Hi,

I've gone down the east coast and am now going up the west coast (in Brazzaville). My tank is good for about 650km, so I haven't carried extra fuel, but I do carry a little fuel filter since I've been forced to buy gas at the side of the road a good few times (just because there is a gas station, doesn't mean it has gas!) and the number/size of particulates in the fuel can be disturbing.

As for water, I don't carry much. I have a 3ltr. camelpak type thing (any more gets too heavy) and sometimes carry another 1 or 2ltr. depending on where I am. That being said, I also carry a particulate filter and chlorine tablets to treat local water. I've rarely had to use it, but once you add some juice crystals to it, it doesn't taste too bad (do NOT use it to make coffee or pasta.. BLECK!!) and it saves on weight.

For me, I don't try to carry tonnes, I just try and fill up a lot. If I pass a place selling bottled water, but still haven't touched my supply, I stop and chug down a bottle. If I pass a nice gas station, but have only gone through 5 ltrs, I stop and fill up. That way I don't get into the habit of using my reserve- if you think of it as part of your available resources, then it stops being a reserve.

Either way, I'm sure you'll figure it out on the way- everyone rides differently and you'll most likely change what you carry as you go.

I listened to Grizzly7 and bugsy even though I was perfectly happy with my Camelbak because there's at least one place on our upcoming trip where having spare water will be important. We went to the local REI and checked out the dromedary in person and I was impressed enough to buy the 10L one (it's about the size of a newborn baby, only flatter), fill it up and take it on our next test ride and I was seriously impressed. I'm not giving up my Camelbak because it's just much easier to have water on your back than somewhere behind you with a tube running around, but damn if it wasn't useful. Its construction is way more heavy-duty than a Camelbak. It's got 3 different openings on the lid: the huge (nalgene bottle sized) opening for getting large volumes in or out, a small opening about the size of a typical bottle of shampoo's neck, and a thin one on that that lets out a small stream.

That combination of openings made getting water for cooking dinner, and then a thin stream of water for cleaning the dishes, SO much easier, and then when we went to bed it made a great pillow! Also, the nalgene sized opening fits our water purifier.

If we didn't have access to fresh water in the morning I would have just used what was left in the Dromedary to fill our Camelbaks. :)

I am absolutely sold. So, thanks for the tips guys.


P.S. I'd been stumped about what to do for a pillow. None of the travel ones felt good and neither did my stuff-sack of clothes. The Dromedary is like a waterbed for your head though. :)