How many liters should a backpacking backpack be?

30 to 39 liters: For super-size workloads and weekend trips. 50 to 80 liters: For hikers and campers.



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40-50 Liters (The Ultralight Thru-Hiker) Expect to fit everything you could fit in a smaller pack, plus: A food bag that can hold up to 5-6 days worth of food. A pot for cooking. A camp stove and fuel.

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Multiday Packs: 50-75 liters A light packer will have ample room for five nights or more with a multiday backpack, which is typically a 50L backpack or larger. These are designed to carry more food and cooking fuel than a weekend pack, as well as extra clothes and layers.

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If you buy a 55 liter to 65 liter back from a backpack manufacturer than only counts their closed storage in their volume spec, there's a pretty good chance you can carry all of your backpacking essentials inside your backpack, including a bulkier synthetic insulated sleeping bag and a two-person tent.

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The sweet spot lies somewhere in the middle: a backpack between 40-70L is fine for a long-term trip – the trick is not to stuff it full.

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The design of the 70L is perfectly suited for airplane carry-on or check in, and the features of the 70L are perfect for any adventure once you arrive at your destination. Being able to compress the 70L allows you to use it as carry-on for all major airlines in the US and Canada.

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A 40 liter backpack is the best size for traveling in Europe as it's small enough to fly carry-on only. If you aren't up to the challenge of travelling with a 40 liter pack, you just need to make sure that you choose a backpack you will be comfortable carrying for long periods of time.

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60-70 Liters (The Conventional Backpacker) These are the size packs that you are most likely to see when on a multi-day backpacking trip.

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Large Backpacks: 40+ Liters
Large backpacks have a capacity of 40 liters or more, which is plenty of space for all your travel gear, even on longer journeys. If you're planning a backpacking trip for seven to ten days (or longer if you're travel-savvy and can pack light), this is the size you'll want.

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They're suitable for short breaks or extended trips. Most backpackers can travel for months, if not years, with a backpack in the 40-46-litre range! It's easy to fit in a week's worth of clothes, as well as all your travel essentials.

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Your backpack will generally be allowed as a carry-on if it's under 50 liters, or about 22 x 14 x 9 inches. Get a 45-liter backpack if you want to carry as much stuff as possible on the plane with you.

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While personal item size restrictions vary across airlines, most airlines consider a small backpack, purse, briefcase, or laptop bag to be a personal item. These must always fit under the seat in front of you. Many airlines restrict passengers to one personal item and one carry on bag.

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Most airlines allow bags up to 45 linear inches (length + width + depth) or 22? long, 14? wide, and 9? deep. To prevent problems at the airport, your bag should be no larger than these dimensions.

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Size Matters (but Bigger Isn't Better) Like a few other things in life, size matters when it comes to choosing a backpack — but not in the way you might think. Based on many years of dragging excessively large backpacks around the world, I have to say bigger is not better. You do not need an 80 or 90 litre pack.

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Large suitcases: 2 to 3-week trip Large suitcases have a height of around 75cm. These suitcases are ideal for a 2 to 3-week trip, like to the French Riviera. The suitcases have a capacity of about 75 to 91L, which equals to about 15 to 20kg of luggage.

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But bags larger than 65L are way too big for travel, even on extended trips. If you'll be traveling for more than a week or two, you'll need to do laundry anyway. You can't—or at least shouldn't—try to carry a month's worth of dirty clothes. Between these two extremes is the sweet spot of backpack sizes.

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How Much Should Your Backpack Weigh? The answer is: not more than 20% of your body weight, and ideally, it'll be about 10% of your body weight. If you weigh 200 lbs, you'd be fine with carrying 40 lbs for a day hike. If you're 160 lbs, you'd be okay with a ~30 lbs pack.

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Pack Weight for Backpacking and Hiking A loaded backpacking pack should not weigh more than about 20 percent of your body weight. (If you weigh 150 pounds, your pack should not exceed 30 pounds for backpacking.) A loaded day hiking pack should not weigh more than about 10 percent of your body weight.

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