Comfortably Dominate Bikepacking Trips With the Unbelievable Bikamper Tent

The nifty little invention I'll be bringing to your attention today is known as the Bikamper from Topeak, a manufacturer of cycling accessories for over 30 years and counting. If you break down the word “Bikamper,” you’ll notice the word “bike” and the word “camper,” all neatly wrapped up into one self-explanatory package. I think you understood all of what you can do with this invention just from the above words, but it’s time to dive deeper.

Some people know what it’s like to ride a bike for hours on end and finally need to rest in some hotel, or lug around a heavy tent that makes your ride seem that much harder. Well, the Bikamper replaces the massive tent, the hotel room, and above all, the costs, in the process offering you an experience that’s one with nature.

To make things as easy to understand as possible, this bikepacking tent will be making use of the bike you’re riding to be set up. To get to the point, don’t start thinking you’ll be dishing out some enormous price to enjoy your trips on this level, instead, just put aside your lunch money for a week or two as the Bikamper is only going to run you $250 (€211 at current exchange rates).

So what are you getting for this price? Well, the first thing is a three-season tent. basically, if you can ride your bike outside, you can use this tent. With a 45D 210T ripstop nylon canopy with 2,500 mm PU, you should be fine even if it rains. The floor is 70D 201T taffeta nylon with 3000 mm PU. Unless the next great flood is coming through, you should be fine. The fly is completed from 70D 190T ripstop nylon with 2,500 mm PU as well.

As I stated earlier, the Bikamper will be making good use of your bike. By using your handlebars, fork, seat, to apply the fly, and front tire as a set of tent poles, this structure does two things, it reduces the amount of weight you have to carry with you, and at the same time reduces the chances of your bike getting stolen by wandering “bears.”

As for a sleeping space, the tent offers 1.6 sq m (17.2 sq ft) of room and is only suitable for one person, comfortably. However, seeing as how everyone will be riding their own bikes, this shouldn’t be an issue. If it is, the team at Topeak also include trekking trailers in case you’re planning for a longer trip.

Once inside, you’ll find a couple of mesh panels to keep insects out while offering ventilation, but foremost, this mesh is also good for gazing at the night sky. If weather gets nasty, throw on the fly. There is no mention of any padding on the floor, so you'll have to bring a floor mat along, but with a total weigh of no more than 3.26 lbs (1.48 kg) with everything, this tent is sure to please a whole lot of people.

One thing that I find nice about this trinket is that you can just throw it onto your bike and forget it’s even there. When you need it, deploy it and enjoy your evening. Sure, there may be bigger, and more versatile tents out there, but so far, I have seen none other that do what the Bikamper does for bike-packing. Go my fellow readers and explore like never before.