This is what I used, it’s not everything but the main things that either worked well or didn’t.
Curve Big Kev V2.
Love this bike; it has heaps of mounts, a decent size triangle for water bottles, is superbly comfortable to ride, the 53mm 29ers just ate up the bumps and endless pea gravel, made the roads a breeze, and gave such easy control through the single track. It is everything I wanted from my Diverge which it never delivered. This bike is new, the build was only finished a week or so before I came over and I love it.
Tailfin AeroPack
This is the older version of what is now the CargoPack; it’s heavy but it just seems to eat gear. I bought it for my Diverge, with the low rear tire clearance seat bags would always rub – this would not an issue with the Curve’s big triangle but I still would use the Tailfin any day. There is no feeling of sway that always happens with seat bags, it is 100% stable, love it. How to justify the new CargoPack version…
Edit: I justified it 🙂 There was a couple of things that were really annoying in the original AeroPack, mostly the straps; they wouldn’t stay over and tended to slip off the end, resulting in my sandals landing in the spokes. They now have a much better single strap in the middle. The compression system is a lot better , and they’ve reduced the volume by a litre or so, fits much better under a seat. Can’t wait to try out the new one.
Restrap Water Bottle Cages
This may seem like a strange addition but they have one feature that makes them killer. They have slots cut for the mounting point rather than just holes so you can put them lower giving space for a half frame pack. Why don’t other manufacturers do this???
Restrap Fork Bags
I changed from my normal Revelate Polecats for this ride as I wanted something big enough to carry a Jetboil, the number of days we were riding justified the weight for the gas saving. The bags did that but weren’t perfect; they are very tall and I found the strap mount points couldn’t hold them straight, I also found the included straps tended to slip in the buckles and I had to constantly tighten them. For long trips in the future I think I will use front panniers or bring a smaller stove, I only ended up boiling water anyway.
Neve Gear Waratah Quilt
Mentioning it because I love this quilt, it’s light and really flexible. Temperature varies quite a bit along this ride so having the toe box zip options worked really well.
Sea to Summit Aero Pillow
This year’s model (2026) it is so comfortable – sore necks have plagued me cycling and hiking, this solved it.
Arc’Tyrex Delta M
I know many others have said it, but I agree with them, this jacket is fantastic – it so light, small and so warm.
Nemo Dragonfly 2P
I love this tent, it replaced a Big Agnes Tiger Wall, which was good, but their is many things that are just better thought out in the Nemo. It is better ventilated, you can sit up higher, it is slightly longer – the Tiger Wall always touched my feet causing water to flow through the fly and it seems more water proof. I got wet a couple of times in the Tiger Wall, admittedly in extremely heavy rain with the water coming up through the floor. My model has now been replaced with a new one including a few more updates, have to wait a couple of years to justify an update though.
