Equipment Editor Chris Townsend and Munroist Fiona Russell put overnight packs to the test
WALKING AND WILD CAMPING adventures bring many rewards, especially awonderful sense of freedom and the opportunity to explore peaceful, natural environments. The keys to success include good planning, and ensuring you have all the right kit plus acomfy pack to carry it in. Indeed, an uncomfortable or poorly balanced rucksack can easily turn your adventure into an unpleasant trial.
The ideal overnight backpack will be in the 50-65 litre volume range. This should offer enough packing space for all your day and night-time gear needs, including spare clothing, sleeping bag, sleeping mat, tent or bivvy bag, cooking system, food, water and other essentials such as toiletries and first aid kit.
You should ensure the pack suits your height, size and body shape. Try on arange of packs to see For women, there is the added factor of chest size, which makes an adjustable sternum strap in the right place an essential detail. When fully loaded most of the weight will be carried on the hips. So the comfort of the hip belt and lower back is crucial.
Overnight packs have different back systems, from reduced frame suspension systems to full perimeter frames and padded to tensioned mesh.
You will know as soon as you put on the pack what system you prefer, although it is also a good idea to consider the season and locations where you will be walking. For example, if it is going to be warm, make sure the back allows air to circulate to avoid sweating.
Whilst some people look for alightweight pack with pared-down features, others prefer more features for alittle extra weight, such as avariety of compartments and pockets, adetachable lid and aplenty of padding in the back, shoulder straps and hip belt.
It’s agood idea to assess the materials in the pack for durability, as well as water resistance or if you regularly walk in the UK, although some folk prefer to use dry-bags instead.
There are some smaller details that can prove very irritating if they are not quite right, such as hip belt pockets that are not quite large enough to allow you to easily add and remove a phone, an annoyingly sticky zip or a fiddly draw cord.
Finally, the environmental credentials of the brands and each product are worth checking out. environmental audit are preferable to vague statements like ‘working towards’.
Features
Check all your gear will fit inside, and take stated capacity as approximate only. Where two figures are given, the first is usually the key one; the second often refers to the inner extended as far up as it will go, which can make for an unstable load.
A rough rule of thumb is that the empty pack shouldn’t weigh much more than 10% of the total weight you’ll be carrying. Thi
