What’s a Good Backpack Size for Hiking and Camping?

What’s a Good Backpack Size for Hiking and Camping?

A backpack is one of the most important pieces of equipment you will have on your camping trip. It will carry pretty much all of your gear, and the length of your trip determines what size hiking backpack you will need to bring along.
Larger Packs

These are normally in the seventy to one hundred liter range; they are extremely large and can carry very heavy loads. If you’re planning to be out for a week or longer, get something this size. We reach a point at which an even larger size is not necessary and this is due to the increased weight of your gear. You can only carry a limited amount of stuff comfortable on your back. This is different for different people, and larger people can carry more. Smaller framed people can carry less.The weight of the gear you are carrying really dictates this, and in the winter time you’ll be carrying lots of puffy stuff to keep warm in that doesn’t really weigh that much. A larger pack is beneficial here. However, once you start putting canned food and stuff like that in a pack, it gets heavy fast. Even a smaller pack can get heavy.

Mid Sized Packs

These include anything in the sixty to eighty liter range, and they are my favorite size. I like to pack light for the trail, so these fit me just fine. You can still pack enough stuff or a week or longer, but you can also keep the pack fairly light. If you can’t fit something into your bag, you can’t take it with you. Day Packs
These really include anything less than sixty liters in my opinion.

Many ultralight hikers favor day packs because they are super light and they don’t carry much gear with them anyway. You can really get by with a forty to fifty liter day pack in the summer time easily. Just pack light, don’t carry a massive sleeping bag, don’t carry a huge tent, and only take a little food with you. This is plenty for one or even two nights on the trail. Carrying a little less gear makes hiking much easier. You won’t be dog tired at night at the end of the day, and you’ll actually feel good after the days march. When walking on flat trails you don’t really notice this as much, but climb a mountain with a large and heavy pack on. The difference is astronomical, and you will truly learn to appreciate the light weight pack you wisely decided to carry.