By Michael Lanza
Backpacks are available many sizes and designs for a purpose: so do backpackers. A few of us want a pack for reasonable hundreds, some for heavy hundreds, and others, more and more, for light-weight or ultralight backpacking. Some want a minimalist pack, others a variety of options and entry. Everybody needs the very best match and luxury, and nearly everybody has a funds. However irrespective of which sort of backpacker you might be, this overview covers the very best packs in every of these classes.
Every of my picks for the ten finest backpacking packs stands out for various causes. I additionally level out two wonderful packs for youths and small adults (on the backside of the Gregory Paragon/Maven overview). My judgments draw from many 1000’s of miles and greater than three a long time of backpacking and a quarter-century of testing and reviewing gear—together with the ten years I spent because the lead gear reviewer for Backpacker journal and even longer running this blog. Few reviewers have lugged as many packs across the backcountry as me.
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I’ve listed the pack critiques beneath so as by weight as a result of that’s the metric that almost all defines and influences a pack’s design and performance. The scores admittedly are inclined to favor more-featured packs, that are heavier, and that will not meet your wants; use the scores as a comparability with packs of comparable weight. The pack you in the end select could rely partly on weight, but additionally on design and in your funds. Every pack overview on this article hyperlinks to that pack’s full overview at The Massive Outdoors.
Undecided what kind of pack you want? Begin with my “5 Expert Tips For Buying the Right Backpacking Pack.” See additionally my picks for “The Best Ultralight Backpacks.”
The comparability chart beneath gives a fast have a look at stats and options that distinguish these packs from each other.
In case you have a query for me or a touch upon this overview, please make it within the feedback part on the backside of this story. I strive to answer all feedback.
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The ten Greatest Backpacking Packs
| Backpack | Rating (1-5) | Value | Quantity | Weight | Options | Sizes | Carries Up To… |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hyperlite Mountain Gear 3400 Windrider | 4.3 | $379 | 55L/3,400 c.i. | 1 lb. 15 oz./ 878g |
Waterproof, very sturdy, 5 pockets | 4 unisex | 30-35 lbs./ 13.6-15.9kg |
| Deuter Aircontact Extremely 50+5 and 45+5 SL | 4.1 | $250 | 55L/3,356 c.i. 50L/3,051 c.i. |
2 lbs. 11 oz./ 1.22kg |
6 pockets, ventilated suspension, detachable lid, gear loops | 2 unisex | 35 lbs./ 15.9kg |
| Osprey Exos 58, Eja 58 | 4.2 | $260 | 58L/3,539 c.i. | 2 lbs. 14 oz./ 1.3kg |
6 pockets, poles attachment, ventilated suspension, detachable lid | 2 males’s and ladies’s, adjustable | 35 lbs./ 15.9kg |
| The North Face Banchee 50 | 4.3 | $230 | 50L/3,051 c.i. | 3 lbs. 1 oz./ 1.39kg |
On-the-fly torso adjustment, self-equalizing load lifters, 8 pockets | 2 males’s and ladies’s, adjustable | 40 lbs./ 18.1kg |
| Granite Gear Perimeter 50 | 4.3 | $250 | 50L/3,050 c.i. | 3 lbs. 3 oz./ 1.45kg |
Distinctive adjustable harness, detachable lid, 8 pockets | 2 unisex and ladies’s, adjustable | 40 lbs./ 18.1kg |
| Granite Gear Blaze 60 | 4.7 | $300 | 60L/3,660 c.i. | 3 lbs. 4 oz./ 1.47kg |
Versatile load capability, 6 pockets, adjustable torso size and hipbelt, zipper accessing major compartment | 3 unisex and a pair of ladies’s, adjustable | 45+ lbs./ 20.4kg |
| Gregory Paragon 58 and Maven 55 | 4.2 | $260 | 58L/3,539 c.i. | 3 lbs. 8 oz./ 1.59kg |
