Preparation and organisation of your backpack are crucial before heading out on a hike. It is important to choose your backpack wisely and avoid overloading it by bringing only the essential items and clothing. How you pack will play a key role, both for practicality and for your own safety. With that in mind, find out how to pack your clothes in your hiking pack.
Balancing the weight of your backpack
Packing your clothes properly in your backpack ensures comfort, practicality and safety on your hike. If the weight is unevenly distributed, you risk back, shoulder or hip pain. Your muscles will have to compensate for the imbalance, which can really hold you back — especially on multi-day hiking trips.
On the trail, you may encounter technical, steep or slippery terrain. In these situations, you can easily fall or injure yourself if your centre of gravity is too high due to a poorly packed backpack.
Finally, organising your backpack well means you can quickly access the most useful and least bulky items, while keeping heavy and cumbersome gear in other areas of the pack.
Organising your hiking pack
To organise your backpack, the best approach is to divide it into four zones:
- The bottom of the pack
- Along the back
- The front section
- The top of the pack
At the bottom of the pack, you can place your sleeping bag. The advantage is that it cushions the pack when you set it down. If you have a bottom access panel, it can also be useful to slip in a garment that you may need to reach quickly.
Along the back, it is best to avoid clothing and instead favour heavy, bulky items such as your stove, gas canisters, food or tent.
The front section is the zone where we recommend placing your lightest, least dense clothing. These items can also help to cushion the heaviest objects.
The top of the pack is often the most easily accessible section. We recommend keeping certain garments there, such as your rain jacket, down jacket or fleece. If rain arrives suddenly, you won't need to unpack your entire bag to stay protected — saving you valuable time.
Smaller items of clothing such as gloves or a beanie can be placed in the outer pockets for even easier access when needed.
Packing your clothes using different techniques
To take up as little space as possible, roll your clothes instead of folding them. This technique saves space and also makes it easier to arrange your garments. You can slip them between heavy or more fragile items to keep everything firmly in place.
Using packing cubes to compartmentalise and organise your bag is another great tip. You can organise your pack according to how often you need each item. For example: a cooking pouch, a bivvy clothing pouch, a spare clothing pouch… This makes it easy to find what you need when you need it.
Knowing how to pack your backpack is essential. It improves your comfort, your safety, and above all your practicality. Being able to easily access key items like rain gear — while keeping less critical things like sleep clothes out of the way — means you can hike in better conditions without constantly repacking your hiking backpack.
