Panniers vs Bikepacking Bags

Use whatever suits your ride and load. I use small panniers on a rack for bikepacking and it works well for me. I have ridden all all over Wales and the Highlands with that setup. I don’t like the swaying seat packs and I don’t like a heavy bulky quivering bag on my bars. I like the ability to pack quickly and easily. I always use a strap around the panniers to stop them rattling on the rack. I pack quite lightly but not super light (I cook rather than rehydrate and I use a light tent rather than bivvy)

Imo if you can get the weight down to 5 or 7 kilos bike****ng bags guve better weight distibution and handling than panniers but oce you start haing to strap stuff allover you forks etc then panniers are better. For bigger loads 12kgplus i prefer a trailer

I'm currently away on a city break (50k gravel and road each way) on the bikes with my wife and I've just put one of these 20l dry bags on the rack. No panniers.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/BTR-Waterproof-Capacity-Recyclable-Cardboard/dp/B0876SHC5X/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=2CUVHNIQ6AD00&keywords=btr+waterproof+rear+rack+dry+bike+bag&qid=1659779749&sprefix=BTR+dry%2Caps%2C173&sr=8-3

It's great for this sort of thing with just a few clothes and odds and sods. Just really convenient and easy to access or carry about; like a poor man's tailfin bag.

I do have the full load of strap on bike packing bags which are useful for more off road stuff and camping but are also quite a faff getting in and off when you need to.

In agreement with others.

Panniers for the win if stuff is getting heavy. They (plus the rack) are heavier before you fill them, so this is going to be a heavier trip regardless of what you are carrying. Then when use the rule of holiday suitcase (the will alway fill whatever suitcase you take no matter how large but will always get by regardless how little you take) you'll fill them up. They can be rattly though so depending on your obsessiveness that might drive you mad off road.

Bikepacking bags - imo, unless you are staying away for a super short trip, or eating takeaways and sleeping hostels/bus shelters, you are going to have to either deprive yourself or spent a shit ton on super small and light camping kit to get it all packed. Solo travel makes that situation worse. The cooler and damper the environment, the logistically harder it is to achieve too. I also am currently loathing my alpkit oversized saddlebag thingy - I load it with anything more than very low density stuff and it starts swaying, then the straps come loose. It is about to undergo some surgery to try and resolve the hassle it's given me.

So can anyone convince me that I shouldn’t just buy a pair of panniers?

Bikepacking: lighter, bike handles better/easier to lift over stuff, arguably more enjoyable riding, have to compromise on kit (not necessarily a bad thing!), probably have to spend more on lighter/more compact kit. Can use (some of the) same kit on road/gravel or MTB. Looks cooler 😎
Panniers: look fine with SPD sandals

Agree with the above. Worth noting that even small rear panniers can be a right pain if you're doing much pushing/lifting of the bike. That BTR rack bag looks handy. Before I bought a seatpack I did long trips with an Ortlieb stuffsac strapped to a rack, which worked fine, but that refines the concept. Might buy one myself for longer trips.

I agree, panniers are a better option, their only drawback is the extra width and the rack being the weak point, but these only apply to hard off road riding. Any bikepacking saddlepack must be 100% waterproof or its pointless.

I prefer bikepacking bags if tricky off road is to be encountered and/or you are traveling light. I would find it hard to use bikepacking bags on a solo trip unless I spent big on small lightweight stuff.
Trailers are good if you have an imbalance in abilities of riders. I went on an over nighter with my 11 year old son last week, he used bike packing bags to carry a few spare clothes and look cool, I lugged everything else in the trailer. Worked well.

Each has there pluses and minuses but key to both is to try and reduce your load as much as you can. You don't have to spend a fortune, maybe even nothing but the lighter the load the easier it gets. First off I would get some digital scales and start weighing stuff so you get an idea of what weighs what - it's very difficult to tell which spare fleece is the lightest for example!

Then start trying to reduce what you take.

Panniers are more convenient when you stop, because you can quickly remove them to set up camp etc.
on my surly, i use a rack with 2 medium panniers, with a framebag, and 2 bottle cages on the forks. I load heavier stuff in the framebag, i find the bike is more stable that way.
Ultimately, there’s no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way, do what works for you.