6 pockets, poles attachment, ventilated suspension, detachable lid, rain cowl included | 2 males’s and ladies’s | 35-40 lbs./ 15.9kg-18.1kg |
| Thriller Ranch Coulee 50 | 4.6 | $249 | 50L/2,930 c.i. | 3 lbs. 12 oz./ 1.7kg |
Distinctive three-zipper entry, 8 pockets, extremely sturdy | 4 males’s and ladies’s, adjustable | 35-40 lbs./ 15.9kg-18.1kg |
| Osprey Atmos AG 65 and Aura AG 65 | 4.8 | $340 | 65L/3,967 c.i. | 4 lbs. 11 oz./ 2.13kg |
Distinctive harness, 9 pockets, poles attachment, sturdy | 3 males’s and ladies’s, adjustable | 45-50 lbs./ 20.4kg-22.7kg |
| Gregory Baltoro 65 and Deva 60 | 4.8 | $330 | 65L/3,966 c.i. | 4 lbs. 14 oz./ 2.21kg |
Dynamic shoulder straps and hipbelt, ventilated again, zipper accessing major compartment, 9 pockets, extremely sturdy | 3 males’s and ladies’s, adjustable | 50 lbs./ 22.7kg |
Powerful, Waterproof Ultralight
Hyperlite Mountain Gear 3400 Windrider
$399, 1 lb. 15 oz./879g
backcountry.com
When the 3400 Windrider was delivered to my home, the field regarded a lot too small to include a backpack. Like the very best sub-three-pound, ultralight packs, the 3400 Windrider handles 30 to 35 kilos nicely, however weighs wherever from a half-pound to almost a pound lower than these rivals. It has the capability for going a number of days between resupplies. Its robust Dyneema Composite Materials is absolutely waterproof. The fastened suspension is available in 4 sizes—greater than provided by most high-end pack makers—and the straightforward harness system works.
Three large, exterior mesh pockets add almost 10 liters of capability, and the roomy, zippered hipbelt pockets supply comfort. A top-loader with a roll-top closure, the 3400 Windrider is noticeably bereft of options discovered on many different packs. However its minimalist design, sturdiness, capability, consolation, and low weight will attraction to many backpackers preferring climbing over merely hauling.
The Hyperlite Mountain Gear 3400 Southwest ($379, 55L/3,400 c.i., 2 lbs., 4 sizes) is just about similar to the 3400 Windrider besides that it replaces the sturdy, tearproof mesh used within the exterior pockets with a extra sturdy, Dyneema Hardline material—similar as used within the zippered hipbelt pockets on each packs.
Learn my complete review of the Hyperlite Mountain Gear 3400 Windrider.
BUY IT NOW You’ll be able to assist my work on this weblog, without charge to you, by clicking both of those affiliate hyperlinks to buy a Hyperlite Mountain Gear 3400 Windrider backpack at backcountry.com or hyperlitemountaingear.com or a Hyperlite Mountain Gear 3400 Southwest backpack at backcountry.com or hyperlitemountaingear.com.
Need an ultralight pack with extra whole capability than the 3400 Windrider and 7 exterior pockets, that weighs and prices much less? See my overview of the Gossamer Gear Mariposa 60.
Plan your subsequent nice backpacking journey in Yosemite, Grand Teton, or different parks utilizing my expert e-books.
Ultralight With Extras
Deuter Aircontact Ultra 50+5 and 45+5 SL
$250, 2 lbs. 11 oz./1.2kg
backcountry.com
Amongst a number of seemingly comparable, mid-size, light-weight and ultralight backpacking packs, Deuter’s Aircontact Extremely 50+5 and 45+5 SL distinguish themselves from some rivals for his or her adjustable, comfy match and good design particulars that make a distinction in your expertise carrying them, as I discovered utilizing the Aircontact Extremely 45+5 SL on a five-day, late-summer backpacking journey within the Wind River Range and a three-day hike on the 22-mile Boulder Mail Path-Loss of life Hole Loop within the Grand Staircase-Escalante Nationwide Monument in early October.
