Well, given that your pack is the literal namesake of backpacking, it is one of your most important pieces of gear. Ironically, however, a backpack is probably the very last piece of gear you want to acquire. Sure, you can reverse engineer your kit to suit your pack (and there might be benefit to doing so if the goal is to force yourself towards smaller or lighter gear.) The wiser method, however, it to get your gear in order and then find a pack that can handle the weight and volume of what you plan to carry. There are countless brands, types, and pack designs. Frankly, I am not nearly knowledgeable enough to cover them all (and this would be a 20,000 word post if I tried to even address half of today's most popular models.) Instead, I’ll offer a very general overview of pack considerations based on my experience and, more importantly, what I’ve learned from those with much more experience than myself. Let’s get to it…
