Outdoor Backpack

• 10X more durable than cotton duck
• 3X more durable than standard polyester
• 2X more durable than standard nylon

Before it will be used, Cordura tests the fabric to make sure it meets their quality and durability standards.
Brands that use Cordura in their outdoor backpack products include: Curtlo, Granite Gear, Big Agnes, Osprey, Mountain Hardwear, EMS, The North Face.

If you want to know more about the Cordura fabric, you can visit these websites:

The Cordura homepage.
The Cordura outdoor brochure(PDF)

Packing your Outdoor Backpack for an outdoor trip is something that you shouldn’t take lightly. When you pack it the wrong way your trip is going to be a lot more difficult and maybe even irritating because the weight is distributed wrong and you end up constantly digging in your backpack looking for the stuff you need. You can use this article as a guide when packing your outdoor backpack. First of all there are a few basic rules when you pack a backpack. The stuff that weights the most should be in or on the top section of the backpack. This is for a better center of gravity and weight distribution, for more detailed info see this post about how to wear an outdoor backpack correctly.

The way that you should pack your backpack is in order of usage, but keep in mind the weight aspects. So stuff that you are less likely to use on the bottom, gear that you are going to use but not a lot in the middle and gear that you use a lot on the top of the backpack. Now this is just a basic layout, it isn’t always possible to pack this way if you want to keep the weight on top but you get idea. Make sure you make a list of the gear you want to take along, you can mark off each item as you pack it to make sure you have everything you need. It’s also a good thing to place all the gear you want to take along around the backpack in different categories based on usage, so you can actually see everything that you need to take along.

S0 lets start packing! First you start packing the gear that you almost never need or take with you just in case, put this on the bottom. Examples could be extra clothing, rain fly and any other items you might not need at all. You can also place your tent on one side, vertically so you can access is quickly at nightfall. A cooking stove if you carry it along can be placed on the other side. Use the straps on the top and the bottom of the backpack to carry the sleeping bag and your mattress. In the middle of your outdoor backpack you can put stuff like outer wear, foods, cooking gear and so on. make sure you put the rigid stuff in first and then use the clothing to fill up the gaps, this will save a lot of space. In the top of your backpack you can put the stuff that you will need most. This may include water bottles, snacks, primary clothing and so on. The exterior pockets can be used to store items that you may continuously need like a GPS device, camera, phone or any other items that you use a lot. Some outdoor backpacks have special pockets for sharp items like ice axes or other tools, so make good use of them. Your first aid kit should be either in the big exterior pocket or in your backpack on top to ensure easy, fast access. This is just an example of how you could pack your backpack, how you do it depends on the stuff that you carry along and also on the environment you will be hiking in. For example in more wet environments you wouldn’t place your sleeping bag outside of your pack. There are a lot of ways to pack your backpack right, be sure to pack in order of usage and keep in mind that most of the heavy stuff must go in the top section and the lighter stuff on the bottom. It’s always a bit of give and take between usage and weight but it’s always better then creating the center of gravity on the bottom of your backpack. At the end, put your backpack on and adjust it to the load. Tighten the hip belt and then the shoulder straps, for more info on adjusting your outdoor backpack, take a look here.

Another interesting article on packing your outdoor backpack:

How To Decide What Goes in Your Hiking Backpack - Whether you are going for a day hike or backpacking on a trip that will take a couple of days or more, the following are just a few of the very important items that must be present in your hiking backpack. Needless to say, you…..

Outdoor backpacks come in various types and the one i will be talking about in this article is the Waterproof Backpack. This type of backpack is very popular among people that have to keep their stuff dry at all times, sometimes even under water. Activities that require a waterproof backpack can be: kayaking, fishing, diving/snorkeling and of course winter sports like skiing and snowboarding. Sometimes you also need one on your hiking trip if you are going to hike through an extreme wet environment or part of your trip includes river crossings or other extremely wet activities. Another reason to buy one is when you carry along sensitive electronic equipment like camera’s that must stay absolutely dry.

Ordinary hiking backpacks are most of the time water resistant, but not waterproof. The difference is that water resistant can have a bit of rain occasionally but not for too long, they will soak through. This is because the material is not waterproof and the seams and zippers are not waterproof. The seams are mostly stitched with a needle which leaves tiny little holes that leak water after some time. So your alright for a few hours depending on the rain, but your stuff will get wet if it is exposed to rain for a longer period of time.

The waterproof backpack is constructed in a way that it can hold out the water for a longer period of time or just doesn’t let water come through at all, depending on the price and type of backpack that you have. The seams of this type of backpack are welded,sealed or taped, this won’t let any water or moisture get in through the seams. A waterproof backpack also has special waterproof zippers that are also constructed in a way that they close the backpack waterproof tight. These backpacks are often made of a few sorts of materials: PVC, Nylon, Polyurethane or a combination of any one of them. A combination that is seen a lot is a nylon backpack with a Polyurethane or PVC coating. Because these backpacks often contain plastics,they are a lot stiffer than non waterproof backpacks.

Not every waterproof backpack is waterproof for exactly the same amount of time, there are differences. There are backpacks that are waterproof for only a short while when exposed to rain or water. Others can take rain but cannot be partly submerged into water and there are ones that even float in the water without leaking through. If you look at the more expensive ones, you will find that they are submersible into water and can even be used by divers diving to depths of 100ft. Unfortunately you will often see a backpack that states to be waterproof, but it doesn’t say for how long and under which conditions. So if you want to know exactly how waterproof the backpack is, contact the store and ask them, most of the time they can help you out.

If you already have a backpack and you would like to make it waterproof, then one of the things you can do is buy a rain cover that fits around the backpack. This will protect your backpack against the rain a lot longer, but isn’t as effective as a good waterproof backpack.

There are great waterproof backpacks for sale online even for a discount price, they are still a bit more expensive than the normal ones, but then your stuff will be dry and that is worth a lot!

Hi everyone, Today i came across a great(must see!) instruction video on how to wear your outdoor backpack. The video also describes clearly how to distribute the weight and maybe even better: why it is done this way…

The video runs for 8+ minutes but if you watch it all the way through, you’ll never complain about pain in your back or shoulders again, or at least not because of your poorly loaded outdoor backpack! Have fun.