Buyer's Guide - Lightweight Day Packs

As kit generally becomes lighter and more compact, lighter, more minimalist lightweight packs have become a more viable option both for fast-movers like adventure racers and fell runners, but also more generally.

As you lighten up though, there's more of an onus on the user to choose and use equipment correctly and match pack to load for optimum results. Our latest Buyers' Guide is designed to help you with the general principles of choosing the right ligthtweight day pack for you.

The great thing about the latest lightweight waterproofs and insulation is that you can get away with a smaller, lighter pack than ever before, but still carry everything you need. Lighter smaller loads mean a smaller capacity and less need for a heavy, supportive back system.

All that pre-supposes that your basic kit is reasonably lightweight. If, for example, you regularly carry a large climbing rack or find yourself in situations where your pack is dragged against abrasive rock, you may be better off with a tougher pack with a more substantial back system.

At the other end of the spectrum, it's now feasible to use some of the larger hydration packs for lightweight walking, we particularly like TNF's latest models.

The default daypack used to be around 30 litres in summer and around 40 litres for winter use. These days though, we reckon on carrying pretty much everything we need for a summer day walk or scramble in a 20 or 25-litre pack and use a 25 or 30-litre pack in winter.

Because many light packs have an adventure racing or mountain marathon heritage, they often have external pockets where you can stash waterproofs or rapid access kit, so a pack may well have a greater real life carrying capacity than its stated size.

Modern lightweight fabrics are far stronger and more tear and abrasion resistant than before, so you can combine tough fabrics with light weight. Generally pack fabrics will use a rip-stop pattern to increase resistance to tearing.

Look too for the use of areas of heavier weight fabric where packs are most prone to abrasion damage, particularly the base of the pack and possibly the top of any lid arrangement.

The very toughest lightweight fabrics use Kevlar or Dyneema reinforcement - used by GoLite - with a distinctive white rip-stop thread pattern, but these light, tough fabrics don't come cheap.

It's no great surprise that lightweight packs tend to towards the minimalist when it comes to back systems. At the truly lightweight and race pack end of the market, that tends to mean a very simple internal foam sheet for some basic comfort and / or some simple foam padding to sit against your back.

With the latter, beware sponge effect, where the foam sucks up sweat and water like a sponge. Basic back systems require careful packing for comfort.

Some slightly heavier lightweight packs use more advanced systems with some form of mesh trampolene combined with a lightweight, tensioned tubular frame. These give more support than the very basic versions and work extrememly well in, say, Osprey's Atmos range or Gegory's Z-pack series.

If you're going to be moving fast, particularly running or biking, then a decent compression system is a must. Without one the contents of your pack are free to flop around annoyingly.

There are plenty of different versions out there, most conventional ones use a series of side straps to pull the back of the pack in towards your back. Others have a shield-type device that does the same thing or a shockcord next that compressed the back panel with the same results.

Combined with that, you want shoulder straps that sit properly on your shoulders, top tensioners to keep the top of the pack close in and some way of pulling the base of the pack in towards the hip-belt to minimise any swaying in that area.

Your best bet is to load and test the pack before buying. Don't be shy, half fill it, snug everything up then go for a jog around the shop and jump around. Check the contents stay in place and the hip-belt and shoulder straps don't move and rise up. Ideally you want a near organic union between pack and body - it should feel like a part of you.

It's amazing how many side stash pockets are impossible to use when wearing the pack unless you're a triple-jointed freak of nature, so try stowing a water bottle while wearing and make sure it's stable once it's in there - yes, jump around again.

Are other stash pockets big enough? If you want a lid pocket and key clip are they there? Are there belt pockets and if so do they open the right way - we prefer a forward pull when closing - and are they big enough to carry snacks and incidentals?

Finally pretty much all lightweight packs these days will have a hydration sleeve and outlet. Make sure it works for your side of preference and that there are guide loops to stop the tube from whirling about.

This article should have given you some basic pointers. The good news is that there's a load more advice on OUTDOORSmagic:

Ask on the gear forum about general issues or specific items.

Check the member reviews section for user experiences of kit.

See OM editorial reviews on the front of the site for our impressions.

Ask Richard Gear if you have a specific question you need answering.