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Deciding over a rucksack can be relatively easy…in terms of size at least! Choose between day sacks for everyday use and larger rucksacks for extended travelling trips as well as camping trips and walking holidays. Rucksacks have many specifications to them so it’s relatively important to understand the benefits of these functions to enable you to get the greatest possible use out of your rucksack.

Day sacks
As their name indicates, day sacks are essentially used for carrying items in that you shouldn’t need for longer than a day. For example a 15 – 25 litre rucksack would be suitable for use as a school bag, to keep gym stuff in or use for a day’s hiking or trekking in the hills or mountains. Rucksacks and day sacks have many features and specifications, many of which you may not have even considered should we not point them out here! Rucksacks will normally have several pockets, each of them of various uses. Pockets range from mobile phone pockets, map pockets for those walking and hiking and needing easy access to navigate their route, as well as iPod and MP3 player pockets. Day sacks work well when heading on short weekend camping trips and other short weekends away.

Large Rucksacks
Large rucksacks are essential for travelling; whether you’re trekking round South America and doing the Inca Trail or you’re heading off on a GAP year adventure you will need a good large rucksack. When selecting rucksacks for travelling expeditions you need to consider your needs. Often travellers enjoy the benefits of a large rucksack with a detachable day sack which can be taken off and used during the day whilst the larger rucksack can be left at the hostel or hotel. Many rucksacks have a variety of straps that can often take a while getting your head around understanding what they actually do instead of being there for technical decorations. Chest straps are used to tighten and fasten the bag around the chest area and provide additional load transfer whilst a hip belt is a padded belt around the hips that is designed to help distribute the weight of the rucksack evenly and reduce pressure on the wearer. A waist belt is useful on a large rucksack as it helps distribute the bulk of the rucksack comfortably around the weight. For those travelling for long periods of time will no doubt encounter terrible weather and that’s when a rain cover comes in to play; simply fold out the cover over your rucksack to protect the contents from getting wet in the rain.