The Extremely 45+5 SL—primarily a smaller unisex measurement of the Extremely 50+5—carried comfortably with as much as about 35 kilos inside, due to a spring metal perimeter wire body and a framesheet that flexes barely. Deuter’s torso-length adjustment system gives about two inches of match vary and is without doubt one of the best adjustment programs to entry and alter I’ve seen. The perforated spacer mesh within the again panel, lumbar pad, shoulder straps, and hipbelt delivers good air flow and cushioning. The Aircontact Extremely’shipbelt, whereas versatile, options somewhat construction so as to add assist and the shoulder straps have somewhat rotation the place they connect on the high of the again panel. Six exterior pockets present good entry to those top-loaders.
Learn my complete review of the Deuter Aircontact Extremely 50+5 and Aircontact Extremely 45+5 SL.
BUY IT NOW You’ll be able to assist my work on this weblog, without charge to you, by clicking any of those affiliate hyperlinks to buy a Deuter Aircontact Extremely 50+5 backpack at backcountry.com or moosejaw.com, or a Deuter Aircontact Extremely 45+5 SL backpack at backcountry.com.
See my review of one other excellent pack with the identical value, weight, and primary design, although variations, the Gregory males’s Focal 58 and ladies’s Aspect 55.
Planning your subsequent large journey? See “America’s Top 10 Best Backpacking Trips”
and “Tent Flap With a View: 25 Favorite Backcountry Campsites.”
Ultralight Basic
Osprey Exos 58 and Eja 58
$260, 2 lbs. 14 oz./1.3kg
Exos 58: backcountry.com
Eja 58: backcountry.com
On a nine-day, nearly 130-mile hike via the Excessive Sierra, totally on the John Muir Trail, I discovered the updated-for-2022 Exos 58 retains what has made it a basic since 2008 whereas getting even higher. Now with improved consolation, due to an adjustable suspension with a four-inch match vary, and made with one hundred pc recycled supplies, the Exos and Eja are available two torso sizes and three capability sizes. As earlier than, the LightWire perimeter body carries 30 to 35 kilos comfortably, whereas the perforated-foam hipbelt and shoulder straps distribute that weight properly. And the trampoline-style again panel gives nice air flow throughout your again.
Made a bit extra sturdy via little design enhancements, the redesigned Exos 58 and Eja 58 have the capability for weeklong journeys and ultralight thru-hiking. At underneath three kilos, they’ve good options like a detachable, floating lid with two pockets, spacious pockets on the entrance, sides, and hipbelt, Z-style aspect compression, and a helpful trekking poles attachment on the left shoulder strap. The Exos and Eja additionally are available 48-liter ($240) and 38-liter ($220) variations.
Learn my complete review of the Osprey Exos 58 and Eja 58.
BUY IT NOW You’ll be able to assist my work on this weblog, without charge to you, by clicking any of those affiliate hyperlinks to buy any males’s Osprey Exos backpack at osprey.com, backcountry.com, or moosejaw.com, or any ladies’s Osprey Eja backpack at osprey.com, backcountry.com, or moosejaw.com.
Be comfy in your hikes. See “The Best Rain Jackets For Hiking and Backpacking.”
‘Virtually Ultralight’ Standout
The North Face Banchee 50
$230, 3 lbs. 1 oz./1.4kg
moosejaw.com
TNF’s Banchee 50 falls squarely right into a class I’m calling “nearly ultralight:” barely over an unofficial ceiling weight of three kilos for ultralight packs, however extra tricked-out than ultralight rivals, and with a larger weight-bearing and quantity capability than many—as I found on a five-day backpacking trip in Yellowstone’s Bechler Canyon area. Plus, TNF’s distinctive new Dyno Lite suspension permits for on-the-fly torso adjustment and one-hand dialing in of the self-equalizing load lifters.
