John O’Groats to Land’s End Kit List

Here you will find my John O’Groats to Land’s End kit list showing everything I took on my trip.

In the months prior, leading up to cycling End to End, I made a spread sheet and jotted down everything I thought I would need, mainly essentials, but over time the list grew a lot. Even Leading up to the off I found myself remembering to pick up other bits and pieces that I might need, ittle things like tape, extra rags, toilet tissue, the kitchen sink!

It got to a point where I could have gone on and on, squeezing more into every nook and cranny of my already bulging bags. The whole idea to begin with was to pack as light as possible. It got to a point where I just had to say enough! If I needed anything then I would pick it up on route. My bike weighed an absolute ton!

I managed to squeeze all of my equipment into 4 bike packing bags, a 17L saddle bag, 3L frame bag, 14L handlebar bag and 1L top tube bag. Plus, I took a 10L backpack. Apidura caught my eye when initially looking into which bike packing bags to purchase. They come across as a very professional company, their products are well tested and seem very popular within the bike packing community.

Although expensive, they do a multiple range of bags in different price scales. More information can be found on the following links. For me, it was between the Expedition Series (Waterproof) or the Backcountry Series (Weatherproof).

From my numerous past experiences of the Scottish climate, the bags needed for my clothes and sleeping system would definitely need to be waterproof! I decided on purchasing the Expedition Series (waterproof) saddle bag and Handlebar pack. The frame pack would be the 3 litre Backcountry Pack, this would hold tools, spare parts and items that didn’t matter if they got wet. I made an exception to the top tube pack, I went with Topeak Toploader bag at only £25.99, a fraction of what Apidura charge, and a fantastic choice.

Little did I know that I would experience 8 days of, near enough, torrential rain. I must say that I was very glad and happy with my purchases. The waterproof bags stood up fantastically in the awful weather I endured coming down through Scotland. Normally, I find when waterproof material becomes fully saturated it eventually seeps through; everything remained completely dry.

The following shows all my kit you should probably think about taking, split into the packs, which worked for me. The items are affiliate links where you can purchase on Amazon.