What are the best products for minimalist motorcycle camping on the market? When riding two up every item you carry needs to be essential. And the lightest and most compact possible form of it. Our priorities are simple: light, compact and high quality!
Here we share what we believe to be the best products on the market for minimalist motorcycle camping!
Lone Rider ADV Tent for minimalist motorcycle camping
ADV Tent
The Lone Rider ADV Tent is a great tent for around-the world-trips! It has been designed by ADV Riders for ADV Riders and is a sound, quality product with impeccable design. It’s not only great for solo travellers but perfect for a couple. Fiona and I feel very comfortable in it and love having a portable home! You can check out our YouTube video above to see us set it up. There are lighter tents on the market but if you are looking for something durable enough for a round-the-world trip then you’ll be looking at somewhere around the 1k USD mark.
The Lone Rider tent only costs around 300 GBP (412 USD). Realistically not everyone will be ready to fork out upwards of 1k USD on a tent, so although the Lone Rider ADV tent is about a kilo heavier than its competition, it’s an excellent choice for those who want great quality and durability at a much more attractive price point.
If money was not a decision making factor then we’d probably go for the Nallo 2 GT. It’s a whole kilo liter but offers much more space with an additional vestibule. This is very handy of course if you are going to camp in rainy weather a lot. You can also set it up in the rain without the inside getting wet. The reduced weight comes at a hefty price tag though and this beautiful tent will set you back nearly 1,300 USD.
It’s a potential purchase for us in the future, but for now we are sticking with our Lone Rider ADV tent. So in the spirit of only recommending gear which we know inside out, we can honestly recommend it!
So what have we got here?
The Lone Rider ADV tent is a 3 season tent made of the highest quality materials. It is incredibly light and compact and fits perfectly and easily into our pannier with a packed size of just 41x15cm (16.1″x5.9″). Alternatively you can place it on top of your panniers as it comes with a compression pack and molle system.
The tent has space to store luggage and gear on either side of the two entry/exit points. You can even personalise your tent, drawing your routes with a pen onto the maps. We really like the map design as it looks great!
Quality Quality Quality
- Poles and pegs are made of aircraft grade aluminium making them super light
- Fabrics of the tent are made of ultralight, UV-resistant, ripstop material
- Quality zippers that won’t break easily
- All of the seams are taped and coated to be 100% waterproof
(we had our fair share of rainy nights and can confirm we never got wet)
Thoughtful touches
- The compression bag features a roadside breakdown safety triangle
- Hooks inside the doors mean zippers cannot easily be opened from the outside
- Loops to dry lightweight items
- 7 strategically located pockets
- Windows and zips in the corner of the tent help you to adjust airflow
- You can stash away the zipped open door for a superb panorama view
- The ground mat features a SOS rescue signal in reflective letters
Why we love the Lone Rider ADV tent for minimalist motorcycle camping
Great design, well-thought–out layout and durable enough for a round-the-world trip. I also like the colour, as it doesn’t draw much attention when we are wild camping!
Apart from the thoughtful design, we also love how easy it is to set up thanks to its single piece pole system. As soon as you pull the poles out of the bag most of them fall into place by itself. It only takes 30 seconds to pull the missing ones together and have the whole structure. Fiona and I can build the tent in 2-3 minutes and it’s just as easy to take down. The durability makes it the perfect tent to take around the world!
By the way, Lone Rider also designs bigger and roomier tents, which can even shelter an entire motorcycle. If you need more space check it out, but for minimalist motorcycle camping the ADV Tent is the best. We love it!
Exped Isomatt for minimalist motorcycle camping
Fiona and I were looking for the lightest Isomatt on the market. The Synmat HL MW claims to be the world’s lightest one at its warmth and comfort levels so it ticked all the boxes for us. It has microfibre insulation for 3 season warmth and its 7 cm thickness provides excellent comfort.
Quick overview
- 3 season isomatt with microfibre insulation
- 7cm thickness provides excellent comfort
- Camp in up to -3 degrees
- Only weighs 440g
- 5 year guarantee
It comes with a light pump sack which allows you to inflate the mat rapidly too. Fiona and I actually went for the double version of this mat, the Synmat HL Duo M. It fits perfectly into the Lone Rider ADV Tent but most couples will probably prefer the Synmat HL Duo LW. It is larger and more comfortable for two people but it was sold out when we were buying ours.
The Synmat HL Duo M is great for minimalist motorcycling camping at only 830g (105cm wide/183cm long). The Synmat HL Duo LW weighs 1.15kg (130cm wide/197cm long). Our Synmat doesn’t fill out the inside of the tent completely, whereas the larger version would fill the space out perfectly.
Why we don’t recommend the lighter Ultralight models
They are cheaper and lighter. And our ultimate goal is to find the best minimalist motorcycle camping gear, right? Yes but this mat has ZERO insulation! So it’s really only suitable if you are planning to camp on hot summer nights. Even a cool night on a summer day could be uncomfortable already. Round-the-world without any insulation is impossible I would say. The weight difference is really minimal and not worth taking the risk. There really is nothing worse than feeling the cold creep up from underneath you. It can quickly turn a fun camping trip into having a miserable night’s sleep!