A top-loader, it excels for group, with 9 pockets from the hipbelt to 2 capacious, zippered entrance pockets. With its modest weight, plentiful options, and good compression, the Banchee 50 could be the solely pack you want for outings starting from weekends to wilderness treks as much as about 5 days (with light-weight, compact gear), so long as you don’t routinely load greater than about 40 kilos inside.
Learn my complete review of The North Face Banchee 50.
BUY IT NOW You’ll be able to assist my work on this weblog, without charge to you, by clicking both of those affiliate hyperlinks to buy the boys’s or ladies’s The North Face Banchee 50 or Banchee 65 at backcountry.com or moosejaw.com.
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Uniquely Adjustable Match
Granite Gear Perimeter 50
$250, 3 lbs. 3 oz./1.4kg
backcountry.com
After I loaded the Perimeter 50 with about 12 kilos of water on the primary day of a 45-mile backpacking journey in Yosemite—bumping the pack’s weight over the 40 kilos that Granite Gear charges it to deal with—I used to be pleasantly shocked at its consolation. That looks as if a bonus for a backpack with a customizable match and excessive performance that carries a modest weight and value.
Granite Gear’s Perimeter sequence packs function adjustability for each torso size and shoulder width, simply achieved by resetting the place of a clip behind every shoulder strap. A spring metal rod lends the pack an ergonomic form plus rigidity alongside the vertical axis and a few horizontal flex, whereas a PE board cone disperses weight. A top-loader, it has eight exterior pockets, together with a detachable, floating lid pocket and a backside zippered flap that may additionally carry a sleeping pad, and hard, Robic high-tenacity nylon material.
Learn my complete review of the Granite Gear Perimeter 50.
BUY IT NOW You’ll be able to assist my work on this weblog, without charge to you, by clicking any of those affiliate hyperlinks to buy a unisex or ladies’s Perimeter 50 at backcountry.com or a unisex or ladies’s Perimeter 35 at backcountry.com.
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Most Versatile
Granite Gear Blaze 60
$300, 3 lbs. 4 oz./1.5kg
backcountry.com
What number of kilos can a light-weight backpack carry comfortably? At only a half-pound heavier than some ultralight packs, the Blaze 60 hauled 40 kilos comfortably on a rugged, six-day, 74-mile backpacking trip through the Grand Canyon, and as much as 35 kilos on a four-day, greater than 40-mile backpacking journey that crossed 4 passes close to and over 11,000 toes within the Wind River Range.
The Air Present framesheet flexes barely, permitting the pack to maneuver along with your torso, particularly in steep or tough terrain. The ventilated again panel matches carefully however has channels for air circulation and the Re-Match hipbelt felt nice even on lengthy, arduous days. It has the capability and assist for lengthy journeys and the compression and low weight for brief journeys, plus tremendous entry with a large top-loading mouth, a zipper into the primary compartment, and 6 exterior pockets. It is available in three unisex and two ladies’s sizes, all adjustable, and the material is bombproof. The Blaze 60 ranks among the many high all-purpose backpacks.
Learn my complete review of the Granite Gear Blaze 60.
BUY IT NOW You’ll be able to assist my work on this weblog, without charge to you, by clicking any of those affiliate hyperlinks to buy a males’s Granite Gear Blaze 60 backpack at backcountry.com, or a ladies’s-specific Granite Gear Blaze 60 backpack at backcountry.com, or the brief model of the Blaze 60 at moosejaw.com.
Hike all of “The 10 Best Backpacking Trips in the Southwest.”
All-Round Good Worth
Gregory Paragon 58 and Maven 55
$260, 3 lbs. 8 oz./1.6kg
backcountry.com
Two very completely different backpacking journeys of 77 miles in 5 days (averaging over 15 miles and eight,000 vertical toes per day) on the Wonderland Trail around Mount Rainier and a extra leisurely, four-day, 36-mile household hike on the Ruby Crest Trail satisfied me that, for a lot of backpackers, Gregory’s well-featured males’s Paragon 58 and ladies’s Maven 55 may supply every thing they need in a pack for each sort of journey they take—at a superb value.
