Preparing a backpack for hiking is a lot more different than preparing a backpack for traveling on a plane. You can bring more load in your backpack for everyday tours as you don’t need to carry it all the time. You can leave it at the hostel entrance with only essential items in your pockets. Moreover, you can hire some conveyance to carry it for you. But packing a backpack for hiking is a different experience. You will carry your backpack all the time on your back. So you need to take care whether you are overloading yourself or taking the essential items with you.
Have you recently planned a hiking trip with your friends or going with a tour group? But you don’t know what to carry with you and how to carry. If you are looking for some information related to how to pack a backpack for hiking, you are in the right place. Packing a backpack for hiking is not rocket science; all it requires is some management skills and pre-planning.
The most important part of your hiking trip is your backpack. These bags are specially designed to accommodate the maximum items required for a hiking trip. So, first of all, you need to select the right backpack for the journey. Some of the key points to consider while choosing the backpack are;
- Size of the backpack. Don’t go for a too-large backpack as you won’t stop yourself from adding more items. Moreover, don’t go for a too-small bag that does not fit all the required goods.
- Choose a backpack with comfortable soft back support.
- Select a backpack with maximum straps and hip belt. More the number of straps more is the comfort you get.
- Multipurpose pockets inside and outside to keep your items separate and easily identifiable.
- Stretchable side pockets for holding water bottles.
- Front pouch to keep urgently required things like lip balm, moisturizer, first-hand kit, or chocolates.
- Rain protector. Nowadays, companies are manufacturing backpack with an attached rain cover for a backpack.
- A place for walking pole attachment.
- Last but not least, the price. It should be affordable.
Coming toward tips on how to pack a backpack for hiking. Once you have planned the trip, start gathering the materials required during hiking. You will arrange your items according to the period you are going to spend on your journey. You look for the things in the market, and you get the suitable items that you are going to need on your hiking tour. The main problem arises on how to arrange and pack things, then you bring a backpack and try to fit in stuff into the backpack. Here are some tips regarding how you are going to pack your backpack.
Some Tips Related To The Packing Of The Backpack Are:
- The first thing is to check portions in the backpack. This will help you in arranging the items so that the pack may not get messy.
- Proper portion and proper fitting will help you carry more things with the same amount of space in your backpack.
- Categorize the portion for a specific item.
- The item you need the least during the journey should be placed at the bottom so that you only pick the article when needed. In our opinion, you should keep a sleeping bag at the bottom because you need it only when going camping.
- The item you need the most place it at the top of the backpack. You can place a towel, clothes, and food items at the top.
- The central part is for items worth needed but not as that of the things on the top. Here come your cooking gears and accessories.
- The item you are going to take along, pack them properly.
- Once the packing of the item gets done, then you should proceed with the placing of packs in the backpack.
- There is a separate waterproof pouch available to keep your things in them. Then remove excess air to compress them. This will reduce the space usually occupied by the product.
- Carry items which are your need. Don’t choose luxury items.
Here are some of the things that you need to keep in mind while packing a backpack with items for hiking.
- Pack things correctly according to the demand of the items to be packed.
- What type of material you are going to use to pack the items
- Pack the items so that they acquire minimum space.
- Never pack your backpack loosely as it will create problem during hiking. The objects will relocate from their place.
List of the items to pack in the backpack for hiking;
- Clothes
- Food items
- A kit that you can use for cooking
- Sleeping bag
- Tent
- Water reservoir or water-storing gallons as re-filler for your bottles.
- Fuel
List of the items that you are going to place on the side pockets.
- Compass
- GPS
- Sunglasses
- Sunscreen
- Lip balm
And other stuff like walking pole, ax you need during hiking.
Once you have the items collected, now you can arrange the backpack by placing the products as per need during hiking.
Pack necessary and light
The first step of packing a backpack for hiking is to choose only essential items. When you start packing, you should keep in mind that you are going to wear that backpack and should pack in such a way so that it is easy for you to carry that backpack. Choose only necessary items to place in the backpack. This helps you to carry less weight with the essential things that you are going to need during your tour. The maximum weight of the backpack should be from 10 to 12 kg. Make sure that you have the necessary things in your backpack.
Place all your daily use items in front of you. Separate these items into an essential and luxurious one. Start placing your crucial elements in the backpack. When you have put them up to the required limit but still the place is there you can choose some of your luxury products now.
Pack Dry and Vacuumed substances
It is strictly prohibited to keep liquid items in your bag. As their leaking might affect all the things in your backpack. Hiking trips mostly require a continuous supply of water. As discussed above, separate side pockets are there to place your water bottles, and they are easily accessible too. So never mistakenly place them inside your backpack.
Pack compact and orderly
When the packing material is ready to pack in the backpack, start your packing by the scheme of material importance. The sequence of packing a backpack for hiking is quite essential. The correct course is to place items at the bottom first. The things to place there don’t require to be used every time. And that item is a sleeping bag. So, you can place a sleeping bag at the bottom of the backpack. Take care that you have place your sleeping bag in a separate waterproof insulated pack to avoid getting wet during the journey. Keep in mind that don’t place too heavy products at the bottom. It will discomfort your back. Keep heavy objects close to your end.
Then comes the middle portion. You can place cooking accessories like pans etc. in the middle. Don’t put heavy objects to the side, top, and bottom as it will not balance the center of gravity for you. You can place food items over the cooking accessories but not below them in case if any fuel spills it does not contaminate food. But it is better to keep fuel in the outside pockets of the backpack.
Now the last portion left is topmost. You can place clothes, snacks, a raincoat, and a first-aid kit on the top. These products are easily accessible. Another trick is to put your food items inside the pans to save space.
Objects to attach to the outside of the backpack
Hiking backpacks have some additional requirements like a walking pole and ax for cutting down wood for camping and fire. So there should be someplace on your backpack for these items. Most backpacks have a separate place for placing trekking poles and axes on the bottom gear.
You can attach a soft pillow to the outside of the backpack.
How to pack a sleeping bag in a backpack?
The sleeping bag is an essential requirement for hiking trips. If you don’t know how to pack a sleeping bag in a backpack, follow some simple steps.
- Take a separate waterproof pouch.
- Adjust your sleeping bag in the pouch.
- Remove excess air from the pouch with the help of a vacuum pump.
- Place your compact sleeping bag at the bottom of your backpack.
This will keep your sleeping back dry throughout the hiking trip.
How to attach trekking pole to backpack?
Trekking pole helps you to walk smoothly on slopes during hiking. They also help you to move through muddy soil and large bushes. With simple guidelines, you will know how to attach a trekking pole to a backpack.
If you have the old trekking poles which do not reduce to the manageable size, you can attach them to the backpack with the compression straps. But for trekking poles that reduce to the manageable size, you can
- Place them in the side pockets to easily access them.
- Hold them with the side compartments designed explicitly for trekking poles.
- Some backpacks have a portion to attach trekking poles at their bottom.
- With these few tips, you can be a pro on packing your backpack for hiking and also guide others with their problems.
