Tent and sleeping bag recommendations for bikepacking

I use an Alpkit Soloist tent in XL size which is really, really good (cost about £120 last year on special offer). Its well made, very light, packs down incredibly small and has survived high winds, torrential rain and my bike-packing buddies pelting it with fir cones all night... The only downside is the entrance zips are lightweight and can jam in the flysheet so you have to open and close them with a bit of care.

TBH I'd seriously doubt you would get a decent 3-4 season lightweight sleeping bag for under £100. Someone will probably correct me on this though.

IMHO you get what you pay for and cheap tends to equal low performance. Also, sleeping bags are such personal things and the seasons ratings are down to personal comfort so the ratings are just a general guide. I use a Vango Cobra 200 which is a good 2-3 season bag so thats UK (but probably not Scotland) spring to mid-autumn. I use a liner to take it to reasonable kinda sort-of 3 seasons level but I wouldn't use it in anything under +5/+7 degrees. Cost about £150, but again, was bought in a sale last year.

Where is the bike packing and at what time of year? And does biking packing in your mind include a bag on your back too or what you can strap to a bike only?

Personally (living in the Highlands) I find bike packing quite challenging concept in more wintery months. And the tent and bag choice is very different at different times of the year. Bikepacking pushes the compromises to the limit on the weight of kit on the bike you can tolerate and cram into comparitivly small bags and how cramped and cold you are prepared to be at night (and how much of a risk you are prepared to take on being caught out and under sheltered). It's a sliding scale and only you can decide where you are on it. Personally on a limited budget I'd buy kit for summer trips only so that you can make up a collection of kit that is not too heavy for sensible cash.

Personally on a limited budget I’d buy kit for summer trips only so that you can make up a collection of kit that is not too heavy for sensible cash.

+1, winter kit in particular can be eye wateringly expensive. I out of curiosity wondered how much the closest replacement would cost for my PHD Designs bag… £700 😱

Summer trips are also more likely to be more enjoyable. Rather than an exercise in keeping the discomfort as tolerable as possible, and quite often in the dark.

I have a Vango Ultralight 300 which combined with a silk or fleece liner works OK. Mine is 10 years old now and rarely sees anything but an 'adventure' in the back garden. I've also got a alpkit hunka bivi which ups the ratings again, and works as emergency shelter etc. Stopping cold from the ground is just as important.

The link didn't work for me and only found a 2 person tent.
My advice would be look at the packed size and how you would fit that on your bike, how much it weighs too.

For cheap recommendations I got a decathlon tent and really happy with it, single person, light, small pack weight too so easy to go in roll top bag on my bars. Here's a link to it.

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/trekking-dome-tent-1-person-mt900/_/R-p-305777?mc=8545744.

For sleeping bags if you want cheap you aren't going to get small and compact for a 4 season bag.
I would look at a 2 to 3 season bag, this will be much smaller, and pair it with a liner, wear warm clothes inside and have a decent air bed with insulation inside.
I have an exped air mattress which is costly but is tiny for what it is, allows a lower bulk bag and something you can then use all year round with different sleeping bags.

Decathlon do a great value sleeping bag, if you're gonna be camping in cooler climes

When I was looking for similar for hiking as lightweight as possible on the cheap, I went for the following:

Aldi Adventuridge 2 person tent (£30! https://www.aldi.co.uk/adventuridge-2-man-tent/p/718971606470100 )

20 aluminium pegs from WeirdosonBikes ( https://www.weirdosonbikes.com/product/ultralight-tarp-tent-peg/ ),

a Planet X down bag ( https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/SBZAD400/zastrugi-darksky-400-down-sleeping-bag )

and secondhand Alpkit Hunka. That's been absolutely fine down to about -2 on a Welsh mountainside, but I'd recommend a really good sleeping mat to maximise warmth, I splashed out on a Thermarest NeoAir XLite.

All in, cost was around £350. It is light, takes up little room and is plenty warm.

