Packs come in many styles and sizes. Finding out how to fit and choose a backpack for hiking that’s right for you depends first on how much you’ll be carrying and how well a pack fits.
Main image: A gear test of hiking backpacks in action on the Snowdon massif. | Credit: Benjamin Cannon.
For light loads around 5-6kg (11-13lbs) careful fitting isn’t needed. A pack with padded shoulder straps and a padded back is all that’s needed. As long as the base of the pack doesn’t come much below the base of your spine when the shoulder straps are tightened the pack should be fine. Such packs are designed for day hiking – daypacks – and have volumes from 15-35 litres.
Once you’ll be carrying gear for camping larger packs are needed and the fit becomes important. A properly fitted and adjusted pack should mean most of the weight is carried on your hips not your shoulders. To do this the back length must be correct. Too short and the hipbelt will ride too high and won’t support much weight without cutting painfully into your stomach. Too long and the top of the shoulder straps will be above your shoulders, making the pack unstable, or the hipbelt too low to fasten tightly. In either case the pack will be uncomfortable to carry.
Because the length is so important many packs come in different sizes while others have adjustable backs that let you move the shoulder straps, and sometimes the hipbelt, up and down the back. A few packs have both features. You can read about the best backpacking packs, as judged by The Great Outdoors’ expert gear reviewers.
To find the right fit packs should be tried on fully loaded. It’s worth taking time to do this. A comfortable pack makes a huge difference to the enjoyment of a backpacking trip.
Iona Andean on a backpacking trip in the Grey Corries. Credit: Jessie Leong.
Most packs come with specific fitting instructions and it’s always worth following these.
These are the basics:
Only when you have a pack that fits your back should the features of the pack be considered. It doesn’t matter what pockets, compartments, straps or other features a pack has if it doesn’t fit.
READ MORE: Once you’ve learned how to fit and choose a backpack for hiking, further your skills with how to pack a backpack
