Jonsky’s Guide to Hiking Bags – External Frame Backpack vs Internal frame backpack

A backpacking backpack is great for camping as it leaves your hands free for more important things like eating a snack or to hold a trekking stick. Carrying a duffel on a hiking trip would be very difficult and would make a man tire very quickly.

Backpacks generally fall into two categories for outdoor activities like hiking. Traditionally external frame packs were commonly used but now internal frame hiking backpacks are the standard.

An external frame backpack consists of a rigid external frame that is strapped to the wearer’s back using an array of straps. This type of rucksack is very tough and can carry a lot of weight but keeping your balance can be a problem of the weight is higher up and away from your body. You’ll find that it’s not easy to climb and incline or up hills but manufacturers came up with the obvious solution, the internal frame backpack, was born.

But some still choose external frame backpacks because you can carry some essentials by securing it to the frame. Most people like to tie essentials that they may need regular access to the external frame. Be careful not to carry too much hanging on the frame that it turns into something like a bus in developing countries. It can make moving around difficult or make you lose your balance too easily.

Some still use external frame backpacks because they’re cooler. I’m not talking about “cool” in a sense that your friends would think it’s cool but because the pack is not close to the body, ventilation is good so your back is not hot while you’re hiking.

In this modern day external frame packs have almost been completely replaced by internal frame packs. Overall they are simply much more convenient and carrying a heavy load is so much easier because the center of gravity is much lower and since the weight is much more closer to the body, it is also more balanced.

Internal frame packs makes up for the lack of external lashing points with a huge overall capacity. Some have straps that allows you to carry your other backpacking gear like bivvy, sleeping bag or poles on the outside. The close proximity of the pack to your back also makes it more compact in a way, giving you more freedom to move. A higher level of comfort is achieved even when they tend to make your back sweat. Some makers are sharp enough to improve the overall ventilation of the rucksack by having minimal surface area in contact with the back.

Whether you choose external frame or internal frame packs it is important that you get the right fit for you because it makes a really big difference in the comfort you feel especially if you carry a heavy load. Note that that expensive doesn’t always mean better quality. You can still get a cheap rucksack that’s of high quality.

Look for internal frame bag at http://www.hiking-camping-world.com/