Bikepacking Gear Trends of 2025 and Beyond

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Well that was fast! There goes another year. As we unpack our bikepacking gear and start dreaming up next year’s adventures, I’m here to share the biggest trends I’ve noticed in the cargo-carrying updates of 2025.

In addition to running this website I’m also the creator of bikepackbaggregator.com, the web’s biggest bikepacking gear directory. In 2025 I manually entered hundreds of bikepacking products into the Baggregator database, reading the specs and features of each and every one.

As some of you know, I also had a baby this year, which meant less time on the bike and more time at home vicariously nerding out on the latest bikepacking news. (Side note: I’ve got bike plans for 2026…)

So in short, I’ve been following it all way too closely and this is my take. These trends are broad, gaining steam over the last few years and further blossoming in 2025, and I expect them to continue in 2026. I hope my thoughts help you ponder what you want from your bikepacking gear, next year and beyond.

One last thing: Those of you who’ve followed me for years know my original message was “Don’t worry so much about gear and don’t spend a ton of money, just get out there.” I still stand by that! I have come to appreciate the benefits of great gear, and I now follow the industry closely, but that’s still my message to beginners. Here are some budget bikepacking tips and places to buy used gear for anyone who needs them.

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Usability Over Weight Savings

Once upon a time “bikepacking” diverged from “touring” and the focus was on packing light and tight for rugged trails. Bikepackers eschewed any gear that had rigid parts or non-essential layers of fabric, or was large and convenient enough to actually pack and unpack easily.

Now that off-road bike adventures are closer to mainstream, gear companies are circling back around to usability.

The resurgence of racks (more on this next) is one clear example. To be user-friendly, our gear need enough capacity for all the stuff we need and want to carry. Though I strongly encourage packing light when appropriate, sometimes it’s not enjoyable or even possible stuff all the things into a soft bag setup.

Another usability win is the move from single piece bag-and-straps designs to holster/harness and bag combos, for example holster-style seat bags. These systems let us carry bags into the tent or motel for packing and unpacking, because it sucks stuffing big things into small bags while they’re still attached to our bikes, especially when it’s raining. For recent examples see Dispersed’s Dropper Seat Bag, Tailfin’s meticulously engineered Bar Cage System, and the holster-style panniers Revelate Designs just launched in November.

Quick-Release Fork Bags

If I had to pick one niche sub-category in our already niche gear space that made big gains in 2025, it’s the quick release fork bag.

Though the classic cargo cage and strap setup remains popular, a growing number of specialized mount systems allow riders to pop their fork bags on and off without futzing with straps (a surprisingly big “quality of life” improvement on the trail, in my opinion). Many of these fork bags are on the larger side, blurring the line between fork bag and mini pannier and offering more capacity in stable dirt-friendly form.

The obvious leader of this pack (pun intended…) in 2025 was Old Man Mountain. Launched in early 2025, their FLiP Cage and Hemlock Fork Bag together form a QR mount fork bag system, and the FLiP cage can be used as a standalone cargo cage for a bottle or other bag.

In an unusual move that’s right in line with OMM’s focus on compatibility, they opened their FLiP mount system to any interested gear makers. This led to a handful of other compatible QR fork bags launched in 2025, enough that I finally had to create a Baggregator category for them.

Topeak and Restrap also launched QR offerings in 2025 using their own mount systems, the QR Fork Dry Bag Bolt-On and Switch Pannier respectively. Combine these with the highly engineered Tailfin Fork Packs from 2023, the pioneering Ortlieb Fork Packs from a few years earlier, and the budget-friendly Rhinowalk alternative, and you now have a whole genre of strapless bolt-on fork packs to choose from.

QR fork bags aren’t quite as versatile and affordable as a classic cage + dry bag combo, especially if you’re constantly mixing up your gear for different trips and capacity needs. But their convenience and usability are definitely worth a look. If I were building a setup from scratch today I would definitely be considering them.

Doubling Down on Rackpacking

If going rack-free was an early hallmark of the bikepacking boom, dirt-friendly and versatile rack setups are a sign of its mainstream maturation.

As more riders enter the sport and travel longer distances in remote places, folks are refusing to reduce their cargo into the limited space of a seat bag. And for some of us, especially those of shorter stature or running dropper posts and rear suspension, being followed around by a big droopy 16 liter seat bag is neither appealing nor even possible.

Bikepacking-friendly racks aren’t brand new, but they’re certainly growing more popular and increasingly versatile. A quick scan through the Baggregator community setup directory shows over HALF of those real-world setups using some kind of rack.

The off-road rackpacking boom is largely fueled by universal mount racks that don’t need eyelets the way traditional touring racks do, opening up more options for folks on mountain and gravel bikes and, well, any bikes really. Old Man Mountain, Tailfin, and Aeroe offer well-known choices in the dirt-focused world and the category is still expanding, with Ortlieb recently adding larger MTB-friendly sizes to their Quick Rack line.

Smaller, dirt-friendly panniers that attach with straps have been around for awhile, but 2025 saw important updates including MLD’s Poco Panniers v3 and San Util’s Mini Pannier v2. The year’s biggest pannier news dropped recently in November with Revelate’s long-awaited Portage Panniers, joining Rockgeist’s Microwave Panniers as the only holster-style bikepacking-focused pannier options (for now…).

Purpose-built rack top bags are horning in on the old dry bag and straps setup, fitting right in with the recent focus on usability. See OMM’s Altlas Rack Pack launch in February, and Tailfin’s split of their AeroPack into the CargoPack and SpeedPack, as examples.

Front racks are also still going strong. Though not necessarily new in 2025, the trend of pizza racks, basket-compatible racks, rack-supported handlebar bags, and stabilized front bags continues.