I've been eyeing up that BTR trunk bag for a while- the price is great too. What are they like to get on and off the bike? And is there a shoulder strap or something to carry it with? The slightly annoying thing with Ortliebs is that the bag needs to open to carry it one your shoulder

Anothe big plus of panniers is that if you have to lift your bike over a gate etc you can rapidly remove the pannier weight to lift the bike and bags separately. A fully loaded bike and a huge gate isn't much fun.

@shermer75 yeh there's a shoulder strap. The bag has two straps you wrap around the rack top and then click fasten, pretty quick and easy to do, but maybe a little faff wrapping round the bar each side. There's also an additional third strap you can wrap around the whole lot for more belt and braces,but I've not bothered with that. You can unclip the top and roll fastenings and get some access to the bag with it in place if you need too.

It's quite long so would be too big on my wife's small bike and rack with low seat height, but is fine on my medium framed Topstone.

I've also used is as just an overnight bag travelling as it's just the right size and easy to carry with the shoulder strap.

Not sure how durable the welded plastic style would be for a long term roughly toughty tour, but it's been great so far.

For proper off road bikepacking in the hills I'd still go BPing specific bags, but for road and easy gravel/track credit hotel/hostel/b&b trips it's great.

Bikepacking bags are more aero I'm told by someone who uses them. They had Restrap rear one that just pops out of the seatpost holder easy peasy.

As others have said there are a whole bunch of advantages and disadvatages of eitherr set-up.

What I'll add is that going on a bikepacking trip - even one with sub optimal kit - is way more fun than sitting at home wondering about what kind of bag to take.

Bikepacking bags work really well once you get them set up well and you know what goes where. It can be a long journey to get to a setup you're happy with though and even then they're still a bit of a faff. It's something you refine over time.

With panniers, you bolt your rack on, attach your bags, and just drop all your stuff into the cavernous space. Any oversize items can be attached to the rack with bungees. It's a world of simplicity. They're heavy, and they create some aero drag, and you'll worry the rack's going to break when you go off road, but they generally work in my experience.

I've got both, it's horses for courses.

Panniers are great for "bike camping".

Bags are great for "bikepacking".

The distinction is that panniers make the bike handle like crap but you get a good camping experience.

Bikepacking bags barely affect the weight of the bike (if you pack accordingly) but the trade-off is the measure of overnight success is not waking up with hypothermia.

The lightest I've gotten away with bikepacking was a 1 season sleeping bag and bivi up front and mat, down jacket and leggings in the saddle bag. Had an amazing time as the aim was just to ride bikes for 2 days. As soon as you move away from that ethos then you're straying into panniers (or so much weight in bags that you lose any advantage of it).

Sensible comments and no arguing?

What's this place come to?

Bikepacking bags for off road all the way. I can manage about 4 days of kit and food in bags. Bike rides well still though you may not want to sit next to me in a cafe.

That's on a HT not a gravel bike though.

I use panniers for road/ easy off road touring, and frame bags for proper off road. Each suits its purpose.

I think I will buy a Carradice saddlebag for long audaxes.

Cheers all.

Plenty of yes votes to panniers there with no horror stories.

I think for me for simplicity it’s the way to go, it’s not something I’m going to do loads of at this stage so don’t want to spend hours and £££ perfecting the most streamline set up I can find.

What I’ll add is that going on a bikepacking trip – even one with sub optimal kit – is way more fun than sitting at home wondering about what kind of bag to take.

This is great advice ta 🙂

Bikepacking bags are more aero I’m told by someone who uses them.

I’m not very aero so that’s not too much of an issue! 😁

Panniers are more flexible and easier to use. You have to be v disciplined to make bike packing set ups work as otherwise you end up unpacking everything to find something. I even struggled with bar packs as I couldn’t pack stuff right. Pannier racks are also helpful for carrying food/booze to camp. Might be worth borrowing someone’s to see as either way they are ££

And... with my 30" inseam & a 29er tyre (i've used 3" before) theses not enough clearance between the tyre / bag for carrying anything of any volume.

If you already have a rear rack, you could also look at something like a Carradice longflap camper. Best of both worlds, easy to access but less obtrusive than side mounted panniers so can still work well on off road stuff.

Here's how I run my bike normally, can easily get everything I need for 3/4 days out, including food.

carrying food/booze to camp

Nobody has said 1 pannier yet. One pannier on lh side combined with bag strapped to top rack

Pannier convenience with less increased width and no pannier getting in the way if you need to push a bit.