At this point I think you'll struggle to beat this for a 3 season sleeping bag. https://rockrun.com/collections/sleeping-bags/products/rock-run-yangra-400?variant=42115452895413
I didn't see anything as good at Decathlon It's down, so needs to be kept relatively dry, and don't store it in the stuff sack. If you want smaller , it's going to be colder, or start costing a lot more money, or both.
You'll need a slwwping mat as well - Decathlon will see you right there

Alpkit Soloist tent. I have been using it for the last 3 years without any problems. Packs up small and is light (1.2kg). The only downside is the door being at the end of the tent means you have to crawl in and out and that isn't pleasant when it's raining or the tent is covered in dew.
The design of that Decathlon tent looks good.

I don't like mummy sleeping bags and it's hard to find a well-priced rectangular bag that packs down small enough for bike packing so I use an Alpkit Cloud Cover quilt and a cotton sleeping bag liner if it's a bit chilly.

Now thinking about either the decathlon one or alpkit soloist.
Sacrificing space for less weight!

Naturehike Cloud Up 1 is similar to the Soloist and can be had for a similar price. It's a bit more spacious, I think.
The 2-man version is a bit larger (obviously) and only a bit heavier.

I have the Naturehike Cloud up 2.
It's a great little tent.
I've used it for relatively few bike packing trips... Ok, ONE bikepacking trip last year and one paddleboardpacking trip last year too.

Great tent and not crazy money.

The key to bikepacking is having gear that packs small, weight is less so of any issue (and TBH is mostly taken care of by have gear that packs small).

And second the view that compact & 4-season isn't an option when you're looking at the cheaper end of the market.

I used an Alpkit Pipedream 200 last year, 2-season with a +7c limit. Mid May in the Highlands I also needed to wear every dry item of clothing to keep warm/tepid overnight...

So I bought myself a RAB Neutrino 400 in the summer sales, got a -7c limit - and I'll be using next week on a bike * bothy trip, CBA to camp.

Tent-wise I got a Vango Helium 1. Packs very small and erects groundsheet/inner/outer all in one go plus enough headroom for a +6' to sit upright.

That bag linked to by wbo is a huge bargain. 400g down is a good all round fill weight for a down bag. Only 200g more than a summer only bag but is genuine 3 season.

I have a PHD 200g bag but only because it is one of three bags I choose depending on season.

Edit. Assuming it fits. The other reason I bought PHD was standard bags were not long enough or wide enough.

+1 on that RockRun sleeping bag.

Assuming you don't already have one, an insulated mat with a decent R rating is a must if you are planning cold season camps.

Tent wise, I've used a Rab Element 2 single skin tent/tarp with a custom groundsheet for bikepacking and fast/light backpacking. Weighs next to nothing and packs down tiny. It's been discontinued and can be picked up for about £70. It's palatial for 1 person and kit.

Buy cheap buy twice. Never has this been more apt.

A 3/4 season sleeping bag for under £100? no chance. If you do find one, which I'm sure you can, it'll be massive, weigh a ton or it'll be hopeless and the temp rating will be jackanory or most likely all of the above. Its unrealistic to think you can get one suitable for bike packing for that kind of money.
However if you're only going in the summer the Snugpak jungle sleeping bag is cheap, light and packs down incredibly small. I bought mine for about £35 some years ago, think its about £40 now but still an absolute bargain for summer / spring use. Its also a rectangular shape and fully opens out into a blanket.

Re the tent, I'd go with Alpkit as their kit is very good and you get good customer service etc.
I've an Alpkit sleeping bag (Pipedream 400) which is about as good as it gets for that money, I bought mine in the sale for around £160 a few years back and its an absolute bargain, very warm, packs down tiny if you use a compression sack and is good for most winter conditions in the UK bar the highlands.

I would not jump in and just buy because its cheap. If you want a true 4 season sleeping bag double your money and then some or prepare to learn the hard way.

Note the height 'limit' on that bag above, 185cm.

And the last thing you want is the 'stretch' the limit as all you'll be doing is compressing the footwell down. Both my bags are XL's.

Rock run bag bought! Thanks @wbo

I already have a Thermarest mat so now just need to decide on tent!

Naturehike are basically slightly heavier copies of more expensive, tent brands - for example the Cloud Up is almost identical to a Big Agnes Fly Creek.

Another Rock + Run bought. Cheers @wbo

Any bargain sleeping mats out there?

That Rock + Run bag is a great deal

Has anybody used their rock and run bag in anger yet?

Any bargain sleeping mats out there?

Some good ideas here
https://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/good-value-bike-packing-tents/