Best Backpacks for RTW Trips
At 1,258 words this was one of the more thorough pieces on the site, and the question is the most important one a long-trip traveller asks. The answer has sharpened considerably since 2011.
Buy smaller than you think. 40 to 45 litres. This is the single biggest change in accepted wisdom. Round-the-world travellers used to buy 65 or 70-litre packs and most now converge on something that fits a cabin bin, for three reasons: budget airlines charge more for hold luggage than for the seat, a bag you carry on cannot be lost, and a smaller bag imposes the discipline that makes a long trip pleasant.
Front-loading, not top-loading. A travel pack opens like a suitcase so you can reach the middle without unpacking. Living out of a top-loader for a year is a slow form of punishment.
The features that matter on a long trip:
- Stowable harness. Straps that zip away behind a panel so the pack becomes a duffel for check-in and does not get its harness ripped off by a belt.
- Lockable zips that meet in the middle, so a small padlock actually secures it.
- A proper hip belt, because even 12kg on shoulders alone is unpleasant after an hour of looking for a hostel.
- A repair guarantee. Over a year something will break. Osprey, Gregory, Deuter and Patagonia all repair rather than argue.
What to skip: the detachable daypack, which compromises both bags. Carry a separate packable daypack at 300g instead.
And the method that beats any recommendation: measure your torso, load candidates with 12kg in a shop, and walk in each for ten minutes. Fit is the only thing that cannot be researched, and it is the thing that decides whether you like the pack in month six.
Part of the guide to backpacks and daypacks.