For extreme temperatures there is also the Downmat XP 7 range which is suitable for temperatures up to -24 degrees for hardcore campers. However, if you aren’t planning to camp in minus temperatures there is really no need to go for this one. The down insulation adds quite a bit of weight! The HL range from Exped should suit most travellers for a round-the-world trip!
Cumulus Sleeping Bag for minimalist motorcycle camping
If you want a light sleeping bag, it needs to be made of down. If you want it to be ultralight, you’ll need to go for goose down. Poland is one of the largest goose down producers in the world. Cumulus, being a polish brand, offers high quality goose down sleeping bags significantly cheaper than some other leading brands like Western Mountaineering, who also use polish goose down but are much more expensive. But most importantly, Cumulus is an ethical brand that promote ethical goose breeding and animal welfare!
Cumulus X-Lite 300
- 465g
- Up to 2 degrees Celsius (comfort zone, not risk zone!)
We don’t like camping in any lower temperatures but if you do, check out the X-Lite 400 model. With over 25 sleeping bags to choose from, they have a pretty wide selection to suit all temperature ranges. In addition, you also have the option of custom making your own sleeping bag exactly how you like it.
We can highly recommend Cumulus and haven’t found any other brand out there that can keep you that warm at such a low weight, making Cumulus the go-to brand for sleeping bags!
Cocoon Sleeping Bag Liners
Don’t forget to add a sleeping bag liner to your shopping list! They help you keep your sleeping bag clean and add warmth! We also always use them when staying in cheap accommodation were the cleanliness of the sheets might be questionable.
Merino Wool Liner
- Very soft
- Naturally regulates temperature
- Adds up to 7 degrees Celsius to sleeping bag temperature rating
- 495g (heavy!)
I’m personally a HUGE fan of merino wool and love the soft feel of it. BUT if you want to go ultralight you’ll want to go for 100% silk!
Note: only available for single sleeping bags
Ripstop Silk Liner
- Ultra lightweight!
- Adds 4.8 degrees to the warmth of your sleeping bag
- Only 135g
Our recommendation is to go with the Cocoon Ripstop Silk Expedition. It’s just as light as the regular silk liner but is more durable and resistant to tearing!
Note: only available for single sleeping bags
Egyptian Cotton
- Soft & durable
- Lighter and more compact than regular cotton
- 210g Great compromise between cotton and silk
Note: You can buy a double if you are used to zipping your sleeping bags together
Fiona doesn’t like the feel of silk. So whilst I went with the ultra-light silk option, she opted for Egyptian Cotton. It’s a great compromise between cotton and silk! However, it’s heavier than silk and add less warmth.
Cocoon Ripstop Silk Expedition is the best option for minimalist motorcycle camping!
Sea to Summit Aeros Down Pillow
The best pillow for minimalist motorcycle camping is the Aeros Down Pillow.
To stay true to this blog-post about ultra-light travel I must highlight that the Aeros Down Pillow is 10g heavier than the Aeros Ultralight. However, given the additional insulation and comfort it’s the best camping pillow for us.
The weight difference is more significant for the larger version of this pillow (25g). Note that the Aeros Down also costs significantly more than the Aeros Ultralight (30 GBP vs 55 GBP for the regular size).
Fiona and I are travelling with the Aeros Down Deluxe, the largest size available (12 x 59 x 38cm) weighing 190g … sharing that is, not one each.
Sea to Summit Watercell X
Is it a shower? Is it a watercell? Or is it a water dispenser? The Watercell X is ALL of those! It’s a durable watercell made from flexible, abrasion resistant fabric. It has a clever multi-function cap for flow control and also includes a shower head attachment. So you can use it just as a water holder or convert it into a “kitchen sink” or shower.
You can easily hang, carry and attach it using the welded lash points and adjustable strap. In addition to that you can also purchase a separately sold drinking tube. It comes in 4, 6, 10 and 20 liters. Fiona and I went for the 6 liters (196g) as we both already have hydration packs. So this is just an additional watercell and shower facility for us.
I love that it’s multi-functional and made of such robust materials. We were originally just carrying the Pocket Shower, which is a lightweight dry sack which can hold up to 10 liters whilst providing 7-8 minutes showering time. It only weighs 120g and is likewise a fantastic product but we switched to the Watercell X because it’s so much more than just a shower.
Ready to pack for your minimalist motorcycle camping trip?
So this is it … our ultimate camping list for minimalistic motorcycle camping. What about cooking you might ask? Well up until now we were always travelling two up so for space reasons we decided not to cook. But we are planning to travel on two bikes in 2021 and are already eyeing up the Primus Omnifuel and Sea to Summit foldable X-Pot. Once we get to travel for a good amount of time and get some proper use out of it we will be sure to review them too 🙂
UPDATE
Since March 2021 we have been travelling with the MSR WHISPERLITE and Sea to Summit collapsible pots and pants. So far we love it and a proper review will follow shortly!
Was this guide helpful? Any questions, comments or recommendations? Fiona and I are always keeping our eyes peeled for ultra-light and super functional camping gear so if we forgot anything please let us know and comment below – we would love to hear from you!