Up to date in 2020, they’ve assist for carrying round 35 kilos comfortably, due to an alloy perimeter body with a fiberglass cross-stay and Gregory’s FreeFloat Suspension System. Adjustable for torso and hipbelt size in two sizes, each packs have breathable mesh and foam all through the harness and a trampoline-style again panel that enables air movement over your again and hips. They sport six exterior pockets, together with two on the hipbelt and a big, stretch-mesh entrance pocket, and helpful options like shoulder-strap attachments for trekking poles and sun shades.
Learn my complete review of the Gregory Paragon 58 and Maven 55.
BUY IT NOW You’ll be able to assist my work on this weblog, without charge to you, by clicking any of those affiliate hyperlinks to buy a males’s Paragon 68, 58, or 48, at backcountry.com, or a ladies’s Maven 65, 55, or 45 at backcountry.com.
Want a pack for a child or small grownup? See my critiques of the Gregory Wander 70 and the Osprey Ace 38, 50, and 75.
Rating a well-liked allow utilizing my “10 Tips For Getting a Hard-to-Get National Park Backcountry Permit.”
Glorious Match, Options, and Sturdiness
Mystery Ranch Coulee 50
$249, 3 lbs. 12 oz./1.7kg
moosejaw.com
The race to lighter backpacks usually ends in compromises in entry, sturdiness, and luxury. Carrying this pack backpacking a bit of the Arizona Path alongside the Gila River and in Arizona’s Aravaipa Canyon within the first week of April and on the Skyline Trail in Jasper National Park and the Nigel, Cataract, and Cline Passes Route within the White Goat Wilderness within the Canadian Rockies in early August, the Coulee 50 displayed distinctive consolation and a wise design that makes each interplay with it simpler—starting with its supportive body and well-padded harness, which might deal with 35 kilos or extra, and 5 inches of adjustability within the 4 males’s and ladies’s sizes.
The three-zipper entry utterly opens up the primary compartment from the highest and entrance, permitting fast entry and environment friendly packing. The eight exterior pockets exceed many midsize and enormous packs. Made with one hundred pc recycled, 210-denier nylon Robic and a double-layer backside, the Coulee packs are constructed to deal with laborious use. Whereas positively not among the many lightest in its class, the Coulee 50 delivers uncompromised consolation and a singular design that places comfort first—a reasonably truthful tradeoff for mainly one other pound.
Learn my complete review of the Thriller Ranch Coulee 50.
BUY IT NOW You’ll be able to assist my work on this weblog, without charge to you, by clicking any of those affiliate hyperlinks to buy a males’s Thriller Ranch Coulee 50 backpack at moosejaw.com or mysteryranch.com, or a ladies’s Thriller Ranch Coulee 50 backpack at mysteryranch.com, or some other Coulee mannequin at backcountry.com or moosejaw.com.
Get the suitable tent for you. See “The 10 Best Backpacking Tents”
and my “5 Tips For Buying a Backpacking Tent.”
Final Consolation
Osprey Atmos AG 65 and Aura AG 65
$340, 4 lbs. 11 oz./2.1kg
Atmos AG 65: ospreypacks.com
Aura AG 65: ospreypacks.com
These packs really feel very completely different, in a great way, the primary time you set one on, and that optimistic first impression bore out as I carried the Atmos AG 65 on a five-day hike in The Maze District of Canyonlands National Park, after I was usually carrying 8.5 to 14.5 kilos (4 to seven liters) of water; on a four-day household hike (bearing a few of my household’s gear and meals weight) on the Rockwall Trail in Canada’s Kootenay National Park; and on two treks in New Zealand’s Fiordland National Park in addition to different backpacking journeys. The Anti-Gravity suspension feels extra like placing on a jacket than a backpack. Consisting of a panel of light-weight, tensioned mesh extending from the highest of the again panel to the hipbelt, it absolutely wraps round your again and hips whereas delivering ample air motion.
