This list is pretty comprehensive, even reflecting a couple of improvements in my gear since 1998.
| Item | Acceptable alternative | Comments |
| Sleeping bag, North Face Blue Kazoo (down, 2.5 lbs) | Synthetic | This bag allows you to shift the down to the top or bottom. Being too hot is the usual problem with camping in summer. |
| Therma-rest pad, 3/4 length ultralight | Ensolite, etc. | This, their lightest model, is plenty comfortable. |
| Camping pillow | Spare clothes | A fleece garment makes a fine pillow |
| Tent, Eureka Zephyr | Any decent backpacking tent | $100 buys a fine backpacing tent. |
| Therma-rest chair | Optional | Converts Therma-rest matress into a chair. |
| Stove, MSR Whisperlite | Any backpacking stove | Touring solo, I generally eat out. Someday I'm going to take a tour without cooking gear. |
| Stove fuel | I've always been able to get a little Coleman fuel from someone in a campground, but everyone seems to be going to propane nowadays. | |
| Lighter and matches | ||
| Water sack | Optional | This is a nylon sack with a polyurethane liner, holding over 2 gallons. Use it as a little shower, so you don't have to go to ged coated with a layer of sunscreen, salt, and dust. |
| Cook kit | $10 nonstick saucepan | Mine is 2 teflon-coated aluminum saucepans and 1 lid. |
| Plastic coffee cup | ||
| Spatula | ||
| Flatware | Lightweight camping stuff | |
| Dish soap | Use it for hand-washing laundry too. | |
| Scouring pad | ||
| Basin | Optional | A recent addition, this is a collapsible vinyl (I guess) basin I got at REI. Use for doing laundry. My cook kit nestles right inside it. |
| Rope | For clothesline, tent guylines, etc. | |
| Thermarest repair kit | Never needed it, but... | |
| Sleeping bag liner | Optional | Cotton mummy bag liner. Keeps sleeping bag clean. On warm nights just sleep in the liner, on top of the bag. |
| Ziplock bags | Take extras. The big 2-gallon ones make perfect pannier liners. | |
| Coffee | I love good coffee but I will suffer instant, since I usually eat breakfast in a cafe anyway. | |
| Cooking oil | ||
| Spices | I took 20 film cans of spices once, but now I just take salt, pepper, sugar, a dried Italian spice blend, dill weed, maybe some curry powder. | |
| 2 dried meals | For emergencies | |
| Tobasco | According to my touring buddy Park, who learned it in the Marines, Tobasco makes any meal palatable. | |
| Snack food | Bagels and peanut butter, usually. | |
| Bike cover | Optional | Allows me to leave panniers on the bike at night, almost a necessity with a 1-man tent. |
| Item | Acceptable alternative | Comments |
| Leatherman | 6 inch channellocks | You should have some kind of pliers. |
| Gear cluster removal tool | Spokes almost always break on the gear cluster side. You must be able to remove the cluster, or carry special emergency spokes that can be inserted without removing the cluster. | |
| Chain tool | Never needed it, but... | |
| Tire boots | Optional | Keeps you going if you slash a tire |
| Oil | ||
| Hex wrenches (3, 4, 5, 6 mm) | Take what you need. Don't rely on one of those combo tools - their hex wrenches are often weird little protrusions that don't fit in the space available. | |
| Crescent wrench, 4 inch | I love this little thing. | |
| Frame pump | ||
| Water bottles, 3 | 2 is enough on some tours; 4 may be required on others. | |
| Vistalight | Flashing LED taillight. In case you ever ride after dark. | |
| Headlight | Cateye 4-AA model. | |
| Lock and cable | Optional | I carry a fairly light cable and lock, enough to prevent someone from walking away with my bike, and sleep better because of it. |
| Air gauge | Optional | I believe in proper inflation, but many folks do this by feel. |
| Zip ties | ||
| Tape | ||
