A couple of weeks ago I purchased my rucksack for my year long adventure in Australia, my boyfriend had his last week. Because we are both backpack virgins, we had no idea what to look for, what we needed and what to expect.
With no idea of what the heck we were doing, I travelled with my Mother to Go Outdoors. Check them out here; to purchase my little beauty of a rucksack. To those who know me will know that I have an obsession with everything pretty. I have to have ‘pretty’ everything from a stapler to a DSLR camera bag (camera lovers will know the struggle) to wine bottles (Yes, that’s right! I chose the wine depending on how pretty the bottle is)- Does anyone else do this? I had some minging ciders and wine in my time, all for the pretty label, sad I know!
I opted for the prettiest rucksack that they had for women. It’s purple and pink, because duh! (If you want to have a look click the link.) Now as far as Rucksacks go, I haven’t the faintest clue.. but luckily the good old store assistant was there to help! He fitted my rucksack and let me walk around the store to see if it felt comfortable.- Remember doing this in clarks as a kid?
I would definitely make sure that you get your rucksack fitted. You are meant to carry the weight on your hips rather than your back when carrying a rucksack. This is why it’s important that the rucksack fits right on your hips and takes the pressure off the back. Another good tip would be to put some heavy rope in the back so you can see for yourself what it’s like with something inside. They fitted it well by adjusting the height and straps to make sure it’s comfortable for my height.
I’ve gathered some info from various websites to find the best tips for buying a rucksack.
*Make sure you know what size you need: It’s no good purchasing a small rucksack for a year long trip. A 60 litre, which is the one I purchased seems the right size for my traveling needs. Although the boyfriend has a bigger one (70 + 10) to carry all my extras.
*Make sure you have good straps. Some straps are similar to a memory foam and sculpt to your shoulders, whereas others don’t. If you suffer from shoulder problems make sure you have the strap that can shape to your shoulders. It will be worth it in the end.
*Gender packs are ideal. Women and men are obviously built differently and so are their rucksacks. If you are a female I suggest getting the backpack specially designed for women. Whereas men can get away with same sex rucksacks.
*Pockets and compartments. Most rucksacks have there own hidden compartments. If you fancy having easy access to your sleeping bag you can just unzip from the bottom to get it out. My rucksack also has a separate compartment at the bottom for muddy shoes that you want to keep separate from your travel stuff.
*Rain cover- If you are going on an adventure and it’s likely to rain. Make sure your rucksack includes a rain cover to keep everything dry. You can buy these rain covers separate so don’t fret if your rucksack doesn’t have one.
*Sometimes own brands are just as good and are half the price. I bought my boyfriend the OEX (Go outdoors own brand)- which is just as good as the top brands for a lot cheaper.
Check out this video to understand how to fix it.
Do you have any tips to add to the backpack list?
Wanderlust; 