed them. Importantly, many of the things I find indispensable for bikepacking were simply too heavy or unnecessary in a race setting -- e.g. water filter (tablets would have worked just fine, less space and weight), poop digger (not heavy but takes space, plus who has time to poop in a race?!), pillow (jacket does just fine), extra clothes (I'm used to sitting around at camp), etc. Do a google search on Jay Petervary's bike or Sofiane Sehili's bike. Granted those two take races a lot more seriously than I do, but still the contrast is telling. 

What I didn't realize at the start is how much small things like a moderately heavy bike play on your mind as the race wears on. By day 3, I was in a deep mental hole and likely spent hours fussing about why I carried a titanium poop shovel that weighs just a few ounces. But that is where the mind goes when it is stressed. 

So heavy! 

Not to dwell on the negatives too much, on the plus side I believe I brought the right bike with the right gearing. Basically, I found the lightest hardtail mountain bike frame I could find and equipped it with excellent lightweight components, a non-rigid fork, fast rolling mountain bike tires, and lots and lots of gears. I still don't understand why people under-gear their bikes for these races. Even James Hayden rides a 30T ring with a 10-51 cassette and he's an ex-pro who almost won this race. I managed to spin up many climbs that others could not. Yes, I walked many but at least had the option to ride. I would make the same gearing decision in a heartbeat. 

The other good decision I made was on pacing. I spoke a few times with Kurt Refsnider as I was training for the race and he insisted that I should ride at the boundary of zone 1 and 2 power for most of the race except maybe the first hour or two when everyone goes out hard. Just to clarify, boundary of zone 1 and 2 is very very slow, painfully so. Think how fast your grandparent would ride, then ride slower. 

As the gun went off, I kept up with the front peloton for the first couple of hours and we were moving at a fair clip. At that point I made the conscious decision to fall back and drop down to that ascribed slow pace. I have to say physically I felt great all day. By the time we reached checkpoint 1 after the first (and biggest) climb of the race, I was way back in the pack but also feeling quite fresh. After a quick meal, I kept on riding and started passing people. This was surprising because if it wasn't clear yet, I wasn't riding very fast and they were obviously riding even slower. I suppose Kurt was right -- I had to treat this race like a tortoise rather than a hare. 

I also greatly appreciated some suspension in my fork (I rode a lauf) and wide MTB tires, which really helped at night when I couldn't see very far ahead and this setup was fairly forgiving. If I could change two things on the bike, they would be (a) switching to a drop bar, and (b) switching to a flexy seatpost. Yes, flat bars are more stable off-road, but there are several wide drop bars on the market now with shallow flared drops for more control. Plus having multiple hand positions isn't only beneficial for those with hand numbness, its actually a real treat to just be able to hold on in different ways over long events. And a flexy seatpost is a great benefit for the hours and hours spent sitting on a narrow saddle. Many companies now make seatposts with some intelligent give (e.g. springs, elastomers, air) and some frame manufacturers are even starting to incorporate suspension in the rear for gravel-oriented bikes.    

Early slopes of the first big(gest) climb of the race

Back to the race, I have to say riding at night in the desert with no one around and just my narrow bike light for company was very calming. Unlike some others who have reported back feeling scared or spooked, I really enjoyed riding alone at night and much preferred the nighttime to the burning daytime sun. At some point 95-100 miles in, I decided to stop and get some sleep. One cool trick I employed throughout the race was to order two meals at every restaurant, eat one, and pack the other one in a large empty potato chips packet. The foil was perfectly waterproof and even kept the food moist and a bit warm -- just use a rubber band to seal it. This worked really well for the countless omelet sandwiches consumed at this race! So after stopping, I had a quick second dinner and setup my bivy and sleeping bag. 

This salt bomb bag served double duty as a free/reusable/waterproof omelet sandwich carrier

All the omelets

Here is the start of my biggest mistake in the race -- sleep. I simply could not go to sleep. My mind would not turn off and I tossed and turned for three hours without a single minute of sleep. Turns out a big part of the problem was that I believe I was overdressed for sleep. Some of the elite racers likes James and Jenny Tough decided it was too hot to bivy so they just slept on top of their sacks. I did not have the same brilliant idea -- in fact I was inside my sleeping bag in a bivy and wearing a few layers of clothes. Also, I made the awful choice of not stripping out of my chamois to let the southern bits dry out. Once again, James wrote in his debrief that he sleeps stark naked in these races. Smart choice indeed!

