Hiker with trekking backpack on a bridge

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The right fit of a backpack

The backpack is one of the essential companions on your hikes. To ensure that you travel in comfort and enjoy your equipment for a long time, you should invest enough time and ask for comprehensive advice before buying. In the end, the decisive factor should not be the brand or the color – but the fit.

Which carrying system to choose?

Backpack with mesh back carrying system
Photo: Angela Bach, Outdooractive Editors

With a mesh back carrying system, the backpack does not have direct contact with your back, but curves away from it. Instead of the solid back section, a flexible and air-permeable mesh is used. This design is extremely comfortable for small and light backpacks because it allows excellent ventilation around your back.

However, the free space between the mesh and the backpack makes the backpack's center gravity shift backward. For larger loads or more demanding routes, the classic carrying system is recommendable. This way, the weight is brought close to the body and you have better control.

The back length must fit

The key to a perfectly fitting hiking backpack is the length of the back section. If it's too short, you won't be able to place the hip fins correctly. If it's too long, the backpack rubs against your bottom – or the whole backpack sits too high, making it unstable and uncomfortable to carry.

Especially with smaller models such as daypacks, the back section is not adjustable. Therefore, when buying a backpack, you should make sure that the back section of the pack fits the length of your back.

The seventh cervical vertebra is clearly visible.
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Everybody is built differently. That is why you cannot make a statement about the length of your back based on your height. The only thing that helps is to measure – the distance between the seventh cervical vertebra and the upper edge of the pelvic bone.

To do this, pull your chin down towards your chest and you will feel the prominent vertebra on your neck between your shoulders. The pelvic bone is again easy to find by following the spine down to your bottom.

The determined length gives you information about the right backpack size for you. The following units provide orientation (European sizes):

Size S: 40 to 49 cm (15 to 19 inches)
Size M: 50 to 57 cm (20 to 22 inches)
Size L: 58 to 69 cm (23 to 27 inches)

Men's and women's backpacks

Many manufacturers are launching special women's backpacks on the market today. They are not only offering additional color options but a more precise fit to the anatomy:

Short back length: Often, women are shorter and also have significantly longer legs in relation to their upper body. Thus, many women's backpacks are perfectly tailored to a short back length.
S-shaped shoulder straps: If you look at the shoulder straps of a women's backpack, the pronounced S-curve immediately catches the eye. Women's shoulders are narrow – that's why the straps of a women's model initially stand closer together. Then they describe a large curve around the neck, running straight across the shoulders and directly backward to avoid the chest area.
Tapered hip belt: For an ideal fit on wider hips, the hip fins of women's models are slanted and additionally padded.
Less volume: Due to the short back length, women's models are usually cut somewhat more compact than the corresponding men's model. The reduced volume has an indirect effect on the weight of the backpack.

Women's backpack with S-shaped straps that leave out the chest area
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Can women go on tour with a men's backpack?

It's all a question of physique: tall and slim women often get along well with the longer back part of the men's model. Small and curvy women, however, are more comfortable with women's models.

The decision also depends on the type of backpack and the planned trip. On a half-day or day trip, the difference may not be so noticeable. However, the bigger/heavier the backpack and the longer the route, the more important the perfect fit is.

By the way: Some men prefer the women's model. So, in the end, it is not the designation that is decisive.

Backpacks for children

Girl with own backpack on a hiking tour
Photo: S&B Vonlanthen, CC0, unsplash.com

Little hikers like to carry some of their equipment in their own backpack – some food, a light piece of clothing or a toy.

Children's backpacks are particularly eye-catching because of their colorful design. However, the fit should not be neglected – this applies to small children as well as to older school children.

Backpacks that are too large, heavy or ill-fitting are not only in the way when exploring. They also have a detrimental effect on children's bodies that are not fully grown yet.