Hello cyclotourers.
I’ve already posted in bicycletouring for other issues.
So, in just over a year’s time, I’ll be cycling from France to Japan. I’m already pretty used to month-long cycling tours, where I almost always sleep in bivouacs, but this time I need some advice for a so long year-tour.
I’m planning to set off from June 2025 to June 2026, crossing the Balkans, northern Iran, Mongolia, China, Japan.
So I’ll have both summer and winter, and I want to find the best sleeping solution that best meets these constraints:
– be synthetic (not down feather!)
– be durable to last 1 year without flinching
– not be too heavy or too bulky (I would have to carry all the items throughout my journey, without returning any of them by post at any time)
– be at best two bags/oversacks, that I can put one inside the other in winter, and only use one or the other (or even unzip it and use it as a blanket) in summer so as not to suffocate…
And all this in the knowledge that I already have a puncture-proof mattress at 2 r-value that weighs… 950 g (33.5 oz): [the Savotta sleeping mat](https://www.savotta.fi/products/fdf-sleeping-pad)
Otherwise, without being a millionaire, I can spend money here, because there’s nothing more important than sleep when cycling!
Thanks for your invaluable advice 🙂
by Key-Cash-8169
4 Comments
What an amazing-sounding trip!
If I were in your shoes, I’d take a 3-season bag with you to begin with, and plan to add another when you hit winter – as you mentioned, you can double up sleeping bags to simulate a single winter-rated bag. Just make sure one’s snug and the other’s spacious so they don’t compress too much.
For what it’s worth, I’ve been using a Snugpak Softie Elite 3 for 18 years (it’s military grade and durable enough to sleep in with your shoes on), with a 3-season down-filled mummy bag inside it for winter temperatures. Not necessarily the “best” setup, rather what works for me with the gear I have, shared for the sake of a case study.
You didn’t mention your route between Iran and China/Mongolia but presumably you’ll be in Central Asia by the end of the year? Tehran has plenty of decent outdoor stores if so. If you need more warmth earlier, there are several Decathlon superstores in Turkey. Pretty sure there are mountaineering supplies available in some of the Central Asian capitals, though I’m not the one to ask for details.
Don’t forget that you’ll need to double up on sleeping pads (mattresses) as well as bags. You’ll lose as much body heat to the ground as to the air when the temperature drops, and I doubt and R-value of 2 will be enough. Adding another closed-cell mat on top of the Savotta might do it… or perhaps you’ll be craving the comfort of an inflatable by then!
Hope that helps and good luck!
Have you considered quilts instead of a sleeping bag? You could get 2 for layering when cold. I’d get one with a sewn footbox and one without. Also an R2 pad will be quite cold.
Mountain Hardwear have always had a good rep for high quality synthetic sleeping bags. These days I predominantly use a down bag but for many years I have owned a MHW Lamina 20 synthetic bag. It is warm, comfortable and very durable and well made although obviously bulky vs a comparable down bag.
Carinthia Defence 4 + Tropen!