After flailing around for another 30 minutes, I gave up on sleep and started riding again. My slow pace meant that physically I was still going strong and one night of missed sleep wasn't holding me back yet. I made a lot of ground even before the sun came up. In my mind, I pictured catching up to near the front of the pack by the end of the race with my slow-and-steady approach. I believe if things had worked out differently I could have gotten there but there is no way to know and its too arrogant to assume.

Some magical sunrises

Sometime close to sunset I caught up to Jesse Blough on a steep hike-a-bike climb. I was still feeling pretty good and he happened to be in a hole at the time. So I stayed with him for a bit to walk and chat. I've gotten to know Jesse a bit and he's a stellar guy and I'm glad we got to go back and forth for a couple days in the race. Soon, I went on ahead and rode this amazing desert plateau in the dark. 

My sleep woes, however, continued and night 2 sleep was no better than night 1. Once again, I did not sleep a wink and now I was worried. Of course, Sofiane didn't sleep at all and he won the race but (a) he's Sofiane; and (b) he planned and trained to race that way. I didn't and when my sleep failed, my mind went in the gutter. 

As a result, day 3 was a slog. It started off well enough with a fantastic long and fast downhill towards a desert oasis where the nice host invited me in for tea. I should have taken him up on that offer but instead kept plodding. What came next was a horrible steep road climb with lots of traffic, a blazing hot sun, and a determined Jesse riding on a strong second wind bumping up my rear end. Everything fell apart for me on that climb, especially when Jesse passed me. I literally had to stop and calm down, take a few deep breaths, and suppress the urge to hail down a taxi and call it quits there and then. My bike felt incredibly heavy, my legs were wobbly, and my mind was on the verge of giving up. 

Thankfully, my wonderful wife must have received my telepathic communique because she sent me a lovely note just then that cheered me up and I decided to keep going. I took a long break at the next omelet stop and caught up a bit with several other racers. I overheard a few of them talk about the next big town -- Taznakht -- where there were hotels, and a real bed sounded like just what I needed to reset and catch some sleep. So I kept on. 

At this point for me, the race turned into a pure mental game rather than a physical one. My legs felt fine and I could pedal at the intensity I needed but for a lot of the time I simply didn't want to. My previous poor decision on clothing was also starting to bother me as I developed a pretty bad saddle sore and couldn't stay seated for too long. Nevertheless, the hotel bed beckoned and after many hours I reached the outskirts of town and found a large number of fellow racers sprinkled throughout the town's restaurants and hotels. I did manage to get a room and after a hot meal fell in bed. Here's the deal, I still could not go to sleep. I've since spoken to a few sleep experts and very likely my circadian rhythm was completely out of whack with abnormal levels of hormones but who knows. I cant imagine my situation was any different that others so perhaps I need to train my sleep better before attempting such an endeavor again. In the end, I think I did manage an hour of sleep but woke up in a panic as I thought I had slept through to the next evening as it was dark out. Took me a minute to realize I had only been sleeping for an hour! 

Once awake, sleep was a distant memory and I made the decision to pack up and leave. In hindsight, I should have persisted and tried to get a few more hours but the pressure of seeing folks I was mingling with ride away in the distance was too much to bear. I suppose that is the downside of live tracking -- you can see how far everyone else has moved while you are just sitting around. So I started riding again while it was still dark out and was surprised that I felt kind of alright. That feeling didn't last, however, as I began to hallucinate on the bike when the sun came up. Or at least I think thats what was going on. Basically I would doze off and wake up startled probably within a second or two. This is where I finally gave up, about 30 miles into the day. Whatever I was doing didn't seem worthwhile and I just wanted to be done. I messaged my wife and she offered the sage advice that I should just take a nap at the next town and then restart once I'm rested. Of course, this was the logical choice but I had already given up and my mind couldn't return to the bike no matter how hard I tried. 

So I managed to get a taxi to the finish line where everyone was awaiting the winner. I really felt like an outcast, as if I didn't belong, as if I didn't deserve to be there. So quietly and quickly, I escaped back to Marrakesh along with another rider in a shared taxi. 

