Bikepacking on a New Rockhopper So my bike just got stolen a week ago. A little Fixie Thruster that I put a lot of miles on commuting, and joyriding. I went as far a 250mi weekend trip on it. My gear was just kind of lashed on with in various places. I had a torn handlebar bag that I had to tie on and a little rear trunk rack.

Well I just bought a 2016 Specialized Rockhopper as a commuter and to hit the trails. I chose a hardtail 29'er so that I could go on the occasional bikepacking trip with greater efficiency. Probably not more than 10 days at a time, usually just a weekend, or week long trip. 

This is my first real MTB and I assume it will hold up well with whatever I try to do with it. So I wanna load it down, but the more I look into panniers and handlebar bags and racks and frame bags and this and that, the more lost I seem to become. 

Can some one just kind of point me in the direction of some sturdy, durable gear. Or at least what to look for when buying. I think I'm most concerned with a good set of rear panniers, a handlebar bag, and a frame bag. I can improvise for storage on the front forks and other little places. Any advice is welcome

Old setup
Bikepacking tends to be more lightweight and generally doesn't involve panniers or racks. Just look at the rigs used by tour divide riders (http://bikepacker.com/2016-tour-divide-rigs/). If you think you need pannniers, then perhaps you are talking about touring rather than bikepacking.

Bikepacking luggage will typically require one or more of the following:


handlebar harness
seatpost pack
framebag


This sort of setup is especially useful for off road/trail riding as weight is kept to a minimum and storing your heaviest items stored at the bottom of your frame bag will keep your centre of gravity low and improve handling. Something not so important in touring