A guide to pack your outdoor backpack
December 9, 2009 by admin
Filed under Outdoor Backpack
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…..