Got to see James finish not very far behind Sofiane and ahead of Jay. All great riders

Back in Marrakesh and in stellar company

That was a wrap for me and the AMR 2020. Will I do a bikepacking race again? If you had asked me in February I would have said hell no. I've come to realize that what I really enjoy is exploring by bike with good company (i.e. my wife and friends). Riding alone for hours and hours with only distance and speed as goals doesn't sound super appealing. But I am also very stubborn and the sting of failure has not subsided. I've read reports by several accomplished athletes who also suffered setbacks in early races only to return with experience and put down great performances. Also, the mental high that comes from competing and finishing is not lost on me. So now, ten months later and with some direction on the weaknesses I need to work on, I believe I probably will give this off-road bikepack racing thing a try again.  

Atlas Mountain Race 2020 -- What You Brung?

The inaugural Atlas Mountain Race is just a week and a bit away and I've thrown my hat in the ring for the first time in a bikepacking ultra. The distance and terrain are no joke, about 715 miles with 76,000 feet of climbing, almost entirely on remote dirt and gravel roads with minimal services and resupply. 

I've done a fair bit of racing in the past years and quite a lot of bikepacking as well. But this will be the first time I'll try to bikepack with a race mentality. One of the biggest attractions for me is that these races are not about watts or who is the strongest -- I've done my fair share of those and know how far I can get. Here, those who do well are both physically and mentally strong, ride a smart race, know their limits, optimize their sleep and eating, remain healthy, and occasionally have some good luck thrown their way. 

One of the coolest aspects of dirt ultras is that a lot of strategy and planning goes on prior to the race, with a huge variance in what people bring in terms of bike and gear. Racing on an ultralight bike with minimal gear is definitely faster but leaves little margin for error, while loading up a steel monster with pannier bags may maximize comfort but will most certainly not be fast. The balance is somewhere in the middle, and every racer finds their own optimum. 

For me, a lot of thought went into what type of bike and gear to bring. Some difficult choices were made but given this will be my first bikepacking race, I've mostly erred on the side of caution rather than ambition. In general, I'm fairly comfortable being uncomfortable so we'll see how my gear decisions play out. What I'm certain of is that I'll learn a lot from this first foray into the small but ardent world of being a dot on a map.  

The Bike   

• Open Cycles One+ hardtail carbon frame (880grams -- light as f***)
• Lauf TR Boost fork w/60mm travel
• Enve M5 flat bar w/ Ergon GS3 grips & bar ends
• Vision Trimax carbon J-Bend aerobars mounted on a Fred Bar
• Enve zero offset carbon seatpost & Ergon SM Pro saddle
• Nox Composites Skyline 29er 32-hole carbon rims, custom laced to I9 Hydra rear and SON dynamo front hubs, XT 180mm(front) / 160mm(rear) rotors
• Schwalbe Thunder Burt 2.25" tubeless tires, Stans sealant
• Shimano XTR Trail hydraulic disc brakes
• SRAM XX1 Eagle 10-50 drivetrain w/ Kogel ceramic pulley wheels
• SRAM XX1 DUB crankset w/ Kogel ceramic BB, Power2Max PM, 30T Absolute Black Oval ring
• Shimano XTR pedals

I pondered long and hard over which bike to bring. Gravel bikes are generally lighter and faster, and can increasingly fit wider MTB-style tires. Ultimately, the decision for me came down to gearing. What I've come to realize on almost every bikepacking trip is that pedaling a loaded bike is a lot of work. It is even harder to pedal uphill on steep and uneven grades, going on minimal sleep and exhausted legs. Most gravel bikes don't as yet offer the gear range that you can get on a mountain bike.

So I did a bunch of OCD-inspired research on the lightest (but still durable) MTB frame out there, and settled on the Open Cycle One+ hardtail. A lot of attention focuses on their gravel frames, but I found their hardtail to be more versatile -- after all I can always throw a drop bar on this frame. Most importantly, I can run a small single ring up front and went with a 30T Absolute Black oval ring. 

