hey I'm Miranda with the REI co-op a pack can make or break your backpacking
trip and there are tons of awesome options out there right now let's take a
second to geek out about packs
when choosing a pack one of the first things you need to decide is the
capacity the capacity of pack is largely going to depend on the type of
backpacker you are for example if you're an ultralight backpacker you're probably
carrying a lot less gear and you can get away with something much smaller whereas
if you like to have some luxury then you're probably going to want a larger
pack but generally speaking if you are doing a weekend trip you're looking at a
pack like this one that's somewhere between 30 and 50 liters this pack here
is a 45 liter pack these are great for weekend trips for overnight or for warm
weather backpacking where you don't need to carry a lot of heavy gear if you're
looking for a multi-day pack you're gonna want something that somewhere
between 50 and 70 liters this is my pack here and it's a 60 liter pack these are
great for carrying some additional items as well as layers clothing and more food
and fuel so this is a pretty common sized pack and it will work for a
multitude of different trips if you're looking for something that this would
carry a lot of gear you're looking at an extended trip pack so something like
this one here which is a hundred liters extended trip box cover anything that's
70 litres and above these bags are really designed to haul a ton of gear so
they're good for mountaineering or for extended winter backpacking where you're
carrying a lot of heavy layers in gear but they're also great for parents who
are backpacking with children if they need to carry their kids stuff in the
pack as well a quick note on ultralight backpacking if you're looking to get
your base weight and that's the weight of your pack - consumables so all of
your gear - your food your fuel and your water if you're looking to get that
weight under 10 or 12 pounds then you're probably looking at a pack that's a lot
simpler and a lot lighter something more like this guy here you can have your
pack actually weigh a lot less on its own because the gear that you're putting
inside is going to weigh less and it's going to be significantly smaller okay
so that's capacity a pax frame is designed to transfer
weight from your shoulders and onto your hips for a more comfortable carry there
are two main types of pack frames right now the internal frame and the external
frame this pack here has an internal frame and this is certainly the more
common type of pack nowadays and they're definitely lighter than external frame
packs there are a few different ways that a pack may have this internal frame
this one has metal tubing that runs around the outside of the pack but they
may also have a metal V shape or even just a hard sheet of plastic like this
pack here this is definitely not designed to carry as much weight as an
internal frame pack like this but it's a good option for ultralight backpackers
and it will still provide some structure the other type of frame on a pack is an
external frame pack these used to be the go-to but we now have an updated design
with the internal frame packs these bags are very durable the frames are very
durable but they're not as common and you really don't find them very much
anymore these are a good option for people who
want to lash a lot of gear to the outside of their pack so they're a good
choice for hunters or anyone who's gonna be carrying unusually sized loads and
they're also just a really good throw back if you want to experience what
backpacking used to be like some ultralight backpackers will choose to
use frameless packs while these don't do as good of a job of transferring the
weight to your hips you may not need that if you're carrying a lot less stuff
these are basically just ruck sacks that have backpack straps attached to offer
some protection you can add a closed cell foam sleeping pad on the inside of
the pack and this will protect your back from the gear inside and provide a
little bit of structure
keep in mind that any features that you add to your pack are also going to add
weight so you want to strike a balance between the ease of use of the pack and
the additional weight that you're adding there are a ton of different features
that you may find on backpacks so we're just going to cover a few of the pretty
common ones the first one is access most packs are going to have top loading
access like this one this is just a cinch cord that opens up and allows you
to get to all of your gear you may also find packs that have side zippers or you
zippers this gives you access into the main compartment of the pack so you can
get items that are the bottom or in the middle of the pack this is a feature
that I love I think it's really easy some packs may also have detachable
pieces that turn into day packs like this one this lid here has straps
that come out and then this can be taken off and used as a day pack for day hikes
packs may also have this turn into a hip belt or you may find packs to have a
removable reservoir that comes out this is a really awesome feature if you plan
on backpacking in somewhere and then day hiking from wherever you're setting up
camp my pack has the side of the panel loading access and then it also has a
moveable day pack and these are two features that I love another really
common feature is pockets so packs may have pockets on the side for water
bottles or two pockets on the hip for different items that you might want to
stash you can see this pack here has a water bottle side pocket that you can
access while the bag is on your back and then there's this shovel pocket in the
front which is great for stashing an extra layer there also might be pockets
that are in the lid or in the bottom of the lid like this one has that here
packs will also have lash points or daisy chains on the outside this is for
strapping sort of strange loads to the pack or if you want to talk to your
crampons on the outside of your packs they don't scratch up the inside and
then packs may also have tool attachment points for attaching ice axes or this
one has a spot for attaching a trekking poles that's just a couple of the
features there are a ton out there keep in mind that when you're looking at
packs you'll want to look for features that you believe will add value and
avoid packs that have features that you don't think you want again there's a ton
out there so that might be extra cushy hip belts which you want it might be a
separate compartment for a sleeping bag and just make a decision on what you
find valuable and what you don't want in your pack
the most important thing about choosing a pack is finding one that fits you
comfortably packs come in a variety of frame sizes or torso lengths that relate
to your back size when you come into a store you can try on a variety of
different packs since they're all gonna fit a little bit differently the best
thing to do is to bring in your own pack if you already have one or come in and
have an REI specialist to fit the pack for you there's so much information on
how to fit your pack so we have an entire video about it and we'll link
that in the description below once you have a pack that fits you you can use
the straps to adjust the fit there are also women specific packs and those are
gonna have a slightly different fit to them and different features such as
straps that cut out a little bit CNA or hip belts that provide a little bit more
cushion or a little bit larger that's it for packs and if you have any more
questions check out the video below or subscribe and we'll see you guys out
there