Fatbike Packing | How to start

I really enjoy getting outside and exploring the great outdoors on my fatbike.  Don't get me wrong . . . I still like blasting around on mountain bike trails and going for extended length gravel grinds, but I truly enjoy the exploration possibilities that fatbikes are inherently designed to do.

All of my exploration to date has been completed in 1-3 hour excursions riding solo or with a buddy or two.  Wanting to expand my excursions to include more distance and more terrain, it did not take me long to stumble across bikepacking.  Its like backpacking but strapping camping gear and other necessities on a bike and heading off the beaten path.  In my opinion, big fat grippy tires make fatbikes the perfect bikepacking machine.

There are countless blogs, videos, articles and rambles concerning (fat)bikepacking . . . what it is, what to use, what to carry, how to pack, where to go, etc, etc.  Here is a sampling of what I have reviewed to get me started in fatbike packing.

Be sure to check out the super cool fatbike packing video at the bottom of the blog.  South Africa by fatbike . . . amazing.

I found that REI have a pretty nifty Backpacking Checklist that appears to include everything you would need . . . except for the fatbike.  They also have it in printable format.

I enjoyed reading How to Start Bickpacking over on Singletracks.com.  Some good food for thought.

Bikepacking 101 
Lots of good broad spectrum information in this video.  Book off some time to watch this. (49 minutes)

VIDEO

How to pack for off road Bike Packing
A funny little discussion on soft bag light weight off-road bike touring. (4 minutes)

VIDEO

Backpacking Food Tips
I watched a few videos on what food to take while backpacking and this one seemed to make the most sense to me.  While the choice of the actual food is not my style, the logic behind his choices seems solid. (8 minutes)

VIDEO

Budget Ultralight Bikepacking Shelter
Not sure how this would hold up in the high winds and rain in my neck of the woods.  But a really interesting and budget minded approach to shelter. (6.5 minutes)

VIDEO

Ultralight Tents vs. Tarps
This guy talks about his progression from tent to tarp and why.  I'm not sure if a tarp is for me just yet.  (15 minutes)

VIDEO

Alcohol Cat Food Stove
Super simple and and it works. Meow. (7.5 minutes)

VIDEO

Being Creative - Cheap Outdoor Gear

I'm all into re-purposing items and not spending a heck of a lot of money.    $4 for a cook kit. (7.5 Minutes)

VIDEO

I could go on and on with links and resources, but I think I have enough research done to get me started.  Feel free to post your comments and recommended articles\blogs\videos below.

And thanks to Tim H. for allowing me to use a snap from one of his many fatbike outings.

One last video. I'm not sure if I will ever do anything quite like this, but you never know. (6.5 minutes)

Fatbike Lesotho - Bikepacking

Ride on!