I was planning an overnight trip last Friday and as I have a
Carradice Camper Longflap saddlebag, I thought I might as well use and take the "fast" bike rather than the pannier-rack bike. I knew I'd have to put some items elsewhere, so the sleeping mat would go on the bars as the most suitably shaped and sized object. The tent itself would be strapped to the top of the saddlebag. Then it's just a question of putting everything else in the capacious interior and large side pockets. Easy.
Except it wasn't. By compressing my sleeping bag as much as I could, I got it down to about 30cm long by 18cm diameter. That fits in the bag, but I had to rearrange the straps that go round the dowel to put the buckles on the outside rather than the inside, so they wouldn't catch on the sleeping bag. Then there was just room next to it for a cooking pot, as long as I only took the small pot, which is fine because I usually only take that one. Mug and tea bags inside the pot, stove and fuel in one pocket, waterproof jacket in the other pocket. Bowl on top of cooking pot, starting off a second layer, with one or two small clothing items and then a warm jacket. By now I needed the longflap with its second straps. But that left no room for food, nowhere to put tools and I'd be restricted to what water I could carry on the bike – not a problem on a campsite but might be a problem when wild camping. Of course there are always solutions, like eating at a pub... but that kind of defeats some of the point.
Having now watched a video on how to maximally compress a sleeping bag into its stuff sac (I knew to start from the foot end and turn the bag as you go, but not to fold the foot vertically first), I've got it down to about 25cm long, which makes it easier. The manufacturer claims it will compress down to 19cm long by 18cm diameter, I reckon you've got to Geoff Capes with a PhD in origami for that. I suppose we should treat size claims with the same scepticism we give to temperature ratings. Abandoning all pretence of spare clothing beyond a jacket, I reckon there's enough space for a bit of food too. It looks like a summer overnighter is certainly possible.
But I know some people do multiday, even multimonth tours with just one of these and maybe something on the bars. If you're such a person, what do you take and how do you pack it? Perhaps this is a case for a frame bag too? Or a very large bar bag? I've seen a photo of someone using a Camper Longflap at each end... the front one supported on a decaleur rack (I think that's the term).
In the end, I scrapped the trip due to a sore throat and a forecasted storm.
But maybe next week...