Mountain bike

Hardtail or full suspension? Go to the Ask the Experts section to see some info on this point.

Bike helmet

Limar, Giro, Specialized

Front light

Bright expensive systems that won't last a full night: Light & Motion, Jet Design, Trubocat, Niterider or "AA" battery poor light quality lights that will last a long time: Cateye

Rear red light

Vistalite Total Eclipse

Repair kit

Topeak Alien, spare tube, tire levers, speed patch kit, presta/shrader valve conversion thingy, spare chain link pin, Co2 cartridges, hand pump

Your bike or climbing helmet

50 ft throw bag

Stohlquist Kayaker's LifeLine Rescue Bag

Drybag

Watershed Basic Pouch, Outdoor Research Advanced Stuff Sack, Seal Line

Knife

Gerber River Shorty. Gerber Ultralight L.S.T.

Whistle

Whatever

Lifejacket

Get something light if you have to carry it; look at the Stohlquist BRIK if you don't have to carry

Certified helmet

Petzl Meteor, Ecrin Roc

Harness

You want a harness that has a few adjustments as possible and light as possible - Cassin Eolo Racing Harness or Petzl Pandion

Locking carabiners

Advanced Base Camp and Black Diamond have some real light models.

Rapelling device

Black Diamond ATC

Compass

Get one that has a built in declination adjustment - Suunto M-5DL

Headlamp

Petzl Duo or Zoom - use lithium "AA" batteries if you can b/c they are lighter, have more consistent light "quality" and work better in colder temps. Princeton Tec and others also make good headlamps.

Lighter

Get the smallest Bic you can find and see if you can get away with it. Windmill Stormproof makes a great lighter.

Fleece top

In most cases, 100 weight will be all you need; you maybe can get away with even lighter

Goretex type jacket

I prefer something that is waterproof and a bit heavier b/c hypothermia will knock you out of a race so going for a lightweight non-waterproof top could cost you a race

Medical Kit

Make your own and keep the stuff in an Aloksak bag to keep dry.

    Band aids

3-5 per person is fine

    Gauze

Get the small roll type

    Duct tape

Indispensable; cut a 3"x3" square from a stiff piece of cardboard and wrap 6 ft of duct tape around it

    Alcohol swabs

    Water purification

Xinix - it is liquid and you squirt a few drops into the water and wait just 60 seconds and you're good to go. Or you can use traditional iodine tablets.

    Aspirin

Backpack

Salomon, GoLite, Dana Racer-X

Paddle

The general opinion is that using a kayak paddle is more efficient than using a canoe paddle. You could debate that with elite kayak/canoe paddlers, but that won't do much for you. A nice 2 pc kayak paddle is the Descente Flite 5 with Hot Tipz b/c you can get it with adjustable length.

Neoprene paddling gloves

Great for cold water and preventing blisters and can be used as bike gloves

Waterproof map pouch

Seal Line and Watchful Eye make popular models; tie a loop to the pouch (if it doesn't come with a strap) with 2mm cord so you can carry the pouch around your neck

Electronic map tool

Indispensable; extremely helpful for route work; Silva makes one but you usually have to hunt around to find it.

Watch with altimeter

Indispensable; Suunto

Sunglasses with strap

You want to protect your eyes while going through woods and in rain while on your bike

Bike map case

Cycoactive makes 2 models of map cases or you can get one of the Silva or other Swedish bike orienteering holders which mount to your handlebars and rotated 360 degrees so you can always orient your map.

Thin bungy cord or surgical tubing

Used for towing on foot or bike; get it at a medical supply store and get the strongest one

Shoes

Salomon, Montrail, Merrell and lots of others. Main point is to spend time in the shoes to see how they fit. Many racers bring an additional larger pair when doing longer races to accommodate for foot swelling

Mtn bike shoes

Full bore mtn bike racing shoes are not appropriate if there is a chance your mtn bike leg will have walking in it.

Socks

Like shoes, you need to spend hours experimenting with what works for you. Coolmax and other synthetic material usually work best.

Hat

For sun protection and not a baseball hat; you may want the type that has fabric that covers the back of the neck

Bike gloves

Bike shorts

Not all bike shorts are created equally. If you skimp on crappy shorts, you may pay for it in a way you don't want to.

Lightweight nylon long pants

RailRiders, Columbia and most other outdoor apparel makers. Look for supplex material; Great b/c they weigh nothing, dry fast and protect you from the sun.

Cycling arm and leg warmers

Small, weigh nothing, good on cold nights when you need another layer; leg warmers can be put on w/o taking off shoes

Gaiters

Outdoor Research Flex-Tex are nice. Minigaitors. Main problem with gaiters is if they have a cord that runs under your shoe, there is a good chance it will break which makes the gaiter sorta useless. Joe Dana makes a pair that velcros to your shoe so there is no cord.

Gore-tex socks

Very useful if you will be in a wet climate; some racers use them in all conditions over a thin liner sock

Water bladders

The new Omega model bladders from Camebak have a big opening so they are easier to fill. Some racers don't trust bladders b/c they can break/leak.

Water bottles

Bottles are a lot easier to deal with in a race than a bladder. Just pull it out and fill it up. No struggling with getting out and stuffing back in a bladder.

Cable/zip ties

Indispensable; can be used in many ways; put some in your pack and have a few taped to your bike helmet for easy access

Floor bike pump

You need this for pre-race in case you need to pump up a tire

Electrolyte pills

E-Caps or Succeed are used by lots of racers. Indispensable; shouldn't race without them.

Anti-chafe lube

Hydropel, Sports Slick and others. Indispensable; used to provide a protective barrier for feet, ass and other areas; some racers swear by Balmex which is used for diaper rash

Spare bulbs for all your lights

Carry 1 for each light and make sure you test them before the race

Baby wipes

Put them in a ziplock.

Stuff to make your skin sticky

Tincture of benzoine. Get the small plastic bottle; used to keep duct tape on and cover blisters.

Safety pins

Used for popping blisters

Waterproof bags

Aloksak from Watchful Eye. These are freezer bags on steroids. Stonger and really waterproof. They come in different sizes.

Freezer bags

Can be used for other stuff where all hell won't break loose if it gets wet.

Large heavy duty garbage bags

Used to put your dirty stuff into after race; you can use them as "dry bags" in some races.

Towel

Used in post-race cleanup

Extra pair of shoe laces

Would hate to be halfway through a race a trash a lace and not have a replacement