MTB TIPS: WHAT’S IN YOUR PACK?

LEVEL 2

Going further and longer? Add these:

• Spare tube
So much quicker than mending. If you’ve multiple bikes, check you’re taking the right size!

• Chaintool 
When you need one, nothing else will do. Here is some advice on how to use it! 

• Chainlinks / pins
Check you have the right parts for your make /speed of chain. They’re not cross-compatible.

• Zip ties
A handful of sizes weighs nothing, and can fix/bodge a great deal!

• Gaffer tape
Wrap a few meters on a bit of plastic for another near-universal savior.

• Spare mech hanger
Order a new hanger before you need it. They’re aluminum and weigh grams.

The benefits of Level 2
You can deal with a lot more, but you’ve only added around 320g – and that’s assuming 200g of inner tube. Mini chaintools can be under 70g.

LEVEL 3

Going further and longer still? Add these:

• Compass and map
Keyring compasses are tiny and weigh little, but be aware that keys make them misread. And it sounds obvious, but make sure your map is of the right area and you can read it…!

• Torch
Your map’s no good if you get so delayed you can’t see it. Any small torch will do, but a headtorch is a boon.

• Showerproof shell
Even a sub-100g windproof shell adds an amazing amount of warmth, and scrunches down easily (while acting as packing to keep your other stuff stable).

• Neck tube
Adds amazing warmth for tiny size and weight.

• Knee warmers
Same attributes as neck tubes.

• Dry gloves
A major luxury.

• Cake
It’s what your pack’s pockets, tie-downs and expanding sections were invented for. 

The benefits of Level 3
There’s little you’re seriously unprepared for – even getting lost, crashing of suffering a ride-stopping mechanical – so long as temperatures can’t drop too far. Additional weight and bulk is minimal, too. And if you really have stuffed your pack with kilos of cake… well, then there’s cake!