How Big a Pack Do I Need?

It’s always a conundrum.  You are getting ready to head out for a trip into the wilderness and you need to carry your stuff.  How do you pack enough for the trip without bringing along too much and what do you put it in?  You face the same problem when packing for a vacation by car, plane or boat, but it’s made much worse when you are packing everything to carry on your back!

One thing that I have discovered over the years is that the bigger the pack, the more you will be tempted to put in it.  There is a real art to packing for a backpacking/wilderness excursion and the best way to learn is by doing it.  A useful tip that I have discovered is to pack what you think you will need, take the trip and then come back and review what you used and what you didn’t use.  Then, leave out those items the next time you take a trip.  There are exceptions to this, of course.  If you didn’t use your small first aid kit, great!  But I would still pack it the next time!  Some items are there for emergencies and it’s ok if you don’t use them every time you go out, but they still have a place in your load out.

So, how big should your backpack be?  Well, first of all, you need to figure out how long you are going to be in the outdoors.  Second, write down your list of clothes, food and equipment on a piece of paper.  Third, gather all your items and lay them out neatly on a large area such as a bed or the living room floor.  Make sure and arrange all items by group for easy viewing and review.  (Put all the food together, all the cooking items together, all the clothes together etc.) Fourth, make sure that what you have packed matches not only the length of time you anticipate being gone, but also the environment you will encounter.  Do you have raingear/poncho for wet weather, do you have a light jacket or fleece and a hat and gloves for those chilly nights and mornings, do you have lightweight sandals or Crocs for river and stream crossings etc.?  Fifth, do you have adequate emergency gear like a first aid kit and water purification capability?

Then, look at the pile of gear you have assembled and choose a backpack that will carry all of it without being too stuffed or too slack.  If you are just going to practice bushcraft for an afternoon or a quick overnighter, you can use a haversack or a school-sized rucksack. If you are going for a two or three day excursion in moderate weather a 2,500 to 4,000 cubic inch pack will be sufficient.  This fits in the daypack to three day assault pack category up to a small expedition pack.  Then, if you’re going to be out from three days to five days, you may wish to consider a pack in the 4,000 to 6,000 cubic inch range.  If you are in cold conditions or on a trip that is from six days and up, you may need a pack in the 6,000 to 9,000 cubic inch range as cold weather clothing is bulky and your sleeping gear will be larger and you will have to carry more food in order to have calories to burn to stay warm.  Of course every pack beyond a haversack or school-sized backpack should have a waist belt and a sternum strap for carrying it.  You don’t want to be on long trip with just backpack straps alone cutting into your shoulders.

So, how big a pack do you need?  The short answer is that it depends on what you are going to do and how long you are going to be gone.  Everyone’s requirements are a little different.  The only way to know this for yourself is to get out and train with your gear.  Practice, practice, practice!  Don’t just know the skills, own the skills!

When we come to God for Salvation, we are all carrying a heavy burden of sin.  We try many ways of carrying it as well as trying to distract ourselves from the fact that we are carrying the load of guilt at all!  It’s an amazing feeling when the forgiving grace of God is applied to our heart and we feel the burden of sin lifted!  We had carried it so long we didn’t realize how heavy our heart felt.  Some people describe the experience as feeling as light as a feather!  Whoever you are and no matter how hard you try to be a good person, we are all born sinners.  We are all in need of God’s forgiveness.  How about you today?  Have you discovered the joy of being forgiven?  When our burden of sin is lifted off our heart, then Jesus gives us His Burden to carry.  It is the Burden of carrying the good news of His Forgiveness to every person on earth.  And, as Jesus described His Burden, He said “My Burden is light!”  Wouldn’t you rather carry a light burden than a heavy one?

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James B