Badger Divide Kit List
I rode the Badger Divide in May – this is the best time to do anything in the Scottish highlands; period. The days are warm enough & nights are cool enough to keep the midge away. General rule is to expect 4 seasons in the same day in Scotland – so my Badger Divide kit list reflects this.
My Badger Divide Kit List up was branded ‘light’ by other riders, but I thought it heavy to be honest. It was pretty cold with the wind, so I was glad for layers. I build & maintain my own bikes, therefore tend to be quite over cautious with tools & spares – not because I don’t trust my handiwork, but because I have it & think I’ll be annoyed if I need it and don’t take it!
I planned to wildcamp most nights, the distances at which I had identified were a bit away from towns with pubs/eateries. Therefore a stove and some dehydrated meals were the solution. Taking a stove also meant I could have coffee whenever I wanted; more than good enough reason to carry it!
Here is my Badger Divide kit list & how I packed it;
- Apidura bar bag: Thermarest Vesper UL32, Exped SynMat HL, Montane Prism primaloft smock & additional warm/evening off-bike layers.
- Apidura frame pack: personal hygiene ‘stuff’, first aid kit, battery pack, chain lube.
- Apidura top tube pack: midge net, head torch, cables/plug socket.
- Apidura accessory pack: dehydrated meals x4 & coffee paraphernalia.
- Salomon skin 5; 2l water bladder + water filter, day snacks & pump, Inov8 stormshell waterproof. I ride small frames, so better water storage – for me.
- Tools (pliers, multitool, levers, chain tool, needle/thread, tubeless plugs, tyre boot) will be in a Lezyne Flow bottle cage tool holder thingy.
- Tailfin: Terra Nova Laser Compact 1, Primus Lite+ stove, bike spares (mech hanger, cleats, gear cable, brake pads etc.), additional base layers, socks & undershorts.
Stuart, who works at Shand Cycles, probably won’t be best pleased that I took my Pace hardtail instead of my own Shand up to do his ride! My reasoning being that it was my first ‘big’ multi-day ride post brain haemorrhage, I therefore wanted a wide range drivetrain to make my life as easy as possible! Other plans later this year involve riding my 29er silly distances, so it made sense to get used to it. XC tires are perfect for bikepacking, ‘gravel’ tires are not. Mezcal/Barzo combination went well for this route (they always do!) I like the comfort of higher volume & added puncture protection – where those on skinny tyres would be on the brakes, cautiously slowing down over long & fast descents for fear of puncturing, I could just let it fly.