I generally rant about how most riders overgear their bikes because maybe bigger chainrings look cooler (?!), but being an economist obsessed with evidence, I decided to collect data and do my own testing. Turns out in the 30(oval)-10 combo, I can ride at 25mph spinning at about 95rpm. While bikepacking on dirt, I spend less than 5% of the time riding above 25mph (not including coasting), and over 50% of the time climbing in low gears. So performance and time gains, for me at least, are in trying to achieve a very low gearing rather than high gearing. I believe I've maximized that with a 10-50 cassette in the back. Yes, there will be plenty of hours spent in 30-50, believe you me.

The Lauf fork was another decision point. Yes, rigid forks are lighter but my hypothesis is that in a race like this comfort will trump marginal weight gains. In fact, I would hypothesize that suspension will be faster. Maybe I'm wrong but the weight differential is only 300 grams and I can live with that. 

SRAM drivetrain is an odd choice for me, but this was mostly determined by a bundled deal. I'm not at a stage of trust with SRAM to go for AXS and doubt I'll ever get there, but XX1 Eagle mechanical has been alright so far. Fingers crossed. I definitely do not trust SRAM brakes, so went with trusty Shimano Trail brakes, which have never failed me or anyone I know. 

The main highlight on the bike has to be the Kogel ceramic BB and pulley wheels. Man, the blue pulley wheels just look so cool and go well with the gold drivetrain. On performance, I've been skeptical of pressfit BBs as nearly all eventually end up creaking, but the Kogel stuff and their sticky grease have held up admirably so far. The longer maintenance cycles on the bearings is another big plus especially over long and dirty races.  

The Gear

Here's a rundown of all the gear I'm bringing. Its mostly a mashup of stuff I already owned.

On the Bike:

• Wahoo Roam (main navigation)
• Garmin Etrex 30x (backup navigation)
• Yelling and screaming (second backup navigation)
• Sinewave Beacon headlight & USB
• B & M Secula Plus dynamo rear light
• King Cage fork mounts
• X-Labs carbon fork cages w/ two 1-Litre SIS bottles
• King Cage Many Things cage (Voile straps) on downtube w/ 1-Litre nalgene (several layers of duct tape wrapped on nalgene)

On Me:

• Rapha Brevet wool jersey
• Assos Cento Evo bibshorts
• Rapha overshorts
• gloves & socks
• Rapha cycling cap
• POC Octal helmet & prescription Oakley sunglasses
• Specialized 2FO ClipLte MTB shoes

Front Harness: Revelate

• Nemo Siren 30 Degree UL sleeping quilt
• REI Flash UL sleeping pad
• Sea to Summit Aeros UL pillow
• Zpacks down socks/booties
• Outdoor Research Stargazer bivvy (alternative location is seatpost bag)
• Sea to Summit UltraSil dry sack

Front Pocket: Bedrock Bags

• Headlamp
• Charging cables (incl. Beacon to USB cable) & wall adapter
• Voltaic V50 powerbank w/passthrough (12,800 mhA)
• Extra lithium AAA & AA batteries (for headlamp, etrex, and Spot tracker)

Frame Bag: Rogue Panda Custom Roll-top Waterproof (originally customized for an orange bike!)

• Pump w/several layers of gorilla tape
• Poop digger titanium shovel (leave no trace)
• Collapsible 2-Liter water bladder
• Steripen Ultra UV water purifier & backup iodine tablets
• Osprey UL stuff pack (for extra food on long stretches, or bike breaks and need to hike)
• Hygiene gear: toothbrush, paste, tp, glasses, wet wipes, hand sanitizer, lighter
• Tubolito spare tubes (x2), plugs, patch kit, small bottle of stans
• First aid kit & chamois cream
• Emergency blanket
• 2 extra straps & extra ziplocs
• Craft windproof midweight gloves
• Pearl Izumi cycling mitts
• Outdoor Research waterproof overmitts
• Passport, travel insurance, brevet card, other docs
• Small face towel
• Food, gels, bars, etc

Seatpost Bag: Ortileb

• Pearl Izumi WxB rainpants
• Pear Izumi Summit AmFib Lite windproof pants
• REI Drypoint GTX Goretex rainjacket
• Rapha windproof full sleeve jersey
• Patagonia down sweater
• Arcteryx full sleeve merino top
• Fleece hat, buff, windproof skullcap, knee warmers
• Shower Pass waterproof merino socks
• Pearl Izumi PRO Barrier waterproof MTB shoe covers
• Backup powerbank & cables

