The Right Way to Pack a Backpack

How you pack your backpack has a lot to do with where you are going to hike. But as a general rule of thumb you will want to have your heavier items at the top of your bag and lighter ones at the bottom. The exception to this rule is if you are going to be climbing over rocks or scrambling through boulder fields. If you will be crossing a lot of this terrain you may want to adjust your load by moving some of the heavy gear to the middle of your pack. This way you won’t  feel like your about do a flip with every step you take over a rock.

SLEEPING BAG

Most internal frame packs have a sleeping bag compartment at the bottom of the pack. Hmmm, could this have anything to do with keeping your lighter gear at the bottom of your pack?  If you have a small sleeping bag you may have room to keep other items such as a pack pillow or a therma rest in here as well.

It’s a good idea to keep your bag in this compartment because of the wall it has that separates it from the rest of your pack. This way you don’t have the weight of your whole pack resting on your sleeping bag. To much compression can damage certain sleeping bags.

SLEEPING PAD Most hikers have these strapped to the outside of there pack. Depending on the type of pad, this is ok. I don’t like this because when it rains your pad is soaking wet. Some you can wipe right off but others stay damp for a while. If you are going to keep this on the outside make sure you have a waterproof bag. I recommend thetherma rest backpacker pad. It rolls up to be about one foot wide and 6 inches thick and can easily fit in the sleeping bag compartment.

CLOTHES

Clothes are the first thing you want to put in your pack. They are the lightest thing you are carrying so they need to be in the bottom. It is a good idea to have your clothes stored in strong freezer lip lock bags. This helps keep them, dry, compressed, and separated. Some clothes like your hat, rain gear, and light jacket you may want to keep in a pocket or near the top of your pack so that you can get to them quickly should the weather change in a flash.TENTS

Day hike in North Georgia

Credit: � david brosche