I’ve used both - panniers can shake themselves loose so need constant checking plus they can catch on narrow singletrack / deep ruts. I had a pannier rip-off when I caught a tree stump in a Finnish forest at night in winter - how I laughed as I had to unscrew the broken clip and reattach the pannier with cable ties and bare hands at -20C. There’s also a temptation with too big/many bags to take too much stuff - the discipline of bike packing is to take the minimum. A 20 litre drybag bungeed to a rack works very well for short trips. For short-butts, most big seat pack either rub the back wheel or requires a straddle jump to remount - a right, royal pain.

I have both. Bikepacking bags for fast and light, panniers for bringing lots of stuff/touring/commuting.

Aero penalty for panniers is not to be sniffed at. Also, you're probably looking at a 2kg weight penalty for panniers, too.

Panniers off-road is generally a frustrating experience.
Bikepacking bags are often fiddly to not have them rub against knees/thighs, and sometimes you just have to live with it.

Getting things in and out of panniers is so nice. Even if you're organised, it's a total faff with bikepacking bags.

Nobody has said 1 pannier yet. One pannier on lh side combined with bag strapped to top rack

✋
Exactly what I've been sporting today. One pannier, one bar bag, jackets bungeed to the rack deck.
Ok, it's been 95% road...

I,ve been using Ortleib gravel panniers. Not very big so the bike handles ok. Top quality but not cheap. I cant see me using any thing else. I put heavy stuff in a full frame bag courtesy ' Beerbabe.'

Any off-road .... Bike packing bags.

If it's all on road. Appropriately sized panniers all day long. 4 of = balanced bike. Handling not ruined.

L

Trailer for off road handledmuch better than panniers

Plenty of yes votes to panniers there with no horror stories.

If you're off-road then my experience (based on my pal using them when we did the Cairngorm Loop) is that they're a bad idea:
- they catch on trail-side 'obstacles'
- hard-ish luggage rattles
- difficult to manoeuvre/jump over ruts/water-bars
- encourages too much gear
- PITA if you're pushing

I've ended up with a front harness (so can use on either drops or flats) c/w dry-bag, a seat pack and frame bag.

I got a £20 waterproof pannier from Decathlon, it’s ace and works well.

Panniers for bigger loads or non technical riding. Bike packing kit for the opposite.

If you already have a rack get the toughest dry bag you can and strap it onto the rack. Much less hassle and much cheaper than a myriad of bike packing bags and handles just as well.

Trailer for off road handledmuch better than panniers

I once met a group heading into the the inner Cairngorm loop with trailers.- looked like a hire/guide set up. (Heading down from an lurg)

They may still be out there......

I think if what you're doing is what the CTC / Cycling UK would have classed as rough stuff 30+ years ago then panniers (small front and back) or a Carradice style long flap/camper saddle bag have got to be easier to pack and deal with and the handling impact should be well manageable. I wouldn't have any qualms about riding along (say) the South Downs Way in Hampshire/West Sussex with panniers but I wouldn't want to take in trails around for example Edale with panniers but then I wouldn't ride a gravel bike there either.

If you're doing the kind of thing that involves pushing and carrying and nadgery trails with lifting/ carrying then you probably want the bike packing stuff.

Edit: I'm not (yet) a bike packer but did run a similar thread on this in April time more around day riding with more gear (expanding kids mileages riding in company). I'm therefore speaking from historic riding off and on road with a touring mindset.

We are also thinking about a dad and boys, no car tour in France or Holland next year so been thinking about this a bit for the three of us.

Agree with most of above. Cycled a coast to coast last summer with my wife. 2nights 3 days and we camped. Used bikepacking bags only, and even using a lot of lightweight gear we use for hiking it was a struggle to get packed up easily. We managed and had room to spare for food etc, but it took a fair bit of fiddling before we got the system down.

Lomo do a 20l motorbike drybag that works well as a rack top bag. Pretty cheap too
Motorbike bag

They also do a rack bag, bit smaller but maybe a bit more useful. This is what I would have bought, but they were out of stock so went with the motorbike dry bag instead. Rack top bag

I once met a group heading into the the inner Cairngorm loop with trailers.- looked like a hire/guide set up. (Heading down from an lurg)

Possibly a Glenmore Lodge group. It certainly used to be the case that the "overnight" extension to the MTB Leadership Award mandated the use of trailers.

Possibly a Glenmore Lodge group. It certainly used to be the case that the “overnight” extension to the MTB Leadership Award mandated the use of trailers.