Top Tube Bag Front: Bedrock Bags

• iphone
• Headphones
• Day wallet
• Chapstick and sunblock

Top Tube Bag Aft: Rogue Panda

• CrankBros M19 multitool
• Leatherman
• Toolkit & Spares: chainlinks, Wolftooth wrench, schrader adapter, extra valve core, extra bolts, extra cleat, electric tape, chain lube, extra shifter cable, variety of zip ties, extra deraileur hanger, extra resin brak pads (1 set), rag

Snack Bags: Revelate & Bedrock Bags

• Snacks (whatever I can find)

Let the party begin!

Grading the Gear -- What's Essential and What Not to Bring for Bikepacking

This post is long overdue, something like 2 years overdue! But bikepacking is becoming more and more popular so better late than never.

Here's a list of some of the gear we've used on our bikepacking trips, from what we found essential to what was disappointing. We do not have sponsors so these views are independent of such influence.

On either end of the scale I've explained why these ratings are warranted, with less words for the middle of the scale items.

First, the scale:

A+: Better than expected
A: As expected, flawless
B: Under-performed a bit. Minor issues
C: Under-performed a lot. Major issues
F or below: Failed miserably. Avoid at all cost

THE OUTLIERS FIRST: 

Steripen Ultra USB Rechargeable UV Water Purifier: A+  

This little gadget is the best thing since sliced bread. And it is USB rechargeable (you can get one with batteries too). This purifier eliminates both bacteria and viruses, while your clunky filter just targets the former. Its what your water authority uses to purify the city's water supply, only in portable size.

We've found this purifier indispensable, and have used it all around the world, from Tajikistan to Kenya to Switzerland, and never once gotten sick. It just works. The charge lasts a long time and can easily be topped off with your dynamo hub or USB battery pack. Its also tiny and weighs less than any filter out there.

Some people make a fuss about needing clear water, yeah you do, but that's what your t-shirt is for. We never leave home without it, its that good.


Finish Line Tubeless Tire Sealant: F- 

What can I say, there aren't enough expletives in the English language to describe what an utter failure this tubeless sealant is. 

On our Central Asia trip, 3 of 4 tires on our bikes punctured at various stages, from tiny pinholes to small cuts. This sealant did absolutely nothing, nada, zilch. I had even put extra (4 oz in each tire) as a precaution.  I might as well have put milk in there, likely the lactose had a better chance of sealing. We had to throw tubes in and ended up with so many pinch-flats that we resorted to riding deep gravel and babyhead rocks with 80 psi just to avoid more punctures. Imagine how comfortable that was! 

Funny thing is I got back home and without patching the tires in any way simply put in Stan’s sealant. And wala, all three tires sealed up immediately. The fourth tire, a gravel king SK, survived the trip without punctures but was completely dry. So much for the “lasts the lifetime of the tire” claim. 

I was so upset at the company that I wrote to them to complain. They never responded. I spoke to a bike industry insider and he basically told me that its such a big company, they couldn't care less about customer complaints. That's just great company policy! 

At this point with a failure rate of 100% over different types of punctures, all very simple ones (no sidewall gashes), I consider this less a review and more a public service announcement. Avoid at all costs. And Finish Line, please stick to making lube, you're good at that. 

MEAT OF THE SCALE (A to C): 

Nemo Dagger 2P Tent: A

This tent is just awesome. We've used it in the middle of the summer and in below freezing temps with snow around us. Its roomy, easy to setup, and rock solid against blistering wind. The vestibules are spacious enough for all gear and cooking. Its not the lightest 2P tent out there but the feature-to-weight ratio is probably the best in the business. 

Nemo Siren 30 Quilt: A

This little quilt is also amazing and I almost rated it an A+. I've used this quilt in all kinds of conditions as described above and it performs admirably, weighs absolutely nothing at all, and packs up into a small ball. An ultra-light racer's dream sleep kit.  

Garmin Inreach: A

What can I say, cell phone coverage is not yet ubiquitous and the Inreach fills that void for now. This is the piece of gear we use to communicate with friends and family, and notably was what we used to post our "alive" status on social media after the violence in Tajikistan. I understand Spot makes a similar product but the Inreach has wider coverage and its possible to turn the subscription on only for the time you'll need it.    

