6 Tips on Selecting Your Next Backpack

• Which backpack is best for your hike?
• Use length, season of hike to determine backpack's volume
• How to select best backpack size for hike
• Fabrics used to make backpacks offer competing positives, negatives
• Get backpack with padded hip belt for heavy loads, long distances
• Backpacks for adults who day hike with kids
• BONUS: "Society speaks and all men listen; mountains speak and wise men listen." - John Muir

Learn about trail guidebooks available in the Hittin’ the Trail series.

How to select best backpack size for hike

The best size for your backpack depends on a number of factors.
Photo courtesy of aconat / Photoree. 

When day hiking, you’ll almost always want to wear a backpack. This ensure you have much needed supplies – a first-aid kit, your maps, a snack – during the hike. You probably won’t need the loaded-to-the-hilt backpack you see hikers carrying in national magazines, though.

Which backpack size you choose largely depends upon your needs. There are several questions to consider when selecting a backpack size that best serves you.

How much will you carry?
The more you carry, the larger (and heavier) your backpack must be. Usually on a day hike, you won’t need to take as many items as when on a backcountry hike (For example, day hikers don’t need a tent, sleeping bag or bedroll.), so a smaller (and lighter) pack is sufficient. Also, when packing, you’ll want to ensure there’s a little extra space at the top of the bag, so take that into consideration as well.

How long will you hike?
If going several miles (Some hikers walk as much as 12-15 miles on a day hike), you’ll want a backpack with a frame, as it better supports the gear’s weight and balances better on you your back. A short walk of up to four miles likely won’t require a frame.

How much do you like to compartmentalize?
A smaller, lighter pack has fewer storage pouches than a larger, heavier backpack, so you’ll find yourself tossing almost everything into a single “bag,” requiring you do some digging should you need an item. Ironically, the larger the pack, usually the easier finding stuff is (because items are allocated to specific pouches).

Your best bet is to try out several backpacks at the store to see which one fits best. If you can’t decide between two of them, go with the lighter pack. Should it not be sufficient, you always can purchase a larger size and keep the smaller pack for shorter hikes and those hiking with you (such as your teenage children).

Learn about trail guidebooks available in the Hittin’ the Trail series.

How to reduce your backpack’s weight

When day hiking, you have the luxury of going light. While you still ought to carry a daypack with canteen, first-aid kit, map and compass, snack and a few other minor items, you can dispense with the heavy loads backpackers must carry so they can stay out overnight for several days.

Still, a daypack quickly can get heavy, especially if you’re responsible for several children, if you’re going a distance that will require four or five hours to complete, or if you’re heading deep into the wilds, especially one that is inhospitable.

Fortunately, there are some ways you reduce your daypacks weight:
g Bring only what is needed to be safe – The challenge here is to balance need vs. want. Always ask yourself, “Will I be okay without it, even if lost?” and “Have I used it on a past hike?” If you answer “no” to both questions, you probably can leave it home.
g Go with a lighter option – Cutting even a few ounces out of your daypack can make a big difference if walking more than couple of miles. When purchasing gear, opt for the lighter version.
g Economize, economize, economize – Rather than take foodstuffs in the air- and carton-filled packages they came in at the grocery store, repackage them in re-sealable bags. Rather than take the whole box of Band-Aids, only take a few.
g Choose items serving multiple purposes – Instead of bringing both a rain jacket and a small tarp, go with a poncho, which can be used for either staying dry or as ground cover.
g Delegate, delegate, delegate – If your children are in their teens, they’re old enough to carry some of the gear as well. Get them a daypack but don’t overload it…they probably can’t carry near as much as you.
g Cut off extra gear – A lot of times daypacks and fanny packs come with unnecessary attachments, like pockets and super long straps. If they don’t detach, consider cutting them off.

By taking these few steps, you’ll quickly reduce the weight of your daypack so that you can enjoy the hike rather than suffer the distraction of aching shoulders.

Read more about day hiking with children in the guidebook Hikes with Tykes.

When you'll need a backpack for a day hike

Sometimes called daypacks for day hikes or for kids, backpacks are essential once kids come down from the baby carrier. As the child is older, you’ll need to find a better way than a fanny pack to carry all of the items you need – snacks, first-aid kit, extra clothing, and more.