I'd have hoped the assessor would have intervened in that case before they got to where they were. Unless of course they were assessing for wheelbarrow leadership

Use whatever suits your ride and load

This .

I’ve not read the rest of the thread as yet but I use both panniers, rack-pack and/or different bike bags for different loads and different terrain.

Big loads on mostly tarmac always panniers often with some auxiliary bike bags, bar-roll, etc for the small stuff. Lighter loads and lumpy offroad/narrow gaps I’ll go with the handlebar bag and/or a frame bag.

Heavy off-road stuff will be bar-harness/drybag, frame-bag and rack-pack. I can carry extra water on the fork legs as they have bosses for luggage cages etc

Still can’t get my head around a huge seat pack don’t really like the idea, But I really like the Agu rack-pack which sits firmly on top of the rear rack platform and it has little foldout panniers for extra stuff, plus bungee on top for whatever - ie jacket, drybag, helmet, outsized items etc.

My favourite rides out are packed light with everything in a bar bag. I don’t think I’m really massively into off-road bike packing but I do like backroads touring a lot and find panniers to be less faff overall.

* Forgot to say my latest addition/option is a one-wheeled cargo trailer set up (like the BOB Yak) and that is just amazing for backroad heavy/long-term camping tours (backroads and light/medium offroad)

It tracks remarkably well, is almost silent once loaded. I’d just like to fashion/add a bipod kickstand and maybe some plastic bumpers around the trailer-base edges. Of course, once unhitched it leaves your bike as light as you like for extra-curricular/non-carrying duties. Once unloaded it then makes an excellent fetcher/carrier for groceries and firewood

I'm done with frame bags and traffic cone seatpacks.

For me on the fatbike, No.1 priority was dropper deployment.
So, a rack, with small Front Ortlieb panniers (12.5l each), something on the rack itself, plus sleeproll drybag on the bars (1.5kg) is perfect for me. Voluminous!

Descending the Corrieyairack down to Melgarve at full pelt over all the drainage bars, saddle down and nothing came loose.

For gravel bike/road touring I'd also use a rack but my Topeak MTX Trunk bag with the smaller more aero fold out panniers and a bar bag.

Frame triangle is for water.

It's interesting how people's experience of touring/bikepacking shapes their (often strongly held...) opinions.

I took a Yak trailer on a 3700km trip round NZ in the mid-Noughties and promptly sold it when I returned, vowing never to use one again...my main memory is portaging up onto the Otago escarpment, wearing the entire trailer as a rucsac with my arms through the bag handles, muttering like a nutter and thinking how much easier it would've been with weight evenly distributed on the bike in four panniers...

...but fast forward ten years and an offroad LEJoG saw me strapping an Ortlieb stuffsac to a rack, a cheap Alpkit bag on the bars and going for it. Bikepacking fashionistas would (and did) throw up their hands in horror, but it worked fine. For shorter trips, and with concessions made to comfort (or your bank balance), seatpacks are arguably better, but it's angels on the head of a pin stuff. Last year I even went combo old skool for a couple of 4-5 day rides: bar roll, half frame bag, panniers. Guess what? Worked fine...
[img] [/img]
These days my preference is for a bar roll, half frame bag and seatpack, plus a small rucsac. It means I can basically ride all the same stuff I'd ride unencumbered. I've taken that setup down red runs at every trail centre in Wales, including BPW, for example. But it's all down to what you want to do with it, and how much you're willing to spend. It's refreshing this thread hasn't descended into partisan abuse because all these solutions work.

Apart from trailers, of course. Anyone advocating for them must be a complete ****.

I'm just about to take a hardtail fitted with a Tailfin aero pack and two 10l panniers on parts of the North downs, King Alfreds and South Downs way, will report back after.

Panniers I have used have always rattled to some extent. And I suspect clips and the rack itself will ultimately be more fragile than many velcro straps.

That said, whilst I've not used full bikepacking gear I'd imagine packing it up would take a fair bit of planning as to what goes where. And your overall capacity is limited. Panniers are also not very aero as I found out trying to sustain a speed above 20mph with them.

I'd quite fancy a rack with some well designed secure mini panniers + top bag, with cinch straps to prevent rattling. And yea I would use Anything Cages with that rather than front panniers, in part because my nice rigid forks have the mounts 🙂

Tailfin aero pack and two 10l panniers

What panniers?

