Bikepacking is a way to travel with your bicycle while staying as self-sufficient as you can. You carry your tent, sleeping bag, food and cooking equipment on your bicycle. 

Though this is just a label and your definition may vary from mine. For example, I stay in hotels now and then. It helps to recharge on longer trips, especially after a few nights in the tent.

In short - bikepacking is freedom. Even more so if you can wild camp in nature, away from all the chaos related to busy urban environments. 

There is also another angle to this how you carry your luggage on your bicycle. Classical cycle touring mostly involves panniers (racks) and pannier bags, which allow you to carry more, while arguably limiting your abilities to go offroad due to weight distribution being uneven and increased likelihood of frame or panniers snapping at the fitting points.

Luggage setup

Pictures of this article, show my beloved Marin Pine Mountain loaded for a week in the Scottish Highlands. We can split the luggage distribution into 3 main segments:

1. Saddle bag. I use it for soft items like a tent. The size of such bags is usually limited, so you need to be smart about this and try to load it to the max as that makes it less wonky and wobbly when cycling. 

2. Frame bag. Super useful for tent poles and some water. Generally, it's a good idea to put heavier items there as it's the centre of your bike, which helps to handle it better.

3. Handlebar bag.  The size you can put on will vary depending on your bike's handlebars. Flat ones can take bigger bags, while dropped ones will limit the width of your bag a little bit. This is where I keep my sleeping bag, some spare clothing and food I will eat while camping at the end of the day. Snacks should go somewhere else, where
   you  can access them  quickly, without removing/opening the handlebar 
   bag. 

I also use some smaller ones, like the top tube bag and a few extra pouch-type bags if need to carry more stuff for that trip. In an ideal world, you don't want to carry a backpack for longer rides, though that will depend on how much you can squeeze on your bike.

If you end up carrying your backpack, put items that you need to survive as a priority: a first aid kit, power bank, emergency phone, some cash, water filter, medicine if you need it for your condition.

This is important in case you have some emergency or simply wake up with your bicycle stolen in the middle of nowhere. Always keep that backpack on you or inside your tent/ bivy bag while sleeping.