Affordable Vs Premium Hiking Daypacks: What to Know Before you Buy | Field Mag

Nov 03, 2024

Are fancy packs worth the money? Understand the differences between affordable and premium day hiking backpacks to make an informed decision

Author

Joe Jackson

Photo courtesy Mystery Ranch

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As they say, you get what you pay for. And when it comes to outdoor gear, it’s often true—investing in quality gear, from hiking shoes to rain jackets is rarely regrettable. Whereas going the bargain bin route on crucial items often is. But that doesn’t mean the most expensive outdoor gear will always be a multitude better than its middle tier counterpart. In fact, if you know what to look for, high-performance, reliable gear can be found at just about every price point. (Better yet, shop used outdoor gear to source second hand at a fraction of the price). In this article, we will discuss premium vs affordable day hiking backpacks. And I will help you make the tough purchasing choice of how much to spend on a hiking daypack by going through price comparisons, pros and cons, features, as well as other considerations.

How do I know? Besides having 25 years experience guiding and testing hiking gear, I once got smoked by a dude in a beat-up old Jansport daypack during a 50-mile endurance race. Right when I was reaching my stride in my thousand dollar ultralight kit, the guy turned to me, said it was really nice chatting, and then proceeded to absolutely DROPPED THE HAMMER on me while his affordable little daypack jiggled off in the morning light. He left me in the dust and finished the race well ahead of me. The moral of this story: you do not need to spend a ton of money on your gear to be an incredible athlete, you just need to find the right gear for you.

As with any piece of performance gear, finding what fits your body type, your experience, and your pursuits (not to mention your style) is the most important factor when determining what to buy. Most premium daypacks are jammed full of comfort details, super useful pockets, and features that keep you hydrated and happy while you hike. They can also last forever if you don’t send them down a granite cliff face or lose them in a creek, so the large one time investment could pan out to dozens of years and hundreds of hikes of enjoyment. Or a simple Jansport could do just the trick.

It’s a nuanced decision—the right call will be different from hiker to hiker and budget to budget. To help, I will use my guiding, outdoor retail, and gear testing experience as well as the knowledge I have gleaned from the dozens of daypacks I have tested for magazines like Outside to help you make the right call on your best hiking daypack. In this article, I am going to help you decide whether to splurge on a premium daypack by breaking down the differences between budget and affordable backpacks, helping spell out some pros and cons of both price points, and going through the features you could expect from each.

Affordable hiking backpacks are—for the most part—less feature rich than their pricey counterparts. The best budget hiking backpack is likely the one that is built simply and sturdy. Cheaply made features are usually the first thing to break on a daypack:

Affordable does not have to necessarily mean shoddily built. Look for heavy duty materials like ballistic nylon and check the denier if possible.

I can’t stress enough that you can get a great day hiking backpack on a budget if you steer clear of fancy features and accessories. Doohickies mean dollars after all. Look for a frameless backpack with a simple sturdy design with a single main compartment, few extra pockets, and straightforward zippers. You can likely get away with a few light comfort details like breathable shoulder straps, but steer clear of the big ticket extras like waterproof zippers and built out carry systems.

The ideal size day hiking backpack is going to vary based on how ambitious you are, where you are planning to hike, and how snack motivated you are. A 20-30 liter pack will serve most day hikers well as it is big enough to hold on to some water, snacks, first aid kit, and extra layers needed for a day hike.

A daypack is a type of backpack that is an ideal size to take for a day-long adventure or often more specifically a day hike. They are large enough to hold some snacks, liquids, a change of clothes, and some safety equipment like a first aid kit.

The short answer is to use it for a few years, but since this is a defacto buying guide you likely don’t have that luxury. One great way to judge durability is to read customer reviews of daypacks and look to see if anyone notes the durability. Another way to help hedge your bets that you are getting a durable day pack is to read into the materials it is built from. Burly materials are often denoted by their denier (usually denoted with a D) and part of a pack that has materials above 300-D will likely be very durable.

Find more answers to all your hiking gear questions with our other hiking articles and gear guides

Published 11-03-2024