Camping

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. . . .Choosing a Backpacking Pack for Hiking

This is beginning to sound like one of those tongue twisters – “how many backpackers backpacking packs can a backpacker pack” – try repeating that quickly after a few glasses of wine . . . 

Backpacking and hiking is great fun and just about anybody can do it, you can enjoy your first hiking and backpacking experience whilst you’re very young in a baby backpack or when you’re of more advancing years, because you can start slowly at your own pace with a small day pack (just somewhere to carry your suncream, water, sandwiches, hat and other hiking necessities) for a couple of hours, or once you’ve really been bitten by the backpacking bug you can embark on a real wilderness adventure carrying everything in your backpacking pack that you could possibly need for your survival and comfort over the next few days on the trail.

Choosing Your Hiking Back Pack

So how do you go about choosing the best backpack for your hiking experience? What sort of things should you look for when you first enter that wonderful world of outdoor stores and start choosing your hiking equipment?

Backpacks need to carry a whole array of necessities (and a couple of luxuries too) for your hiking trip, in the most comfortable way possible, that’s what a back pack is for, that’s a backpacks job, it’s what packs live for  . . .

Size matters (the size of your backpack smutty . . .) if you’ll just let me finish, bigger is not always better (there, now you’re feeling silly aren’t you?) Choosing the right size of backpack is probably going to be your first consideration. You could start by asking yourself:

How many days will my backpacking trip be? 

• The majority of backpackers and hikers do tend to stick to shorter trips, perhaps just a couple of days hiking (typically a weekend), so many backpacks are designed to carry enough hiking equipment for a trip over 2 - 4 days (up to 3 nights of camping in the back country) in moderate season conditions.  For this you should look for what’s called in backpacking language a “multiday pack“. The mens are designed to carry between 40 and 75 liters (it’s the carrying capacity) and womens from 40 to 65 liters. I’m not sure why womens backpacks are smaller, I mean, I know that they’re not naturally as strong as the guys, but tradition would teach us that they will want to carry more stuff . . . maybe they slip a little something into their other halfs backpack when he’s not looking.
• Extended trip backpacks are for those die-hard backpacking types who like to lose themselves in the wilderness for an extended period, 5 days or more. Although you’ll probably need to take at least 65 liters of hiking equipment with you, and savvy backpackers and hikers have come up with all sorts of ingenious ideas and methods to keep the weight down . . . just remember, whatever you pack in your backpack you have to carry. Extended trip backpacks are also advisable if you’re one of those nutters enthusiasts who like to backpack and camp out in the winter time . . . you do need to carry more hiking equipment with you to keep you warm – stands to reason if you think about it.

Fitting Your Backpack – It’s Really Important

Backpack designers have gone to a lot of trouble to make sure that you can find a back pack which is fully adjustable and suitable for whatever type or length of hiking trip you make, but hikers are all different (fortunately) so it’s important that you find a backpack which is the right fit for you. If you have a hiking pal who towers over 6 feet and you can barely make 5 feet standing on tippy toes, then you’re not going to be able to manage with the same size and design of backpack, it stands to reason.

Torso length is critical when you’re choosing your backpack, so it’s not actually how tall you stand but the length of your torso that matters. Having said that, if a 5 footer has the same length torso as a 6 footer then somebody is gonna look a bit weird . . . trail name “orangutan” perhaps. You also need your backpack to fit around your hips snugly, rather like a dancing partner . . . cha cha cha!

 Once you’ve measured your torso and bought the correct size and fit of backpack, it’s time for those final adjustments (after you’ve packed your backpack).

 Finding Your Hiking Gear in Your Backpack

Backpacks aren’t only for carrying your essentials whilst you’re enjoying a hike along the back country trails, it’s also important that you can get hold of those essentials when you need them, without emptying the entire contents of the backpack onto the trail. So, it’s important that you choose a back pack which offers easy access to your hiking gear.

• Top Loading Backpacks – are the most common design, look for a nice wide opening for easy access. When you’re packing your back pack make sure that the stuff you’re not going to need until you’ve stopped to make camp is at the bottom of your backpack, with the stuff you’re likely to want along the trail easily accessible closer to the top.
• Zippers and Panels – are features of some backpacks but certainly not all of them. These do make access to the middle or bottom of your top loading backpack a little easier but can also add that curse of all backpackers . . . extra weight.
• Pockets – are a useful feature of many backpacks, making some things really easy to find.

If you have an image of backpackers with pots, pans and other stuff dangling from every strap (a bit like a hobo or a tinker) and think that it looks kinda cute, then think again. It might look kinda cute but then again it just means that you’ve got more chance of getting stuck or snagged on tree branches, rocks and you might have trouble squeezing through tight passages. Backpackers need to have as much of their hiking equipment as possible stored neatly away inside their pack! After all, it’s what it’s there for!