Hiking Backpacks for Beginners: What Size and Features Actually Matter

You walked into the outdoor store with one simple thought: I just need a backpack for hiking. Forty-five minutes later you’re still in the aisle, holding a pack with six attachment loops and a price tag that would cover a weekend hotel stay.

That’s a normal place to get stuck, because most of what’s on that wall is built for trips you aren’t taking yet. Choosing among hiking backpacks for beginners is mostly about knowing what you can ignore.

For a Saturday morning trail you don’t need an expedition pack, and the daypack you already own might do. You’ll leave knowing the size that matches how long you’ll be out, the three features worth paying for, and the fit check that decides whether a pack stays comfortable.

Decoding the Numbers: What Do “Liters” Actually Mean?

Hear “20-liter backpack” and most people picture one specific bag. The liter number is simply how much the pack holds, measured the way you’d measure a cooler.

One thing the label doesn’t tell you: side and mesh pockets are often left out of that count, so a pack can carry a little more than its number suggests.

The under-two-hour range comes from REI’s guide to choosing a daypack, which also calls 21 to 35 liters the sweet spot for most hiking daypacks. The full-day and commuter ranges here are my reading of that guide.

A 20-liter pack looks like an ordinary daypack. A 40-liter one starts to look like you’re leaving for the weekend, because that’s mostly what it’s built for.

10 to 20 Liters: The Pack for a Hike Under Two Hours

This is the size for a morning walk, a short nature trail or an easy 3-mile loop with a friend. REI points to 10 to 20 liters for outings of under two hours.

A pack in this range usually holds a 1-liter water bottle, a light rain jacket, your phone and keys, a couple of snacks and a small first-aid kit.

That covers a couple of hours on the trail, along with the Ten Essentials in the next section, scaled to where you’re going. REI notes a short hike on a busy trail close to town may call for a smaller kit than a remote one.

For a half-day hike in between, a pack around 20 liters usually covers it. Size up if you’re carrying lunch and a second liter of water.

On a short hike the usual mistake runs the other way: packing for every what-if and carrying a full bag around an easy loop. I come back to that below.

20 to 30 Liters: The Full-Day Pack

Step up to a 20 to 30 liter pack when you’re planning most of a day out, roughly 4 to 8 hours on the trail. That range overlaps the 21 to 35 liters REI calls the sweet spot for most hiking daypacks.

A 25-liter pack usually holds a puffy jacket, a rain shell, lunch and two liters of water, with room left for the Ten Essentials. Two liters of water alone weigh about 4.4 pounds (2 kg), so a full-day load adds up faster than a short one.

The Ten Essentials are a safety checklist of ten categories: navigation, light, sun protection, first aid, a knife or tools, fire, shelter, extra food, extra water and extra clothes. The point is to be ready if a twisted ankle or a wrong turn keeps you out longer than planned.

Don’t let the list turn into a shopping trip. Most of it can be things you already own, like a flashlight, extra snacks, a spare layer and a heavy-duty garbage bag, which REI notes can give you cover in a pinch.

At this size you also start carrying enough weight for fit to matter. You may hear about load lifters, the short straps that connect the top of each shoulder strap to the pack just above your shoulders. Pulled snug, they draw the top of the load in toward your back.

They work best at roughly a 45-degree angle, the target REI uses, so the pack has to rise above your shoulders. REI notes they turn up on some larger daypacks, and plenty of smaller ones skip them. On a light day load you won’t miss them.

What About 40 Liters and Up?

Leave these for later. REI sizes packs of 30 to 50 liters for overnight trips of one to three nights, when you’re carrying a sleeping bag, a shelter and food for more than a day.

The difference isn’t only volume. Overnight packs use an internal frame and a padded hip belt to move a heavy load onto your hips.

Many daypacks have a frame sheet (a thin panel that gives the pack some structure) or no frame at all. That’s fine for a day’s load, and REI does list 36 to 40 liter packs for day hikes that need extra clothing, such as cold-season hiking.

For a summer day hike, though, buying a 40-liter pack is like renting a moving van to bring home groceries. It works, but you carry a bigger, heavier bag than the trip needs, and the extra room has a way of filling up.

Ready to narrow it down? My picks of the best daypacks for beginners are chosen for fit, comfort and simple features.

The Lifestyle Question: Trail-Only vs. Everyday Use

Not everyone needs a hiking-only pack, and it’s worth saying plainly because the gear aisle rarely does.

If you also carry a bag to the office or a café a few days a week, a trail-only pack may be the wrong first buy. Those packs are built around airflow and carrying a load, and they can look out of place next to your laptop.

A crossover daypack is built for both. It adds a padded laptop sleeve and a plainer look for weekdays, with enough structure and pockets for a trail day on the weekend. You give up a little back ventilation, and for most casual hikers that’s a fair trade.

If you’re not sure how often you’ll actually hike, a crossover bag is a safe first pack. You don’t have to commit to a hiking-only bag before you know what kind of hiker you are, and it still earns its keep between hikes.