With multiple children, fanny packs can get awful crowded, so every time you dig through them, whatever you’ve packed gets knocked out of place. That makes finding an item difficult the next time you need it and increases the chances of losing something. Fanny packs also can carry only so much, so upsizing has it limits. By instead enlisting your back and shoulders, you can carry more items, a necessity the more children you have and the farther your hike goes.

Read more about day hiking with children in my Hikes with Tykes guidebooks.

How do I select the best hiking backpack for my child?

Most young children want to wear their own daypack so they can be like the adult. Unfortunately, most backpacks for kids are overbuilt and too heavy. Even light ones that safely can hold up to 50 pounds are inane for most children.

When buying a daypack for your child, look for:
g Sternum straps – These help keep the straps on the shoulders. This is vital for prepubescent children as they do not have the broad shoulders that come with adolescence, meaning packs likely will slip off and onto their arms, making them uncomfortable and difficult to carry.
g Lightness – For elementary-age children, a daypack should weigh roughly 18 ounces. This ensures children can’t carry so heavy of a load that they hurt themselves in the process.
g Hydration system – These are “canteens’ located inside the backpack with a straw that children can drink from, sort of like what astronauts use. Such a system will help ensure they drink a lot of water.

Read more about day hiking with children in my Hikes with Tykes guidebooks.

Fun pre-hiking activity: Make a backpack out of duct tape

Forty-yard roll is all that's needed for great craft project

In tough economic times, there’s no need to buy a daypack – instead, kids can make their own (with a little help from you the parent, of course). All you need is duct tape – a 40-yard roll will do nicely – and a scissors. A ruler or tape measure also will be helpful but isn’t necessary.

You can choose any color of duct tape. Camouflage or green duct tape should be popular.

Backpack's width
Begin by determining how wide you want the backpack to be; it should be as wide as the child’s back. Now cut a strip of duct tape that is about 3 inches longer than this width and set it sticky side up on a clean, flat surface.

Cut another strip that is the same size. Sticky side down, lay about half of it over the strip you’ve previously cut. Now fold over the first strip so that it makes a clean edge.

Flip this new piece over and add more strips in exactly the same way until you’ve created a sheet that is about three inches longer than twice the backpack’s height will be. The backpack’s height will equal the length from your child’s shoulder blades to the top of the small of the back. Make sure the edges are smooth.

You should reinforce this sheet with another layer of duct tape by placing perpendicular strips over it. You’ve just made the backpack’s body.

Side panels
Side panels come next. You’ll need two. They should be as tall as the backpack will be high and as wide as the backpack’s final depth.

Fold the first duct tape sheet – the one that is the backpack’s body – so that a section in the middle forms the backpack’s bottom panel. The other two sections will be the backpack’s front and back panels.

Tape the side panels to the front, back and bottom sections. Reinforce these seams with additional duct tape.

Using the tape measure or a piece of fabric, estimate how long the strap should be so it fits comfortably on the child. Cut a piece of duct tape that it is this length plus the backpack’s height. Place another piece of duct tape over it so that the sticky sides are against one another. Make a second strap in the same way.

Between the backpack’s bottom and backside and near the side panels and about four to five inches apart, cut two slits as wide as each strap you just made. Thread the straps through these slits. Pull one side of the strap through the backpack’s inside and then tape the strap’s ends together so that you have a closed loop. Repeat on the other backpack’s other side. Then tape the straps inside the backpack to the back panel so that they remain sturdy and strong.

The flap
You’ll next make the flap by creating another sheet, the exact same way as you made the backpack’s body. This sheet’s length should equal the backpack’s height, and the width should be the same as the back panel’s width.

Tape the flap to the back panel, leaving edges on the front and two panels loose. You can get more elaborate by adding hooks and fasteners so that the flap closes more securely.

Tape up any holes and place duct tape over any rough edges. You’re all done – and congratulations on your new backpack!

How long will the duct tape backpack last? Because duct tape is waterproof, the bag should hold up well in the elements. The key to its longevity is ensuring that it is reinforced along the seams and the straps, which will take the more war and tear.

Learn about more than a hundred other hiking diversions for kids in Hikes with Tykes: Games and Activities.

When should hiking children carry their own stuff and how much?

The older and more physically fit the child, the
heavier load they can carry.

