you might also contact big agnes, their customer service is pretty good and they might be willing to repair/replace it for you for cheap/nothing.

For a long term repair, I would sew it together and then tape it, or better yet, get some adhesive nylon tape and then sew it to reinforce it. Tenacious tape and the like is great for repairs in the field, but if you have time and resources, I prefer sewn repairs for long term results.

Go for it, we did a few shorter test runs to get a feel for things, and we honestly didn't ride too long, but I figure it's a start and a place to build from. As long as they're mostly having fun, they'll keep coming back for more. Next time I plan to take more to do in the campsite, and tastier food options. A deck of cards and some mac and cheese would go a long way, I think.

He seemed to get tired as we got close to the car on the second day, but the promise of a snow cone managed to get us the rest of the way home.

I've been itching to get out for some bike packing, and my wife has been working every third weekend leaving me unattended with the kiddo (dangerous at the best of times) So I decided that next time she had to work, I'd take him out for a bit of an adventure. We did a couple of day rides with the tag-along bike and when the weekend came, we were off.

We started at big slackwater boat ramp and camped at horseshoe bend campsite for a total of about 5 miles ridden each day, but it's a start. The C&O is a nice flat trail with river views and lots of amenities like water pumps and port-a-poties, though it doesn't feel nearly as wild as the colorado trail where I've done most of my bikepacking, nor is the riding nearly as interesting. But for a first trip, things went pretty well and I think we can work up to bigger days and longer trips, especially if he'd pedal a bit once in a while

Guess I oughtta be more careful with my wording.... Rab acutally makes a tarp that looks similar to this, but I've heard that nets like this (without a floor) don't work well in the woods because bugs are able to get under the net. Have you ever used a floorless net? It does seem like the simplest solution, but also the least effective.

I've had my eye on this one, but confess that I haven't seen it in person. https://www.rei.com/product/148793/rei-co-op-magma-trail-quilt-30 it looks pretty decent, light, and if you don't like it, you can always just return it.

I'm planning my first bikepacking trip with my 4 year old. We're planning on riding a portion of the C&O canal in Maryland/virgina. It's going to be fun, but the bugs are definitely out here and I'd rather not take a tent if I can avoid it. Does anyone have a lightweight bug net or shelter that they like? I usually camp under a tarp, so I figure I can just put a bug net under the tarp.

I'm looking at the MSR thru hiker mesh house 3 (cause more space is always nice) but it's kind of pricey, and since it's set up with trekking poles, I feel like it'll take a little innovation with sticks, trees, or carrying trekking poles. Has anyone else used it?

I also like the sea to summit escapist, but it's even more pricey and I wonder about how durable ultralight shelters will be with a 4 year old using the zippers.

Any and all opinions appreciated.

I'm headed to big bend ranch state park next month for a couple of days, I don't think there's more than 4 or 5 days worth of riding there though. If you have time/money, you might consider a tour of arizona, new mexico, and west texas depending on how much time you have.

I think you'd be fine doing that. I've got 3 years of riding roughly 3 times a week for 3 hours at a time on my fork (FOX CTD evolution 100mm) and all I've ever done to it is change the oil in the lowers. It's definitely due for a service/rebuild but honestly still works just fine.

stay away from WTB tires, I love stans wheels and WTB tires, but they don't play well together

Another option is http://www.bedrockbags.com/gear/honaker-bot-bag to get you some more capacity. I think the most obvious and least elegant solution for you is to wear a backpack with a bladder. Maybe something slimmer than the osprey, like a camelback classic?

The Trek 1120 looks like a pretty sweet bike, and if you can afford it, I say go for it. you can buy a set of revelate bags for nearly any bike out there, so I lean more towards picking a bike that you'd like to ride.

Right now I'm riding a Diamondback overdrive carbon, it's basically a hard tail 29er cross country bike. I normally just ride for a few hours several times a week, but I slap on my bags, add a bit of air to my tires, and I'm set to go bike packing.

As long as the bike fits you and is mechanically sound, you can bike pack with it without rebuilding it.

I'm planning a few days of bikepacking in december, in big bend texas, and the tires I have on my bike right now (WTB Vigilante's) are a bit on the worn side, and it bit knobbier than I think I need, so I thought I'd pick up some new tires. Has anyone used the conti x-kings? they look pretty decent, but I've never ridden their mtn bike tires before, though I like their road tires.