| Nylon straps | Or whatever you need to fasten your load. | |
| Little nylon strap | Simple yet helpful, it serves the purpose of a kickstand. Wrap it around your down tube and front rim and you can lean your bike on anything. Loaded touring bikes fall over easily. |
| Item | Acceptable alternative | Comments |
| Inner tubes (2), tire levers, patch kit | By the way, practice fixing a flat before you go. Do it out on the road. | |
| Spare tire | Optional | You might omit this if travelling in an area with plentiful bike shops. |
| Cables, gear and brake, 1 each | Long enough to replace your longest. Just roll up any extra. Cut off the end you don't need. | |
| Nuts and bolts | Should a water bottle or rack mount shake loose, be prepared. | |
| Spokes, 6 to 10 | ||
| Chain link (and any special repair link your chain may need) |
| Bike shorts, 3 pair | Wear clean shorts every day - your anatomy will thank you. If you take only 2 pair, you have to wash one every night, and hope it's not raining the next day so they'll dry. So take 3. | |
| Long underwear or cycling tights | Optional | |
| Sunglasses | ||
| Helmet | ||
| Cycling shoes | ATB shoes with recessed cleats are great. | |
| Gore-text oversocks | Optional | For spring or fall tours in the mountains. |
| Sandals | I did a 2200 mile tour with only cycling shoes. | Teva-type. After-ride footwear; can be worn in showers. |
| Cycling shirts, 2 | Cotton t-shirts | Jerseys or quick-drying non-cotton t-shirts, as I now use, are nice. |
| Cotton t-shirt, 1 | Optional. | You'll buy one as a souvenir anyway. |
| Nylon pants with zip-off legs, 1 pair | Lightweight khakis | Denim is heavy and slow-drying |
| Bathing suit | I take light nylon running shorts. I don't care for swimming, but I use them when showering in public under the water bag. | |
| Cycling socks, 3 pair | ||
| Long sleeve shirt, nylon no-iron. | Any | Not essential, but it's nice not to look like a bike tourist once in a while. Some cycle tourists advocate riding in a long-sleeved cotton shirt, even in summer. |
| Gore-tex jacket | Non-Gore-tex jacket | A water-repelling windbreaker is sufficient most of the time. I did not have a Gore-tex jacket in 1998. |
| Underpants, 2 pair | Apres-cycling apparel. | |
| Wool socks | Optional |
| Zip o gauge | Optional | Little thermometer |
| Compass | ||
| Swiss Army Knife | Any knife | For cooking and many other things. |
| Journal, pens | Optional | |
| Flashlight | Mini-mag light with headband. A headlamp is very handy. The bike headlight is too bright for in-tent use. | |
| Camera | Optional | The 1998 tour pictures were shot with an Olympus Stylus zoom 35-70, on Fujicolor 100. It developed a light leak (and so did my friend's) so I now use a Minolta with 28-80 zoom. 28 mm is a standard wide-angle, good for scenic shots. |
| Tripod | Optional | A 4-ounce folding mini-tripod, helpful on a solo trip. |
| Waist pack | Optional | This is my purse. |
| Sunglasses | ||
| Watch | Optional | |
| Wallet, keys, travelers checks | ATM's are now ubiquitous. A few travelers checks for emergencies. | |
| Maps | Get maps that show county and secondary roads. | |
| Cotton handkerchiefs, 2 | It surprised me how much I enjoyed having handkerchiefs. It's nice to have a clean piece of cotton to wipe your eyes, if nothing else. They weigh nothing, so why not? | |
| Medicines | Ibuprofen, antihistamines, any special medicines you need. | |
| Balms | Lip balm, sunscreen, vaseline, hand lotion, insect repellent | |
| Earplugs | Camping spots can be noisy | |
| First aid kit | Buy one or make your own. | |
| Pak-Towel | Cotton hand towel | Don't take a huge bath towel. |
| Toiletries | Toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, toilet paper, shampoo, razor, shaving cream, soap, hair brush. | |
| Needle and thread |