Infants through 4 year olds shouldn’t be expected to carry anything. Preschoolers might use a trekking pole or collect interesting stuff found on the way, but they probably won’t carry any of it for long. Small frame packs are fine for healthy 5-7 year olds. A capacity internal frame pack is okay for 9-12 year olds.

A good rule of thumb for how much they can carry is no more than 25 percent capacity of their backpack. Most upper elementary school age kids can carry only about 10 pounds for any short distance. Subtract the weight of the backpack, and that means only 4-5 pounds goes in.

I’ve seen some formulas that say a child should be able to carry a pound of weight for every five pounds they weigh. A 90-pound child then would be able to carry 18 pounds. This formula seems overly optimistic, however. A physically fit, athletic teenager probably can carry this much, and as they near adulthood, more. But don’t expect this of your fourth grader – and especially not of your preschooler.

Increase the amount that children carry as they grow and are capable of taking on more weight. Once a teenager, they can move up to small adult backpacks and carry some of the load that you usually take. Still, limit the amount your teens carried based on their abilities.

Read more about day hiking with children in my Hikes with Tykes guidebooks.

How to select a daypack hiking kids can use

Kids will want to carry a daypack just
like their parents.

Sometimes called daypacks for day hikes or for kids, backpacks are essential once kids come down from the baby carrier. As the child is older and requires more, you’ll need to find a better way to carry all of the essentials you need – snacks, first-aid kit, extra clothing – than a fanny pack.

For day hike purposes with children, you’ll want to get yourself an internal frame, in which the frame giving the backpack its shape is inside the pack’s fabric so it’s not exposed to nature. Such frames usually are lightweight and comfortable. External frames have the frame outside the pack, so they are exposed to the elements. They are excellent for long hikes into the backcountry when you must carry heavy loads.

It’s a good idea to get kids carrying a small daypack with a couple of light items in it by the time they’re in elementary school. If you don’t get them to realize they have a responsibility to carry their own stuff, they’ll balk at doing so later.

As kids get older, and especially after they’ve been hiking for a couple of years, they’ll soon want a “real” backpack. Unfortunately, most backpacks for kids are overbuilt and too heavy. Even light ones that safely can hold up to 50 pounds are inane for most children.

When buying a daypack for your child, look for sternum straps, which help keep the strap on the shoulders. This is vital for prepubescent children, as they do not have the broad shoulders that come with adolescence, meaning packs likely will slip off and onto their arms, making them uncomfortable and difficult to carry. Don’t buy a back-pack that a child will “grow into.”

Backpacks that don’t fit well simply will lead to sore shoulder and back muscles and could result in poor posture.

Also, consider purchasing a daypack with a hydration system for kids. This will help ensure they drink a lot of water. More on this later when we get to canteens.

Before hitting the trail, always check your children’s backpacks to make sure that they have not overloaded them. Kids think they need more than they really do. They also tend to overestimate their own ability to carry stuff. Sibling rivalries often lead to children packing more than they should in their rucksacks, too. Don’t let them overpack “to teach them a lesson,” though, as it can damage bones and turn the hike into a bad experience.

A good rule of thumb is no more than 25 percent capacity. Most upper elementary school kids can carry only about 10 pounds for any short distance. Subtract the weight of the backpack, and that means only 4-5 pounds in the backpack. Overweight children will need to carry a little less than this or they’ll quickly be out of breath.

Read more about day hiking with children in my Hikes with Tykes guidebooks.

Consider using fanny pack with child carrier

Parents carrying their child in a carrier will find a fanny pack useful for
storing needed supplies. Photo courtesy of bartt / Photoree.

Also known as a belt bag, a fanny pack is virtually a must for anyone with a baby carrier as you can’t otherwise haul a backpack. If your significant other is with you, he or she can carry the backpack, of course. Still, the fanny pack also is a good alternative to a backpack in hot weather, as it will reduce back sweat.

If you have only one or two kids on a hike, or if they also are old enough to carry daypacks, your fanny pack need not be large. A mid-size pouch can carry at least 200 cubic inches of supplies, which is more than enough to accommodate all the supplies you need.

A good fanny pack also has a spot for hooking canteens to.

Read more about day hiking with children in my Hikes with Tykes guidebooks.