Bikepacking, which has become very popular in recent years, is a fun choice for cycling buddies. It lets you cover more miles on adventures providing you to strap a load of essential camping gear to your bicycle.

Trips can lead you through some challenging terrain, and communing with nature means spending nights sleeping in a compact tent, a hammock or under a tarp.

The bikepacking concept comes from the United States, where mountain bikers on long-distance races started asking themselves where to put their gear without compromising the off-road capability of their bikes.

They came up with the idea of fixing bags not to luggage racks fore and aft, but directly to the bike frame. Thus, bikepacking was born as a cross between camping and mountain bike touring.

The best definition today would be "lightweight, multi-day bike touring, largely on dirt roads of singletrack trails."

Bikepackers do not use panniers or racks designed for road use, opting instead for lateral soft bags that can be attached directly to almost any space on the bike. In this way, the weight can be evenly distributed across the whole frame.

The bike set-ups are lighter, which makes for a more enjoyable ride, and the bags do not rattle and shake on rough roads. Less bulk makes it easier to ride through sand and up steep inclines. Some of the best bags are more aerodynamic too, which adds speed.

The leisure industry was quick to pick up on the trend, and many manufacturers offer bike-specific lightweight storage equipment for those on-the-road essentials.

The choice of bikepacking bags is huge, with makers like Vaude, Ortlieb, Revelate, Blackburn, Evoc, Topeak or Restrap offering a wide range of customized, waterproof bag solutions that can be attached to the frame, top tube, handlebars or saddle.

Before your first bikepacking adventure you will need to choose the right cross-country bike, although to be fair, any typical, good-quality hardtail mountain bike with 26-inch, 27.5-inch or 29-inch wheels will make a capable steed provided it is kitted out properly.

Make sure the bike is comfortable and the saddle is well broken in. Fixed grips and low gearing are essential, and you will need to take along a good toolkit for those remote breakdowns.

Racing bicycles with skinny tires and dropped handlebars are not suitable, and so the choice comes down to gravel bikes and rigid hardtails with or without a suspension fork. A full-suspension model will do too, although such "fullies" tend to be too heavy and they add unnecessary complexity.

What any bikepacking steed must have are fat tires, plenty of luggage mounting options, disc brake compatibility and mud clearance at the wheels.

A typical state-of-the-art bikepacking machine is the Velotraum Finder FD2 made in the German city of Stuttgart, and unusually it comes with full complement of bags.

This bike costs nearly 5,000 euros ($5800) and most people new to bikepacking will probably want to buy a cheaper bike first and add bags of their own choice.

Similar bikepacking models from other makers include the Topstone from Cannondale, the Trek Checkpoint and Kona Sultra LTD. Other solid machines include the Specialized Fuse and Trek 1120. Those with more cash to spend might like to splash out on a carbon or titanium frame for extra lightness.

All these bikes have what Velotraum CEO Stefan Stiener calls "staying power qualities." The best bikepacking models have a durable steel or aluminium frame and robust parts that can cope with offroad crud.

Hub gears are a luxury for some but a good idea for bikepacking because they are fully encapsulated. They are largely immune to dust and dirt, unlike regular derailleur gears. The rider can also change gear when the bike is stationary, which is handy when getting stuck in the sand or on a slope.

Bikes like the Finder are designed to be robust rather than light, and a typical bikepacking machine with hub gears will top the scales at between 15 and 17 kilos. Bags will push this up to around 27 kilos, which calls for careful packing. Heavy stuff should be stowed close to the center of gravity or near the axles in order to avoid adverse handling effects.

The extra weight enables the Finder to plough stoically along rutted, sandy trails. If more traction is needed, the tubeless tires fitted can be run at pressures as low as around 1 bar.

The hydraulic brakes offer excellent stopping power, and high-end models will tend to feature them. They cope well with the extra weight compared to rim brakes and need less maintenance. The carbon-belt drivetrain instead of riveted steel chain also means no rust after a ride out in wet conditions.

The Finder comes with 10 different bags supplied, including one fitted to the seatpost, which is ideal for locating a sleeping mat or bag. All the bags are firmly fixed so that they do not start moving around on strenuous out-of-the saddle sections.