Adjustable for match, together with the hipbelt, they carry 45 to 50 kilos with supreme consolation and are available loaded with options like 9 pockets, a handy trekking poles attachment on the left shoulder strap, and an built-in cowl panel to interchange the detachable lid. Weighing nicely underneath 5 kilos, they’re a terrific selection for backpackers who normally carry reasonable to heavy hundreds.
Learn my complete review of the Osprey males’s Atmos AG 65 and ladies’s Aura AG 65.
BUY IT NOW You’ll be able to assist my work on this weblog, without charge to you, by clicking any of those affiliate hyperlinks to purchase any mannequin of the boys’s Osprey Atmos AG at ospreypacks.com, backcountry.com, or moosejaw.com, or any mannequin of the ladies’s Aura AG at ospreypacks.com, backcountry.com, or moosejaw.com.
Get the suitable daypack on your hikes. See my overview of “The 10 Best Hiking Daypacks.”
Massive-Load Hauler
Gregory Baltoro 65 and Deva 60
$330, 4 lbs. 14 oz./2.2kg
Baltoro 65: backcountry.com
Deva 60: backcountry.com
For carrying a great deal of 50 kilos or extra, I need a pack that’s supportive, comfy, and tricked out. In each respect, the boys’s Baltoro and ladies’s Deva packs have lengthy crammed the big-pack position extraordinarily nicely, and journeys in Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountains and on the Teton Crest Trail demonstrated that the newest variations of those two packs are solely higher.
The Baltoro’s and Deva’s FreeFloat suspension system, up to date in 2022, has 3D mesh and a foam-free design that improves air movement throughout your again; extra adjustability within the torso size (in three sizes for women and men), shoulder harnesses, and hipbelt (and the latter two pivot independently, enhancing consolation); enlarged hipbelt pockets; an attachment for a bear spray holster; and a lighter carbon footprint with 31 p.c much less plastic. And the high-strength aluminum perimeter body delivers severe assist.
Options embrace a U-shaped zipper that opens up the whole major compartment; 9 very useful exterior pockets; broadly adjustable compression straps that cross over the pack bag; and attachments for sun shades, trekking poles, and ice axes.
Learn my complete review of the Gregory Baltoro 65 and Deva 60.
BUY IT NOW You’ll be able to assist my work on this weblog, without charge to you, by clicking any of those affiliate hyperlinks to purchase a Gregory Baltoro 65 at backcountry.com, moosejaw.com, or gregorypacks.com; a Gregory Deva 60 at backcountry.com, moosejaw.com, or gregorypacks.com; or bigger variations of the Baltoro at backcountry.com, moosejaw.com, or gregorypacks.com or the Deva at backcountry.com, moosejaw.com, or gregorypacks.com.
See my “5 Tips For Buying the Right Backpack,” “Video: How to Load a Backpack,” all of my reviews of backpacks at The Massive Outdoors.
And don’t miss my widespread critiques of “25 Essential Backpacking Gear Accessories” and “The Best Backpacking Gear” of the yr, and keep away from leaving something essential behind by utilizing “An Essentials-Only Backpacking Gear Checklist.”
Whether or not you’re a newbie or seasoned backpacker, you’ll be taught new methods for making all your journeys go higher in my “How to Plan a Backpacking Trip—12 Expert Tips,” “A Practical Guide to Lightweight and Ultralight Backpacking,” and “How to Know How Hard a Hike Will Be.” With a paid subscription to The Big Outside, you possibly can learn all of these three tales at no cost; in the event you don’t have a subscription, you possibly can obtain the e-guide variations of “How to Plan a Backpacking Trip—12 Expert Tips,” the lightweight backpacking guide, and “How to Know How Hard a Hike Will Be.”
NOTE: I examined gear for Backpacker journal for 20 years. At The Massive Outdoors, I overview solely what I take into account the very best outside gear and attire. See The Massive Outdoors’s Gear Reviews page for categorized menus of all gear critiques and professional shopping for ideas.
