I chose this phone because it has a good Camera and one of the best battery life for a comparable phone. It also has a slot to take a micro SD memory card. I filled this with 128Gb card which allowed plenty of space for the photos I intended to take. It is also possible to download large files such as maps onto the memory card. The memory card can be read from a computer without installing special software using a standard USB to micro USB cable. This came in handy when I wanted to print out maps I had downloaded at Internet Café. The phone is also waterproof. I preferred not to rely on this and placed the phone in a waterproof holder during wet weather but it was useful insurance.
The micro SD card also provides additional hope of recovering files in the event of the phone being dropped and damaged. If a phone gets damaged it is a specialist job to recover information from built-in memory whilst a micro-SD card can simply be removed and put in another phone or a memory card reader slot found in many laptops and available as USB adaptors. The phone was also set to back-up to online storage whenever Wi-Fi was available.
I had the phone inside a rubberised case with solid flip front. A Quad Lock handlebar attachment was fixed to the back of this with the permanent double sided tape supplied with the fixing. I found the flip front essential to stop the phone screen acting as a solar panel and overheating the phone in the intense sun of Asia. I used the Quad Lock fixing in dry weather. During wet weather I used an unbranded clip on drybag I obtained from Amazon.
When crossing the Pamirs where there was no phone coverage outside the solar powered mini cells in the few villages, I set the phone to Airplane mode so that it was not wasting power hunting for a non-existent signal.
Panniers - Carradice Super C
For most of the trip I used Carradice Super C panniers front and back. I organised stuff on the inside in lightweight dry bags. I found that any damp clothes could be put outside the dry bags at the tops of the panniers and would dry quite well on warm days. The pannier material was very durable and survived the trip. I used the older style C system pannier clips as I preferred the security of each pannier hook being individual locked to the rack rather than open hooks with central quick clip the bags are shipped with. Although the quick clip seemed very secure, I was worried that over very ruff ground, flex of the pannier and rack combined may allow the clip to jump past the rack top rail.
I used 4 panniers as I felt this would distribute the weight better. I could have fitted my kit in two back panniers with a rack top bag or rucksack fixed above the panniers leaving the front free. I took a shoulder strap with D ring hook at each end. I could clip the D ring into the C system hooks on the panniers to use as a shoulder bag when off the bike.
At the start of the trip I used Carradice rucksack panniers at the front. They were very convenient for off bike use but were a bit large for front panniers and could catch cross winds causing a bit of buffet on the steering. Because they were quite large and not fully loaded the top was rolled down tightly, this caused the bags to split where the roll top bent down over the edges of the rigid back. Whilst in Bangkok, I took the opportunity to replace these with Carradice super C front panniers. If they made a Super C version of the rucksack pannier I would certainly have used it at the back.
Stove - Primus Multi Fuel
I took a Primus multi-fuel stove with fuel bottle to burn petrol. Before flying the fuel bottle should be filled to the brim with water or other incombustible liquid and then emptied to purge it of vapour. The stove didn’t see that much use as I only camped a few times. The most use was burning off unwanted fuel before unplanned flight transfers. I purchased fuel in Bishkek for the leg over the Himalayas. I found that this kept sooting up and needed frequent cleaning. Other Primus users report just the same issues with this fuel on various internet forums. I had read this in advance so purchased the higher grade, higher octane petrol to try and avoid this but may have in fact been worse. All previous petrol had burned without a problem.
I used the Primus heat exchanger pot that uses very thin radiator type fins around the lower edges to maximise heat transfer. When I used this to make tea whilst camping in the mountains in Laos, the villagers were most interested in the speed with which it boiled water.
Tent - Hubba Hubba NX
I took a Hubba Hubba NX tent. I took the two man variant as it allowed me to keep panniers safely inside. The weight gain over the one man version is small. The down side is the packed size is larger. I carried the fabric parts in a front pannier. The poles only just fitted diagonally across a back pannier. The tent seems to have survived the trip. In the end I only used it a couple of times.
Pump - Topeak Turbo Morph
I used a Topeak Turbo Morph with gauge. A good pump that is easily capable of pumping up the tyres is essential as this sees routine use during a long distance trip and is not just to get you home following a flat tyre as might be the case cycling closer to home. The Turbo Morph is a mini track pump which turned out to be ideal whilst the gauge helps obtain the correct pressure and is much more accurate than a finger. It is best to mount the pump away from mud, water and spray. I prefer to have the pump and puncture repair kit directly on the bike so that when using the bike on a day trip without the panniers, the pump and puncture kit will not be forgotten.
Other Tools
Ratchet Rocket CX - Mini ratchet with extension
Small spanner to fit brake hose unions and M5 nuts.
Tyre Levers plus spare
Chain tool
Pliers (lightweight Aluminium fishing type primarily for extracting thorns, staples from tyres)
Pen Knife with locking main blade, flat screwdriver, Philips screwdriver and saw.
Spokey Spoke-key
Bicycle Spares
Spare chain KMC X1 (Rohloff sprockets are reversible)
2 inner tubes
1 Tyre
3 Good quality puncture repair kits
2 pairs tyre levers
1 rear length brake hose
Assorted brake hose joiners and unions
Gear Cable X 2
Rohloff Oil
Dry chain lube
Assortment of M5 bolts of the sizes used to fix the pannier racks and other fixings
Brake Pads
Plastic wedges to go in brake calipers during transit
Locktite for initial bike assembly only, then threw away.