Did it just start as a solution for bikes that didn’t have mounts

Pretty much, that and a lighter, less breakage-prone system for off-road trips with minimal kit.
Good quality panniers are fine for most things, just maybe not extended MTB trail routes. Racks and panniers can have weak spots and the best versions avoid them. With bikepacking luggage it's just the wear on / from straps you need to watch.

Bikepacking gear works well if you take very little stuff, that's the whole point. If you're taking plenty of kit and aren't going off-road that much it makes less odds. Panniers and racks may add a kilo or 2 but it you've packed 15kgs onto the bike already.. I expect the aero drag will make more difference than the weight difference.

These days my preference is for a bar roll, half frame bag and seatpack, plus a small rucsac.

Same here - a packable rucsac for some trips to carry food in the evenings, maybe a small camelback for overspill and water bladder on other trips. I think I'd use either that set up or the full 4 panniers packed for comfort and a month away.

Apart from trailers, of course. Anyone advocating for them must be a complete ****.

Harsh .... But I have 2 trailers and both are crap off road.

Unfortunately my daughter refuses to be put in a soft bag......

The bob yaks also pretty awful

These days my preference is for a bar roll, half frame bag and seatpack, plus a small rucsac.

What do you pack for a night in the wilds out of interest?

Nothing gucci or uncomfortably minimalist. Either a small tent and cheap down bag, or bivi bag and bulkier Lamina 20 bag. Thermal bag liner. Klymit Inertia Ozone mat. Speedster meth stove/ti mug cooking kit, food for 1-3 days. 12 year old Primaloft smock for the evenings, maybe an extra base layer if it's cold. Power bank for the phone. Usual day kit: spares, tools, headtorch, waterproof. Trowel.

Works for me. I've been on a bivi-a-week project since late March, at least one night on the hill every week (apart from the last fortnight because I've been in the process of relocating from Wales to Calderdale).

Very harsh on the trailer. Yes these days i mainly ride gravel but with a light trailer single track is possible. I know i do it. Its also much moar areo. Bobs just work. 3 or 4 kilo weight penalty is noticable climbing. Pain to park up and portage. Much better handling than panniers imo as well.

You can't deny that having a trailer limits your route choice though. It's just a question of how much that limitation affects your personal riding. The same applies (albeit to a lesser extent) with larger panniers. The smaller ones are obviously "better" as they tend to be higher and narrower. As already stated several times, each system has its pros and cons.

I did my last bikepacking trip with a rucksack! Fight me!

I liked it, especially whipping down the small amount of singletrack on which I was comfortably able to get air, albeit small amounts due to the rigid bike; but it did rub a bit on my hip by the end of day 2.

As I've said before, spending money on lighter-weight, more compact overnight kit means that rucksack loads are reduced, making that option better than it might otherwise be.

What do you pack for a night in the wilds out of interest?

Not OP, but here's what I take for a single overnighter. This pic was the weekend before last.

Barbag - tent, sleeping bag, inflatable mattress.
Seatpack - down jacket, spare (non-sweaty) t-shirt, few toiletries.
Top tube bag - battery for bar-mounted headlight, snacks.
Frame bag - more food, some tools.

The bike doesn't really have much space for water, so I also use a small backpack which fits a 3l bladder, a couple of beers, and not much else.

(Incidentally, the seat pack is just a tapered dry bag supported by an Alpkit Exo-Rail and a couple of Voile type straps, and it's lightweight and rock solid, with zero sway if you cinch it tight enough. The Exo-Rail itself is a proper faff to get on and off though.)

What panniers?

The Tailfin mini panniers, they come in 5l and 10l sizes and apparently will fit other racks too.

I've got an Ortlieb seat post bag thingy and thinks it's great, get my sleeping bag, pillow, liner , camp clothes, sleeping mat in it. My mate uses panniers and takes a collapsible chair with him! I do sit in it at every opportunity at camp time. How refreshing it's not become a hate fest thread. Its what works best for you.

Apart from trailers, of course. Anyone advocating for them must be a complete ****

Trailers have their place. Like I said if you want to load up one bike and keep the other riders bike light they are ideal. Handy for going to the shops too.

With my 11 year old boy....purple bar ends for the win too!!!

I did a week's touring in the Alps on a road bike with just a rucsac. Credit card touring, nothing pre-booked, about 10lbs in the bag. Was fine, good memories of that ride. I was convinced I was climbing out of the saddle like a Pro with that extra weight to press down with but my feet did get sore. Didn't do more than about 80 miles any particular day and ate well every night. Tbh it's all gone downhill since with bikepacking and age.

