if you go the online route i can help with forward shipping from the states roll.
i did with simon’s shit when they fucked them around.
easy enough for me.
good karma coming my way one day and all that.
thx jimmy 
ok, so i got the following:
MSR Hubba Hiking tent - $365 (15% of at Mountain Designs) - bargain price!
Sea 2 Summit M compression stuff sack
Exped Downmat 7 M - this was way comfier than the thermarest, slightly better than the nemo, but hands down the most expensive at $199. i value my sleep!!
Mountain Designs sleeping bag. not the greatest by any means, but it’ll definitely do the job and was heavily discounted. Think i got a further 10% off as i also bought the tent from there.
service at bogong was great, paddy pallin fairly average (the dude didn’t give a shit and even managed to try and talk me out of something i’d definitely decided on (the compression stuff sack) and lost himself a sale of about $700 in the process). lady at MD was good, though pretty flat out. bogong were clearly the best of the lot, so i was happy to spend the extra on the sleeping mat there.
was tempted to set up camp on the back deck tonight, and if i wasn’t moving this weekend i reckon i would’ve… hahaha.
thanks all.
You found a house- thank god we were worrying about you!
Are these any good? I like the idea, but I’m not sure in practice…what keeps your bike upright?
That’s some awesome looking gear Rolly.
I hope it all works well for the designed task.
I see your tent and raise you.
Nice job on that kit! good price for the tent, and that mat will be so warm that the bag only has to do half its job.
I love Bogong, especially Merv.
You don’t need a special tent to do a bike assisted pitch
Nice work Rolly. That tent looks ace.
you see those two guy ropes by the handlebars? Yup those tents would work fine, the bike won’t fall over. I think though it’d work best with a thru axle fork or a fork with a fork spacer. Otherwise you’ll have forkends and potentially calipers covered in mud.
was only temporary, I’ll let u know once I’ve found something properly…
just back from an overnight bike tour with sime & mike d, everything worked beautifully & setting up the tent by bike light was super easy.
Good timing, my new mat just arrived!
man its small and light…
so cheap…
mike, that was always gonna happen!! once my legs recover we’ll have to do another ride.
also, I tried that mat at paddy pallin, was good!
Would that mat ‘crinkle’ around? I was looking at a few a while ago and most of the lighter pads sounded like you were rolling around on newspaper.
was a bit ‘crinkly’, yeah.
Just blew it up and had a lie down, little crinkly but more comfortable than my old thermarest.
Plus sleeping bags are always a little rustly and my bag has a sleeve in the bottom for mats that should damped some sounds.
Plus is smaller, lighter and warmer than my old one.
Had to ‘tune’ the pressure it the mat to get maximum comfort, sweet spot is about 27.5psi I think.
Bought a compression dry bag for my sleeping bag yesterday works well:
Gets my bag nice and small.
and a tent/mat repair kit to patch the little holes I got in my tent fly the other weekend:
Works well, the glue actually seals he hole - well 3 layers of it and the patch kinda supports it, plus some glue on the inside.
I did ask the stupid question of “is it waterproof?” - which the salesperson replied “its air proof- so I think its waterproof” Duh.
Sweet thread dig. Can someone clue me in to bivys? Hours of research has left me scared and confused. I want to get some serious ‘mountain man’ on after reading too much tour divide and there will be dirt.
Is a tarp necessary if its raining all night or are there bivys out there water proof enough but still breathable?
Other than that, what should i buy, what do you have, where can i buy it etc.