Pack
From Trail-Finder -- Dedicated to getting you outside
Contents |
Overview
After your water bottle, the pack is probably the next piece of gear you'll need to buy. The last few decade, the variety of packs available has grown rapidly, so no longer do you need to deal with the one-size-fits-all (or maybe none) approach to packs. Today, you can easily find a pack that fits both you and your activities.
Choosing a Pack
Before you can choose a pack, you need to determine exactly what you want to do with it. If you're looking for a pack that can carry books around campus during the week, then carry a water bottle and lunch for a 2-hour hike on weekends, then the common, and fairly inexpensive book bag should do.
If you start to go on longer hikes, or in a broader range of weather, you'll need to carry more water, as well as other gear. Your pack will need to be bigger, but it will also weigh more, so proper fit becomes more important. By this point, you should be considering a hydration pack.
Go farther still, into overnight trips, and you're in the realm of frame packs. Whether internal or external frame, these packs allow you to carry enough gear to spend a weekend or a week comfortably in backcountry. Fit is critical, or your weekend trip around a mountain can feel like a month, but not in a good way.
Types of Packs
- Daypack: These packs are designed for anywhere from an hour or two up to a full day on the trail, but not overnight.
- Frame pack: For overnight use, since you have to carry tents, sleeping bags, the kitchen sink, etc, a frame pack is necessary.
- Hydration pack: Hydration packs are available for more types of pack (ie: hydration daypack, etc). Incorporating a collapsible water bladder with a pack, and placing a drinking hose where it's readily available, if you're buying a new pack today, there's little reason to not get a hydration pack.
- Waist pack: Formerly called "fanny packs", these packs have evolved into larger, more useful packs for outdoor use. While they won't hold as much as even a modest daypack, they're common in biking, and if you have shoulder or upper back problems, they might be the only type of pack you can comfortably wear.
Pack Features
Different packs have different features. Some are necessary. Some are luxuries. More information on pack features here
Pack Size
Packs need to be big enough for everything, but not much bigger. Click here for more info on pack sizing.
Pack Fit
Every pack is comfortable... in the store
If a pack doesn't fit, wearing it will be miserable. Click here for information on finding a pack that fits.
Categories: Gear | Hiking | Day hiking | Backpacking | Mountain biking | Packs