You are the one riding the bike so go with whatever your taste and budget allows.

My own experience ranges from panniers to seat pack and bar roll to (most recently) Tailfin aero pack and fork bags.
Panniers hold the most stuff but are bulky and can easily be caught on undergrowth, branches and fences on narrow tracks and trails.
Seat pack and roll bar is good for distributing weight and keeping the width of the load down but can be awkward to pack and require careful planning to get things in in the right order.
Tailfin is bloody expensive but very good. It’s really a rethink and combination of panniers and packs that makes for a solid set up with no sway or bounce, and that is very welcome when riding off-road.
The Tailfin gear has made my seat pack and bar roll redundant I think but I will still use panniers for longer road-based trips due to their extra capacity and ease of transporting between bike and house/tent/hotel.

[img] [/img]

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Ortlieb QR rack - useful Tailfin alternative that takes any pannier bag, at a much lower price?

https://off.road.cc/content/review/ortlieb-quick-rack-review-10465

At £70, this rack represents excellent value for money. When comparing it to the Tailfin Alloy Rack, which retails for £219, it is clear that the Quick Rack is very reasonably priced and doesn’t lack in terms of performance.

The Tailfin weighs 543g, making it marginally lighter than the Quick Rack. But then again, Ortlieb offers the light version of the Quick Rack that only weighs 440g.

Seems you need adapters with it that add £15 but still, not bad. The mudguard add-on is neat.

https://www.ortlieb.com/en_us/quick-rack-light+F78105#

https://www.ortlieb.com/en_us/quick-rack+F78104

@ambientcoast

tent, sleeping bag, inflatable

That sounds handy - I can only fit my (admittedly 2kg) tent or sleeping bag in the bar roll!

What tent, mat, sleeping bag are you using?

The Tailfin looks good if a bit rich for my tastes, but I'm not surprised you had bounce and sway issues with that barbag/seatpack setup (especially the barbag way out in front of and level with the bars).

One of the reasons I like swept back bars is that they project cables and hoses forward, so you can easily position the bag tight in under the bars where it has minimal impact on handling.
[img] [/img]

What tent, mat, sleeping bag are you using?

I can only fit my (admittedly 2kg) tent or sleeping bag in the bar roll!
What tent, mat, sleeping bag are you using?

FWIW I put all that in the seatpack with a spare warm layer, it only gets opened in the evening and has to stay dry.
Bar roll is for clothes and things I need in the day as it's easier to access - though that depends on the pack designs really. I like the Wildcat seat harness as it's so stable + compact but it's not fast access.

I have a tarp-tent, 3 seasons bag and mat that's 1.3kgs total. If I add a PHD quilt to that (250g) it's good for ~0 deg but prob not the most efficient warmth to weight. Adaptable though, good for Alpine trips when you may sleep high up as well as in the valley.

I think it depends how small you can get your sleeping kit.

This was mine from the weekend, packed for 3 nights, but without cooking gear. The priority for me is not to have stuff bouncing or rattling around, and these are rock solid.

Sleeping bag, spare clothes and tent/poles in the front roll on an Acepac harness, mat, pegs, silk liner and down jacket in the dropper compatible seatpack. Food and light battery in a top tube bag, everything else in an Osprey Seral bumbag. Tools/tube etc in the tool bottle.

Taking cooking gear would have required another bag strapped under the frame.

Whoever said chair, absolutely, Helinox Ground chair is a new and very welcome addition for my ageing bones. Usually goes on the rack with the small panniers for other stuff. Just over 500g and a litre of space I think.

@p7eaven

What tent, mat, sleeping bag are you using?

Similar to the other replies, I guess.

The tent is an old Gelert Solo which I've used on and off for years now. If you replace the steel pegs with some light alloy ones and get rid of the outer bag, it's probably not much over 1kg, but that's just a guess as I've never actually weighed it. Sleeping bag is a Robens down 3-season thing. Again, comes in at under 1kg I think. Sleeping mat is an Alpkit Numo... few hundred grams?

It's not the lightest kit and it's all way down at the bottom end of the price scale - especially the tent which cost me £25 15 years ago! - but it means I don't have to be super gentle with it for the sake of half a kg.

Having said all that, if it's raining (like it was a couple weekends ago) that tent is a pretty grim place to spend any amount of time awake. I'm likely going to replace it soon - at least with something I can sit up in.

