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Recommendations for packing for two Recommendations for packing for two
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Photo by Alessio Corradini, on the Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia, of two locals

I haven't been everywhere...
but it's on my list!


Photo by Alessio Corradini,
on the Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia,
of two locals



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  • 1 Post By Erik_G
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  #1  
Old 1 Day Ago
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Question Recommendations for packing for two
My wife and I are planning on touring Europe in 2025. We'll be two up on one bike with paniers. We're looking for an 750-900cc.

I started budgeting costs for everything, including hotels, and it's getting quite expensive for 8 months of travel. She suggested camping, which I have no problem with.

The issue is the space required for tents, bags and mattresses. We have two, two-person tents, which we could use either one, but they are quite large. Our sleeping bags are 0 degree which are quite large also.

Are there any blogs or youtubers you can recommend I watch for suggestions on how to pack for two people on one bike?

Any suggestions on light weight, rain proof, two person tents and bags?
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  #2  
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Camping gear
a) A two person tent will not be confortable.
You will sleep very tight, and no room for anything....

You need at least a 3 - person tent.

b) The weight is seldom the roblem.. It is the volume.
But since those items are not heavy, you couldpack them rather high.

==
Use aluminium panniers.
And put a waterproof bag on top of both the panniers and the top case.
That is where you need to fit the camping equipment.
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  #3  
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Consider also that in much of Europe you cannot really do wildcamping, so you will be paying campsite fees every night. Between this, the inconvenience of carrying the camping stuff while two-up, and the inconvenience of setting up and breaking down tents every day, it may not be worthwhile for a Europe trip.

That said, I've successfully packed all my camping stuff into a single 19-liter drybag - for one person. For two people, traveling by car, we had a duffel bag for the camping stuff. 2-3-person tent (Coleman Festival in our case), two pads, two sleeping bags, inflatable pillows, cooking stuff.

This is the one I used for solo moto camping: https://www.louis.eu/en/speedbag-wit...umber=10068913 (mine is an older model but same thing).

This will fit two people's camping supplies easily: https://www.louis.eu/en/trekking-rol...umber=10068912

But then you have no topbox, nowhere to lock up helmets while you are off the bike, no backup storage to carry the day's groceries/water/etc.
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If you have to go two-up rather than taking two bikes, I'd suggest a shorter holiday and staying in hostels rather than lugging that much stuff around ... I've only done one short tour two-up on a large bike with hard panniers packed to the gunnels, and found the weight of the bike sucked my riding enjoyment right out, to the point that I'd have rather taken a small car (or a trike, or sidecar, if I had lots of money) instead.
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Consider a single wheel trailer to carry extra gear for camping. Mosko has large soft panniers that are safer during a tip over, vs hard panniers. Keep your kit sparse, light, and packed low. Too much gear and weight makes for difficult handling at slow speeds.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AnTyx View Post
the inconvenience of carrying the camping stuff while two-up, and the inconvenience of setting up and breaking down tents every day, it may not be worthwhile for a Europe trip.
Good point. At our age (over 60), may be worth hostels/hotels for the convenience factor. We're planning on 8 months in total playing the Shengen shuffle in 2025 and maybe a few more in 2026.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Turbofurball View Post
If you have to go two-up rather than taking two bikes, I'd suggest a shorter holiday and staying in hostels rather than lugging that much stuff around ... I've only done one short tour two-up on a large bike with hard panniers packed to the gunnels, and found the weight of the bike sucked my riding enjoyment right out, to the point that I'd have rather taken a small car (or a trike, or sidecar, if I had lots of money) instead.
Found a bike with a sidecar in Ireland. Would love to try it, but probably over our budget...
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