Find a Pack That Fits Your Body, Your Trip and Your Budget

I read the manufacturer’s specs, the sizing charts and what owners report, then tell you plainly which packs suit you and which to skip.

Explore the Gear

Start with Fit

Most pack problems, from sore shoulders to a hip belt that slides up, come back to fit. These three guides are where I’d start.

How-To Guides

How to Measure Your Torso for a Hiking Backpack (Step-by-Step Fitting Guide)

Your height won’t tell you your pack size. Find your C7 and iliac crest, measure your torso at home, and match the number to the brand’s size chart.

Backpacks and Daypacks

Best Hiking Backpacks for Back Pain: 3 Packs That Put the Load on Your Hips

If your back aches after a hike, fit is the place to start. These three hiking packs are matched to how much you carry, each in a men’s and a women’s version, with the torso, hip belt and load numbers to check first.

Backpacks and Daypacks

Best Hiking Backpacks Under $100: Budget Picks Worth Carrying

Which pack under $100 fits your trip and your body? I sort five budget picks by job and say plainly what each one gives up.

How I Choose Gear

Founder & Gear Research Editor

Sonia Zannoni

Hi, I’m Sonia. I don’t test gear myself. I read the manufacturer’s specs and sizing charts and look for what owners report again and again. Then I tell you who each pick suits and who should skip it.

About the Founder

New on the site

Tent and Sleeping Bag Care

How to Wash a Down Sleeping Bag Without Ruining It

Before you put a down bag in the washer, check whether it needs a full wash at all. Then follow the makers’ steps for the machine, the soap, the rinse and the long, low-heat dry that brings the loft back.

Backpack Care

How to Clean a Moldy Hydration Bladder and Keep It Clean Between Hikes

Black specks in your hydration bladder don’t always mean the trash. Here’s how to tell what to save or replace, what your maker lets you use, and how to dry it so the mold stays gone.

Footwear Maintenance

How to Break In New Hiking Boots Before Your First Long Hike

Stiff new boots, or a pair that will never fit? Here’s how to break in hiking boots indoors first, while they can still go back, then outside in stages, with a clear point to keep them or return them.

Explore by Category

An Olive Green Hiking Daypack Resting on a Mossy Rock in a Sunlit Forest Trail