Also, I use tubes, is there any reason to not get a wire bead tire? My vigilante's are tubeless compatible and they're a pita to seat the bead on the rim.

It's not coffee, but have you considered Yerba Mate? I found a silicone gourd on amazon that should pack/travel well. Then all you need are some tea leaves and hot water. It's pretty easy to scatter the tea leaves so there's no trash to carry and I think it probably has more caffine than coffee.

There's nearly unlimited possibilities in that part of the state depending on what you're up for. My first thought was to ride to aspen via gothic rd (I think) or there's a lot of dirt roads with dispersed camping west of crested butte, or I'd bet you could link up a few trails to make a nice trip with some quality single track.

I have the BA fly creek UL2 and it's a great tent, though I've never taken it bikepacking. A tent definitely offers a feeling of more security and more bug protection than a tarp. Tarps are usually lighter and offer more space per pound.  Have you looked at Ray Jardine's tarp design? as far as I know it's not commercially available, so You'd have to sew it, or find someone to sew it. Crazy Creek makes a tarp with the same design but  it's urethane coated nylon instead of silnylon and it looks like you have to buy it with a hammock. Here's a link to a picture of a ray way tarp. http://www.scotthearn.com/WALKABOUTBLOG/content/binary/2007/AT%20Gear%20List/Scott%204.JPG

Tons of coverage and the ends are semi closed off. The other tarp I like is the Rab/Integral designs (2 names for the same company) sil tarp 2 It's an 8x10 foot silnylon tarp that weighs 13ozs and packs up pretty small. It's a simple rectangle shape so you can pitch it a lot of different ways. I usually pitch it in an A frame configuration, but sometimes in a lean-to shape works better given the trees and terrain.

Tarps take more thought and finesse than free standing tents but they can be just as dry and comfortable, and are easier to set up while its raining than a tent. If you pitch it low, it's almost as much psychological shelter as a tent.

nice! sounds like a good test! You might try and vent your fly some, some condensation is inevitable, especially in winter, but if you can increase air circulation a bit, you should decrease ice build up and stay warmer too.

As far as setting up in the rain, taking a tarp to set your tent up under is definitely an option, other options are to lay the fly over the tent and pole while you set it up. Or my prefered method is to find a sheltered spot, under a tree or rock, and set the tent up with the fly in the sheltered area, and then put it where I want it to be. Obviously, you need to be careful if there's lightning around. The other option is to keep moving hoping that the rain stops before you absolutely have to stop and set up camp.

I like tyvek 1443R (http://www.amazon.com/Kitemaking-Material-Durable-Lightweight-Breathable/dp/B00JBBOAM8/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1456726255&sr=8-4&keywords=tyvek) it's not crinkly like house wrap, but thick enough and reasonably light/compact.

I also think you could make a decent footprint with the nylon and some sewing/ingenuity that doesn't weigh much.

I used to guide alot, and really wore out my gear so I religiously bought and used footprints that were made for the tent and managed to get 500-600 days use out of some tents, so I do think that ground cloths work reasonably well. I've gotten to the point now though if I really want to save weight, I'll go without the footprint/ground cloth and just put the tent on the ground. If you're going to use the tent alot, this might not be the best solution, but if it's going to be your dedicated fast and light tent, I think it's ok. Or use a ground cloth when weight and space aren't at such a high premium, and don't use it when they are. You do have to be a bit more careful about where you put your tent, and maybe spend a minute or two clearing/checking the spot, but honestly, I see it as a chance to improve your camp craft. If your tent floor gets a hole, it's not terribly hard to patch, and if it looses it's waterproofing there's ways to rewaterproof it (use urethane, not DWR). Most people's tents get retired due to damage from poor storage, zippers breaking, poles breaking, or holes in the fly, very few tents are retired because of floor damage so I don't think it's super critical to reinforce the floor.

What kind of trip are you looking to do? While it's not the ideal bike for a trip, I don't see why your bike couldn't work for some types of trips.

you might be able to remove the valve stem core and see if you can see sealant in there, or make a little come out by squishing the tire. Or I think you'd be able to hear the sealant swishing around in the tire if you took it off the bike, but I'm not 100% sure on that.