For packs that work on both Monday and Saturday, see my guide to the best hybrid daypacks.

Comfort and Fit: The Absolute Basics

A common belief is that thicker shoulder padding makes a pack comfortable. Padding helps, but it isn’t what decides whether you finish a hike feeling fine or stiff and sore.

On a heavier load, what decides it is where the weight sits. A pack that fits moves most of that load onto your hips, because hips and legs carry weight better than shoulders do. REI’s target for a loaded backpacking pack is 80 percent or more on the hips.

That’s why a hip belt starts to matter once your pack’s weight passes about 15 pounds (7 kg), the point where REI says it makes a real difference. A short-hike load of a liter of water, a jacket and snacks usually stays well under that.

The measurement that matters most is torso length, not your height, because packs are sized to the length of your back. You need a friend and a soft tape measure, and my guide to measuring your torso for a backpack walks you through it.

If your torso is on the short or long side, or you need a longer hip belt, check whether the pack comes in more than one size or a women’s version. Torso length and hip size are the two numbers to compare on the size chart.

If the pack is too short for your torso, the hip belt rides up onto your waist, and if it’s too long, the belt sits below your hip bones.

Either way the weight can’t move to your hips, however padded the belt is. REI’s fit advice puts the padding on the top of your hip bones.

Once the size is right, fit comes down to tightening the straps in the right order, starting with the hip belt. My guide to adjusting hiking backpack straps goes through each one.

If back or shoulder comfort is your main worry, my picks of the best hiking backpacks for back pain look closely at fit systems that keep the weight on your hips.

See It In Action: How to Fit Your Pack

If you’d rather watch than read, this video shows how a backpack should sit on your body when it fits.

Features You Actually Need (and What to Ignore)

Packs come loaded with zippers, loops and attachment points, and on a store shelf more features look like more value. On a day hike, most of those extras add weight and fiddliness without making the day any easier.

For a first pack, focus on three practical things and treat the rest as a bonus.

• Side water bottle pockets: These matter more than most beginners expect. REI notes most hiking daypacks have one on each side. When you try a pack on, check that you can reach yours without taking the pack off, because that’s what keeps you drinking on a warm day.
• An outside stretch or mesh pocket: This is where the damp jacket goes once you warm up. Wet or sweaty layers stuffed into the main compartment dampen everything else, and an outside pocket keeps them apart.
• A plan for rain: A rain cover handles a passing shower. REI notes water can still sneak in through seams and zippers, so in steady rain a liner inside the pack keeps the gear that matters dry, as my guide to backpack rain covers explains.

Most daypacks also have a sleeve for a hydration bladder. Bladders are handy, but if a cap or hose connection leaks, the water ends up inside the pack with your dry layers. Bottles in side pockets are easier to keep an eye on and to refill.

What to Ignore

Skip ice axe loops, helmet carriers and anything else that sounds like it belongs on a mountaineering trip. Those features have a real job, just not on a 6-mile loop on a Sunday morning.

Don’t rule out a pack you otherwise like because it has no bladder sleeve. A bottle in a side pocket works for most day hikers and is simpler to clean.

The Most Common Beginner Mistake: Packing Your Fears

This one is common and easy to understand. You’re a little nervous about the trail, you’re not sure what you’ll need, and the pack fills with just-in-case items until it weighs far more than the hike calls for.

It usually looks like spare shoes, three extra layers, a big first-aid kit, a poncho plus a backup rain jacket and an umbrella, and maybe a book in case you get bored.

The caution isn’t the problem. The weight is: a heavy pack makes every mile harder, and harder miles make hiking feel like a chore instead of the calm time outside you came for.

A smaller daypack helps here, because a 15-liter bag simply doesn’t have room for every what-if. Carry what a day hike actually needs, and leave the rest in the car.

For comfort extras, a good test is whether you used the item on your last three outings. If not, leave it home. That test never applies to the Ten Essentials, which earn their place on the day something goes wrong.

Which Type of Hiker Are You? Start Here

Before you browse, it helps to know which of these three fits you. Most beginners land clearly in one.

• The standard day hiker: Out for a few hours on a nature trail, once or twice a month. A 15 to 20 liter pack with padded straps, a side bottle pocket and an outside pocket covers it, and keeping it simple keeps it light.
• The hybrid commuter: Wants one bag for the workweek that also works on a Saturday trail. A crossover daypack of 20 to 28 liters, with a laptop sleeve and a look that fits in at the office, is the one to shop for.
• The comfort-first hiker: Has back or shoulder concerns, plans to carry heavier loads, or already knows a poorly fitting bag ruins the day. Put a padded hip belt, a torso size that matches yours and a ventilated back panel at the top of your list.

Pick your type, then shop for that one hiker instead of every hiker at once. Your next step is small: measure your torso, then compare packs in your size on each brand’s size chart.