How To Pack A Rucksack

This may be old hat to most, but it is good to have someone else's point of view. Criticisms and suggested improvements on these ideas are welcomed. 

It's amazing how many people seem to just stuff their kit randomly into a pack, but correct packing can make your day both more comfortable and more convenient - here's how to load a pack properly.

Weight Distribution

With a daypack weight distribution isn't generally a big issue, but if you're overnighting and carrying bigger loads of camping kit, food and so on, how you pack your kit can make a significant difference to the way your rucksac carries.

As a rule, you want to carry heavier items as close to your back as possible to keep your centre of gravity close to your body. That might mean, for example, folding your tent carefully into a flat rectangle and stowing it along the backpanel of your pack. Water is heavy too and hydration reservoirs do a good job of siting it in a good location.

If you're carrying ice axes, it may help to stow them under side compression straps rather than on the provided location on the front of the pack where they'll tend to lever backwards. Ropes and climbing hardware are another heavy item that ideally you can to keep close-in and low.

Speaking of which, the second principle worth sticking to is to try and keep weight low in the pack particularly if you're going to be moving over rough ground or scrambling or climbing with the pack. Keeping weight low will lower your overall centre of gravity. Packing heavy items high up has tendency to make the pack feel unstable and more likely to swing around and affect your balance.

Pack For Access

Next, when you're packing a load, think about what kit you might need on the trail and stow it for easy access. Stuff that you won't need until the end of the day - a tent for example - can go pretty much anywhere, but kit like waterproof jackets, hats, gloves and snacks should be put in places where you can reach them easily.

Lid and side-pockets are great for this, also stretch mesh stash pockets that have been popularised by adventure race-style packs which are also ideal for stowing away wet waterproofs where they won't drip onto the rest of your kit. Or if you're short of pockets as you may be with, say, a stripped-down alpine pack, place stuff you're likely to need right at the top of the main compartment so all you need to do is pop open the lid to get to it.

Pack For Comfort

Last but not least, if you're using a lightweight, minimalist sort of pack with just a thin foam back-sheet for padding, you need to pack with a little ingenuity to stay comfortable. That mean folding a sleeping mat to provide some extra comfort or using spare clothing to do the same thing and, particularly, making sure that solid, angular objects don't press uncomfortably into your back - a mistake you only make once.

Avoid Hanging Extras Off Your Pack

Last but not least, if you can, try to stow everything inside your pack rather than hanging stuff off in random places in a school expedition style where sleeping bags get strapped to the base of packs rather than sitting happily inside. 

Why? You're less likely to catch things on rocks and other obstacles. Kit inside the pack can't swing around distractingly. To be fair pack makers don't always help with this - attachment points and extendable straps are what makes it possible and, equally, sometimes you don't have a choice, but we'd avoid doing it as much as possible and if you absolutely have to carry stuff externally, sticking it in a tough dry-bag and stowing it under side compression straps is a neater, safer and more efficient call than letting it hang off the base of your pack.