Hiking backpacks features
Knowing the features a hiking backpack can have you will be able to choose the hiking backpack that best fits your needs.
As you probably already know there are different types of hiking backpacks.
Hydration
Many backpacks have a hydration bag integrated, or have a dedicated section to host a water bag and obviously a hole for its drinking tube.
Waterproof covers
The word waterproof is often abused as far as it regards backpacks: there are no backpacks which are completely waterproof due to materials, pockets, shape etc.
Some backpacks have a waterproof cover that you use to wrap the entire backpack putting it in a waterproof bag.
This may sound an awkward solution but will actually make your backpack waterproof during heavy rains.
Shoulder Straps
This is the part that connects the upper part of your body to the backpack. The bigger the backpack, the softer, wider and padded the straps need to be to remain comfortable.
The straps of most backpacks can be connected with a chest belt which prevents the backpack from pulling your shoulders back keeping the pack tight to your body.
The hip belt
This belt is used to move the weight of the backpack from your shoulders to the lower part of your body distributing the weight on your hips.
When the backpack becomes heavy it's important to tighten the hip belt to avoid it to slide down.
External cords
Every backpack has external cords set that can be used to fix to the backpack additional equipment such as hiking poles. The position of these cords can vary from a pack to the next. Despite it's always possible to find a suitable position for your equipment you might want to check if such cords are positioned where you need them to be.
Frame - Internal or External
Many backpacks today have internal frames to keep the pack in shape and distribute the load. The frame is usually in pastic or aluminium. Backpacks with external frame are usually those of bigger sizes: internal frame backpacks are way more comfortable hence today almost all backpacks have internal frames.
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