Racks With Cargo Cage Mounts

The coolest rack trend I’ve been watching lately: racks with 3-pack mounts on the sides instead of pannier rails. These minimalist cargo cage racks allow us to mount cargo cages (or quick-release fork bags) in the rear too, or in front on forks without mounts.

Tumbleweed’s T Rack was an early pioneer and OMM’s Elkhorn was a popular addition in 2022 (I personally love the Elkhorn). The category is still expanding, with Mica’s Rat Tail in 2024 and creative additions from Velo Orange, Hunter Cycles, and Relentless Components in 2025. Versatility is key with many of these racks, inviting cyclists to get their money’s worth by mixing and matching gear for a variety of riding styles and trips, not to mention the daily commute.

I really like this type of rack for off-pavement trips where just a bit more capacity is needed. I already have a pile of cargo cages and straps, so running cages both front and back is simple and cost effective.

For a super user-friendly setup with more space than soft bags and a slimmer profile than most panniers (helpful on those gnarly hike a bikes) you could attach larger QR fork bags and still have the rack deck as overflow space. Especially for folks on smaller bikes, this type of setup is a game changer!

Gear With Personality

If you’re shopping for bikepacking gear in the mainstream spots, you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s ALL black and grey. My first budget-conscious setups were depressingly drab, but at the time I was all about function over form. It wasn’t until I splurged on a titanium bike and looked into custom frame bags that I realized what I was missing!

Small gear makers with character and flair are not new, but every year more of them enter the fray. I’ve put a ton of them from around the world into the Baggregator database this year. On Baggregator you can filter to find handmade gear by small companies, even narrowing down by country of manufacture, and most importantly COLOR! For example, here’s a list of top tube bags handmade by small companies and available in purple. You’re welcome.

To highlight just a couple examples, outside-the-box Utah gear maker Fish Ski Designs made waves with their clever and colorful Backpack Pannier in 2025. Even the larger gear makers are getting into it, with Wolf Tooth kicking off the year by updating their simple and functional Morse Cargo Cage in several fun colors.

An intriguing trend I’ve noticed recently in the world of small custom gear makers: double frame bags. I don’t mean two zippers with an internal divider; I’m talking completely separable, modular, two-in-one frame bag systems, like the Spooner from Broadfork Bags. If your frame triangle is big enough to make use of this clever innovation, I’m jealous! :)

Mid-Tier Mainstream Brands

Compiling a bikepacking setup can get spendy very fast! I’m all for supporting small makers and enjoying highly engineered premium gear, but for many folks it just doesn’t make sense to drop that kind of cash.

That’s why I’ve been glad to see a number of mainstream outdoor brands getting into the mix lately. These companies use their established manufacturing processes and distribution networks to offer reliable bikepacking gear at reasonable prices. They’re a cut above the bargain-basement Amazon and AliExpress finds (not knocking these, they can offer good value for money) but more affordable than many small niche brands that can’t afford to run at slimmer profit margins.

I’m thinking specifically of Camelbak and Osprey, both of which launched their first bikepacking-specific bags in 2024. And Decathlon, especially popular in Europe as a broadly forucsed affordable outdoor gear brand, launched their ADVT 900 bikepacking bags in summer 2025.

These offerings join the likes of Topeak, Blackburn, Deuter, Zefal, REI Co-op branded gear, and others as sensible choices for anyone who doesn’t want to spend top dollar. Pro tip: use the “sort by price” option on Bikepack Baggregator to find these types of offerings at the top of the page; here’s an example for seat bags.

Local, Sustainable, and Handmade

As consumers grow more savvy about the mechanics of markets, people are choosing to support smaller makers who produce their gear locally.

I’m not going to get on a soapbox about this. My early bikepacking setup consisted almost entirely of Chinese-made bags from Amazon, and it was the perfect affordable entry into the bikepacking world. In my opinion, do what you gotta do to get out there.

However, for folks with more cash to spend and the desire to put it toward making today’s crazy world a little bit better, it’s rewarding to support a smaller local gear maker. Most of these folks are basically artists pouring their creativity and ingenuity into custom or small-batch gear.

Their prices are often higher, but that’s how it works when you make gear by hand in countries with higher cost of living. In return you get unique, handcrafted gear with character and sometimes genuine innovation worthy of bigger companies. I’m thinking of Dispersed’s dropper seatbag, South City Stitchworks’ rack harness, Fish Ski Designs’ backpack pannier, and other unique offerings that just might be exactly what you need.

To help you find these types of gear makers, Baggregator has pages for handmade bikepacking gear, gear organized by manufacturing country, and (for US-made gear) by manufacturing state.

Many companies both big and small are taking steps to make their gear and processes more sustainable. I’m not well-versed enough to know which efforts go beyond marketing to drive real change, but I support the concept. Fabrics made from recycled bottles, sailcloth, and even fire hoses (I recently learned about Hikes and Hose, a small shop in Pennsylvania) offer excellent material performance and the satisfaction of taking a small part in a larger effort.

In Conclusion

I say this every year, and every year it’s true: we’ve never had a better range of gear options to choose from. These trends toward daily usability, adequate capacity, and personal expression will benefit all types of pedal-powered adventurers.

If you need help sorting through the many options – I know it can feel overwhelming sometimes – may I humbly suggest bikepackbaggregator.com. Or send me a message here on my contact page. I’m always happy to help.

More Bikepacking Resources

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• 9 Surprisingly Simple Supplies in my Bikepacking Repair Kit
• Central Asia Bikepacking Part 2: Kyrgyzstan’s Stunning Tian Shan Traverse
• Best Bikepacking Bikes: A Terrain-First Approach to Choosing Your Steed
• How I Pack for Bikepacking (Visual Guide)

Or visit the bikepacking home page for LOTS more!