Living on the road for almost 2 years really put our gear and packing solutions to the test.

We are now back home and it’s time to evaluate our choices and look at how the gear performed. You can check out my complete gear list in these posts.

I haven’t reviewed every single item – only the ones that stood out in one way or another.

If you have any questions or comments feel free to shoot.

Luggage

We were very happy with our Mosko Moto Reckless 80 setup. It gave us enough space to bring everything we needed, was easy to organize and extremely durable. Aside from the dust, my luggage still looked like new after 2 years of hard use.

Katrine had a few self-inflicted issues with her harness.
When the underlying foam wore through because of the shape of the luggage rack on her bike, Mosko replaced it and covered all expenses to get it to us in Mexico. When she mishandled a buckle so it snapped they supplied her with a new one free of charge. A crash tore the stitching on one of the legs of her harness. A local seamstress easily fixed that in Chile for a few $.

For this kind of journey I would without a doubt choose the same luggage solution again!

We used our Kriega backpacks every day on and off the bikes. They performed well but were (not surprisingly) beginning to show some wear by the end of the trip. Even though my R20 isn’t rated as waterproof, it still managed to keep my stuff dry the few times we rode in the rain.

Katrine had her R22 replaced under warranty while we were in Costa Rica – even though the damage was the result of how she had used the bag (Katrine is pretty hard on gear).

It was a pleasure to deal with both MoskoMoto and Kriega when we had issues with their products.

Riding gear

Our Shoei Hornet ADV and Cardo Freecom 4X intercom performed flawlessly.
The helmets were comfortable, well ventilated and didn’t show much wear by the end of the journey.

Sound quality and range of the intercom impressed. Battery life was outstanding. Even after long days on the bikes power only dropped to around 50% despite listening to music and podcasts all day.

We were both wearing AlpineStars Tech7 Enduro boots. I had the standard version while Katrine used the one with a waterproof membrane. I used Sealskinz socks to keep my feet dry when needed.
Katrine’s boots started leaking halfway through the trip. My socks never let me down.
We picked the heavy duty boots from a safety standpoint and they protected our feet/lower legs well. In some situations lighter/better walking boots would have been convenient, but I would probably pick the same boots again as damage to lower legs/feet is the most common injury for motorcyclists and can be a real hassle with dire consequences in less developed countries – and I would go for the non-waterproof better ventilated option.

Katrine was riding in KLIM Carlsbad Gore Tex jacket and pants. She loved it and would choose the same again.

I was also riding in KLIM Carlsbad pants but had combined it with a layering system on the upper body – more specifically an Adventure Spec Mongolia Trail mech jacket, Aqua Pac rain jacket, Baltic Hybrid mid layer and a KLIM Zephyr wind breaker.
I loved the layering system and would complete it with non waterproof pants + rain pants if I was to do a similar trip again.

Our KLIM gear was much more durable than my gear from Adventure Spec – especially the Mongolia Trail jacket didn’t age well. It faded a lot in the sun, the reflective material crumbled and some of the stitching came undone.

Clothes

7 sets of T-shirts and underwear turned out to be a good amount for us. It allowed us to smell civilized without having to do laundry too often. I find it disrespectful to subject other people to the stink of old sweat if it can be avoided.

Replacing clothes turned out to be quite a challenge in most Latin American countries for a guy of standard Scandinavian stature. Finding shoes that were big enough were nigh impossible – anything above size 44 was very hard to come by outside the main metropolitan areas. The lesson learned by that is to buy what you need when you have the opportunity and get the best quality possible.

Camping gear

We camped several times in the US, Canada, Chile and New Zealand.

Initially we set out without cooking gear but after a couple of months we decided to get a Jetboil Stash. Combined with some freeze dried food and coffee it increased our flexibility when it came to spontaneous camping if we stumbled across the right spot.

Another thing we added while in the US was an emergency blanket to place under our Big Agnes sleeping pad. It allowed us to sleep comfortably in temperatures below freezing.

Aside from the need to replace the elastic cords in the tent poles a couple of times our gear held up well. Everything is still in good shape and fully functional.

For Latin America, except Chile, I wouldn’t bring camping gear again. Cheap good accommodation is readily available even in remote areas. Sometimes you have to ask around to find it, but there is always someone prepared to earn a few $$ from a weary traveller.

Electronics

When we set out I preferred to use dedicated electronic units. I have started to change my mind.

After many years as a happy Garmin user, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s no longer the best solution. I explained why in this post.

My Canon G5X Mark II performed well and allowed me to take most of the pictures I wanted. By the end of the trip the camera had collected quite a bit of dust in the lens. To avoid that I would have needed a weather sealed camera.
Camera phones continue to improve. After we got home I sold my Canon and will try to make due with a Google Pixel 9 Pro for now. Time will tell if I’m going to miss the ergonomics and other benefits of a dedicated camera..?

I have always been a Windows person, but a great offer tempted me to try out a Macbook air for this journey.
Good screen, backlit keyboard, long battery life and decent pre-installed photo editing software won me over to the dark side. The Macbook has performed well on most accounts. A Thule Gauntlet sleeve has protected it from impact and vibration damage during the journey. Overheating because of direct sunlight has permanently damaged the screen, but it is still perfectly usable.

I never became a fan of the Mac OS user interface but have gotten used to it over time. The biggest issue for me was that the Macbook didn’t want to recognise/communicate with my Garmin unit. It was also annoying how it worked with both my camera and android phone.
My next laptop will be something Windows based.

 Tools

My tools allowed me to maintain and service the bikes. I never regretted hauling the 6 kg/13 lbs around. I had a better and more comprehensive toolkit than many professional shops I visited.
The tools I used most often were my Leatherman Charge+ and the Motion Pro Trailtool. Both did a sterling job.
I did most of our tire changes myself to make sure it was done properly. The 38 cm curved steel tire iron RTWpaul donated to me at the beginning of the trip made it so much easier to get tires off and on the rims compared to only using the shorter alu tire levers I was carrying. 
All my tools were hand picked quality products but the stuff from Motion Pro still managed to stand out. They really know what they are doing!

Miscellaneous

Bringing compact but powerful head torches was a good idea. We used it often. Whether I was working on the bikes, trying to find our way home in the dark or exploring caves deep underground they performed beautifully.

Another thing that came in handy many times were our 5 meter/16 feet – 800 kg/1.800 lbs endless ratchet straps (2 per bike). Aside from using them to tie down the bikes on ferries, I also used them to secure the bikes and lift the front or rear wheel off the ground when changing tires. They also occasionally served as additional drying lines and even towing straps when Katrine’s bike broke down in Paraguay. 

We used our bike covers almost every single night. They protected the bikes from rain and worked like invisibility blankets diverting any unwanted attention.

Never forget to bring a roll of toilet paper. Sooner or later you are going to really need it!