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Photo Steve Redman (MORA), Public domain

Packing a backpack

Where everything goes so the pack rides on your hips, stays dry, and gives you what you need without unpacking it all.

What you need

How

  1. Line the pack with the garbage bag or liner. Rain gets in every pack in the end.
  2. Bottom: the light, bulky things you need only at camp. The sleeping bag and camp clothes.
  3. Middle, against your back: the heaviest things. Food, water, stove and fuel. Close to the spine and between the shoulder blades.
  4. Around them, softer things to fill the gaps: the tent body, the tarp.
  5. Top: what you may need on the trail. Rain jacket, warm layer, first aid kit.
  6. Lid and pockets: map, compass, snacks, headlamp, knife, sunscreen, bug dope, water bottle.
  7. Put it on, do up the hip belt on top of your hip bones and tighten it first. Then the shoulder straps, then the load lifters and the chest strap.
  8. Walk around. If it pulls you backward, move weight closer to your back.

Do and don't

Do
  • Weigh the full pack. Aim for no more than about a fifth of your body weight.
  • Keep the first aid kit and the rain gear in the same place every trip, so you find them in the dark.
  • Keep fuel below and away from food, upright and sealed.
Don't
  • Do not hang a lot of gear off the outside. It snags, swings and gets lost.
  • Do not carry the weight on your shoulders. The hip belt should take most of it.
  • Do not pack things you have never used on a trip before, beyond the emergency kit.

Watch for

Danger
  • A heavy pack on a slippery rock or a log crossing throws your balance. Undo the hip belt and chest strap at water crossings so you can shed it if you fall in.
  • Sore spots on the hips or shoulders turn into raw skin. Stop and fix the fit early. See Burns and blisters.
  • Carrying too much is how knees and backs give out far from the road.

Notes

The best packing trick is taking things out. Lay everything on the floor, and put back only what you would miss.

See The day pack for the kit that stays in the bag all year.

backpackhip beltweightdry bag

Updated 2026-09-22

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