Camping Gear

If you're going to be hiking long distances (over a mile) with a heavy backpack, it's important to fit it to your size and shape. Each brand and model has a different adjustment system, but the fit would look similar once adjusted to your back size:

1) Waist strap sits over your hips (not under and not above) and is as tight as can be, placing most of the weight of the pack on your hips.

2) The lower end of the shoulder straps reaches to about 2 inches below your armpits.

3) The upper end of the shoulder straps sits is in line with your shoulder blades.

4) The shoulders straps curve with your shoulders without putting much weight on them.

Here's a video about how a backpack should end up fitting on your back:

If you're going to be hiking long-distance (over a mile) with a heavy backpack on your back, you need the backpack to be packed efficiently so it's well-balanced on your back and nothing pokes you as you hike! Here's our recommendation for packing a backpack:

Does your backpack have different features that requires you to pack it differently?

Backpacks have tons of straps and pockets and cinch cords. What are they all for and how to use them efficiently for packing a backpack? Here's our video about that:

Comments? Questions? Did we miss anything?