Summary
here .It is also a capacity that can be found among bushcraft enthusiasts, who like to carry with them their tarp, their stove, their kettle, food to cook, etc.
The very famous Jääkari (in size M) from the Finnish brand Savotta, extremely robust and durable. It is a backpack that I also own and that I recommend to the most “brutal” among you.
40-50 liters
Urban side
Beyond 40 liters, you can hardly find backpacks for urban use anymore; it is a capacity that is not really useful for a city dweller , except for those who like to take a lot of clothes when traveling.
© Goruck
The 45-litre GR3, still from Goruck. You see that it’s starting to be pretty bulky for urban use…
Outdoor side
This is the typical capacity of ultra-light hikers who leave for several weeks, always during mild temperatures. Most brands of ultra-light backpacks (in Dyneema, X-Pac or Ultra fabric) offer bags in these volumes (either 40 or 55 liters), it is the heart of their range.
© Long Distance Workshop
The All Around, made in France by Atelier Longue Distance, available in 30, 35, 40 and 45 liters!
For a more classic hiker, it is a useful capacity for a day hike if there is a need to take warm clothes in winter , for a hike with one or two nights, but being very light on the sleeping bag.
© Mystery Ranch
The Bridger 45 from Mystery Ranch, a solid candidate in this type of capacity.
50-60 liters
This is the typical hiking backpack , the one you take to go hiking and pitch your tent for a few days!
As soon as you want to take a few days of food, a tent, a sleeping bag and a mattress that are more or less optimized (so not too bulky), this is the ideal “Swiss army knife” capacity.
© Hill People Gear
The Ute (60 litres) from Hill People Gear, for those who like sturdy, comfortable and modular bags.
As for ultra-light bag brands, this is the maximum capacity that can be expected from them. In fact, few brands offer ultra-light bags of more than 60 liters, because it is considered that an ultra-light hiker does not need a larger capacity.
© Durston Gear
A radically different vibe than the Ute, with this ultra-light 55-litre Kakwa from Durston Gear.
The Seek Outside brand, however, is an exception with its large Ultra fabric bags that hold up to 100 liters. The same goes for SWD, which offers bags from 70 to 95 liters.
70-90 liters
Do you have in mind the image of a young student who is traveling around the world with a huge backpack loaded to the brim? Well, it is surely a backpack of this capacity that he is carrying!
This is a capacity that is not useful for a summer hike for someone who has optimized equipment (unless you need a week of complete autonomy in food). However, for someone who has standard equipment that is not particularly light (like the synthetic sleeping bag and the basic Decathlon ground mattress, which are rather bulky) this is a capacity that is unavoidable.
The “70+10 liters” from Decathlon, a bag that you will often come across if you go mountaineering.
Some hikers practice packrafting, a sport that involves hiking while sometimes navigating rivers using a small inflatable raft (the packraft). This is bulky equipment that requires a suitable backpack.
© SWD
An example of a 70 liter backpack with the Big Wild from SWD.
This is also a size that makes sense for winter hikers, because you need warmer clothes and a sleeping bag, and therefore more bulky. Some hikers even leave with a small titanium wood stove (you also need the shelter that goes with it), so it's extra equipment to carry.
Please note : parents who are going on a hike for a few days with their children will definitely need a volume of this order of magnitude, unless your child is already a warrior capable of carrying their own water, food, shelter and sleeping bag!
100 liters and beyond
Bags over 100 liters are rare, because they get so big that they are difficult to move, and they are bags for very specific and niche uses. You will sometimes see the term “Expedition packs” to refer to them.
To give you an idea, it is a literage which corresponds to the maximum size of a suitcase for the hold.
These are bags intended for 10-15 day expeditions with complete autonomy in food, without the possibility of resupply, and with a lot of equipment. This concerns certain hunters, the military, mountaineers who go to a remote base camp, or explorers who go very deep into the jungle.
This is a capacity that has no application for an average hiker, unless you absolutely want to carry all the gear of a small family!
Please note : you still need a certain amount of experience and very good physical condition to walk all day and cover altitude while carrying such a backpack.
© Exo Mtn
The K4 7200 from the Exo Mtn brand (over 120 liters), where you can see the immense size of the backpack: it's not far from carrying a menhir on your back... In the image on the left, you have the same bag but which is compressed to the maximum.
That's it for this overview of the orders of magnitude of the volume of a backpack, and if you have any questions, I will be happy to answer them in the comments!
To go further, I share with you my experiences in Mongolia and in the Vercors, where I detail my equipment and bags used for these adventures!