Funnily enough, I'm out again for a night this weekend - but on a different bike which I'll most likely be sticking a rack and panniers on, and possibly even taking a camping chair.

So... bikepacking bags vs panniers? There's no right or wrong answer really, but it's definitely easy to get caught up in overthinking it.

...but I’m not surprised you had bounce and sway issues with that barbag/seatpack setup (especially the barbag way out in front of and level with the bars).

The barbag is a Blackburn Outpost. It attaches to a quick release handlebar mount that keeps the bag clear of cables and hoses and there is very little bounce.
The seat pack is a cheap Podsac jobbie and is actually very stable. It sways a little but nothing to cause any concern. (The waterproof jacket on top of it was only put there while I took the photo as it started raining just as I was about to set off.)

Reading the comments… I’m just coming back to say that I know some people doesn’t like them but small Ortlieb type panniers on a Tubus rack (combined with a frame bag) have worked for me on a load of off road cycle tours including the Cairngorms Loop, An Turas Mor, Knoydart to Kinloch Hourn, Trans Cambria, much of the Highland 550 route (used as part of a general all over the place tour). They can make pushing a bit harder and they aren’t as light as other setups but they don’t get caught in ruts as my feet are lower and they rarely get snagged in undergrowth.

They take away the big front load… so I can see my front wheel and I can lift it over bumps and roots more easily. I strap them on too so they don’t rattle.

I’m not saying it’s the best solution and I don’t care if people don’t agree; just saying that it does work for me in case people want to try it.

This is my set-up for an upcoming trip. I prefer bikepacking bags over panniers. I used to commute with panniers, and I didn't really care for it. This is for 4 days, but I would take the same for solo trips up to a week (chances are I won't be going away for longer).
I'm short- only 5'2", so space on my bike is limited. However, I have a 31" inseam, so unlike a lot of short people, I have quite a bit of seat post showing and use a 15 litre saddlebag.
The saddlebag is a 15 litre Topeak backloader. In it is my tent (alpkit soloist), Microfiber towel, small packable down jacket, cookset and coffee mug, and some food and coffee. Still have plenty of room in the saddlebag if needed and my rain jacket is strapped to the top.
My frame bag is a custom job from bike bags UK. It's roughly 3.5 litres, and has a 3 litre apidura hydration bladder, 2 spare tubes, and some more food.
My handlebar bag is a 13 litre apidura deluge, but i have no where near 13 litres of capacity- more like 8 due to rolling it between my drop bars (40cm c to c). In it is sleeping bag (2 season mountain warehouse job that weighs 500 grams, a sleeping mat, and my spare clothes (bibs, jersey, bamboo baselayer for sleeping). There is a small accessory bag strapped to that which has quick to access items such as arm and leg warmers, beanie and gilet.
Tent poles are attached to the handlebar roll.
Lastly, I have a hip pack (and have ditched the top tube bag) I purchased from the national trust that has snacks, power bank and cables, usb plug, and first aid kit. It also hods a spare water bottle. Tools and spares are underneath the downtube.

I have a question- when I'm out on long days it gets really uncomfortable unless I can spend some time cycling with no hands- it takes the weight off my arms and the stretch off my neck. Can you still do this with a handlebar bag? Or does it make the steering too hard to manage, with the front wheel having a mind of it's own?

Can you still do this with a handlebar bag? Or does it make the steering too hard to manage, with the front wheel having a mind of it’s own?

It's certainly harder, needs more counterbalancing and hip steering to ride no-hands with a weight on the bar. Less trail in the steering and less weight in the bag makes it easier or needs smaller movements to correct and get back on line once it starts to turn. In reality my XC 29er with 2kgs on the bar is as easy to ride no-hands as my faster-handling 650B gravel bike with a similar or slightly lighter weight. Just say No to low trail, kids.

So the less trail the better?

https://www.cyclingabout.com/understanding-bicycle-frame-geometry/

I'm finding this useful^^

So is 30 litres about the limit you can take bikepacking?

So is 30 litres about the limit you can take bikepacking?

Depends whether or not you are carrying a rucksack.

My Revelate Terrapin/Saltyroll bags add up to about 29 litres, though they're never normally packed full. I've a couple more litres of space in some additional, smaller bags. TBH, it's more about weight. A 15 litre bar bag needn't be that heavy if you've filled it with a sleeping bag.

That's really useful, thanks!