Roll-top Frame Bag: A

For the Central Asia trip, I had a custom water-proof roll-top bag made for my bike from Rogue Panda. In fact, they gave me a nice discount on it after I told them where I was going to take it! I have to say, roll-top is the way to go. You can over-stuff items in the bag and still securely close it without the risk of breaking the zipper. The seal is also water tight so feel free to ride through a hailstorm with the assurance that your gear will remain dry. 

Lezyne Micro Floor Drive High Volume Pump: A

This is almost as good as a floor pump and does not feel or handle like a portable pump. Highly highly recommended. 

King Cage Many Thing Cargo Cage: A

IMHO this cage is a much better investment than the Salsa Anything cage (see below). I've used both and the King Cage one is lighter, smaller, and stronger. 

Voile Straps: A

These are awesome. Use them to strap bottles to the King Cage, support a seatpost bag, tie up extra shopping bags, hold together an improvised hitch, etc etc... the list of uses goes on. I find these much more versatile than nylon straps because they grip so well and will not slip or accidentally come loose. 

Topeak Mini Torque Wrench Set: A

This little set has many advantages and works well in tandem with a multitool. It has better reach than a multitool, and can fit attachments from other standard manufacturers. It also weighs nothing, and even if it did there is a lot of value in torquing your carbon seatpost, stem, and handlebars to spec.   

SON Dynamo Hub: A

The SON just works, nothing will deter it, not even blazing heat, freezing cold, or goat attacks. When you're venturing in the middle of nowhere, you need a reliable power source. This is it. 

Shimano Di2: A

Shimano is like Mathieu van der Poul -- so much better than the competition, yet understated and humble. The Di2 works like a machine, because errr it is a machine. Never a mis-shift, never a battery failure, never an issue, period.  

Gravel Tires -- Panaracer Gravel King SK: A / Schwalbe Thunder Burt: A / Maxxis Rambler: B

The Gravel Kings and Thunder Burts are fantastic tires, lightweight, fast rolling, grippy, and puncture resistant (aforementioned sealant issue notwithstanding). The Rambler is a fantastic race tire, probably the lightest and fastest of the bunch, but its also not as durable for bikepacking. 

Bikepacking Seatpost Bag: B

We have a couple of these, one from Apidura and the other from Ortileb. Both have the same issue that they tend to sway and need additional straps to hold them together. This is a bit of a disappointment especially since the additional straps don't come standard on either bag. 

Salsa Anything Cage: B

Compared to the King Cage, the Salsa Anything Cage loses on all fronts: its clunkier, bigger, heavier, and more delicate. Go with the King Cages. They are solid. 

Jetboil Stove: B

You can't beat the convenience and boiling speed of the Jetboil.... as long as its not windy. As soon as there's even the slightest bit of breeze, the stove performance drops off dramatically. What's particularly frustrating is that there is no windshield for the stove and mechanically you can't put one on without the risk of overheating the fuel canister. So, unless you commit to always cooking in the vestibule or have 12 friends who will form a tight circle around the stove, you'll have an issue. You can get creative and find a large rock or place your bags in front of the stove, but that doesn't always work so well.   

Traditional Rear Rack and Pannier Bags: B

This probably goes without saying but traditional racks and pannier bags just don't perform so well off-road. Natasha insisted on this system for Central Asia and every morning started with me trying to secure her pannier bags to the bike with straps and other contraptions. Leave these for on-road touring. 

Nemo Banshee 20 Quilt: C

As you can tell I really like Nemo gear. But this is one piece of kit I do not like. The potential for this sleeping quilt was great -- it serves as a quilt in warmer weather, but can zip up and cinch up into a 20 degree (F) bag when it gets cold. Unfortunately, the temp rating is way off, the bag is only good for warm weather sleeping and probably the lowest rating would be 45 degrees (F). The zipper is also a bit clunky and catches on the material. Bad job on this one, Nemo. 

Pre-Glued Tube Patches: C

These are very convenient and fast, but will fall apart in extreme temps (heat or cold). Stick with good ol' glue and patches.