How Do You Choose the Best Women's Backpack?

Choosing the best women's backpack is part skill, part inspiration, and part plain hard work, especially if you plan to be living with your pack for months, or even longer.

I've gone through a number of backpacks in my travels and I still haven't found the perfect one. If I had, it would have at least some of the following features:

It would be as light as possible
Some backpacks are extremely light but you'll have to balance that withsturdiness. Still, when an airline limits you to 8Kg/17lb, you don't want half that weight going into the structure of a backpack.

A great women's backpack should fit on board
But won't always. That's because airline rules about what you can carry on board are becoming increasingly stringent. Still, if you can go small, do it. Backpacks can be cut easily and their content plundered, so I'd rather make sure mine is within sight. Carry-on dimensions vary from one airline to another but whatever the size, it'll be smaller than you'd like.

Make sure it loads from the front, like a suitcase
Traditional backpacks, especially those used for trekking, load from the top. When you need something from the bottom, everything has to come out. Front loading means you can store things as in a suitcase, with all your belongings within sight.

Easy to carry and COMFORTABLE
I like wide, contoured, soft straps that divide up the weight across my back, the cushier the better. In addition to wide and soft straps a good backpack for women should have a chest strap (sternum strap) to keep the shoulder straps together (located a bit higher than it would be for a man) and a hip strap to make sure your hips work harder than your shoulders when it comes to carrying the weight.

Wheels or not?
An interesting innovation is the wheeled backpack, which you can carry on your back and wheel around as well. I haven't found any comfortable enough to carry long distances, although they're heaven when you need to dash through an airport at high speed - in other words, across a smooth surface. If you're backpacking around Africa or South America, you won't have too many wheeling opportunities.

An integrated day pack
Many backpacks have a day pack attached and granted, if you fill both you'll be way over airline weight limits. The idea is to detach the day pack and use that as your purse/briefcase/bag, while using the rest of the backpack as your carry-on luggage.

Lots of pockets!
That's a matter of personal choice. I love to stuff my little pockets full of things, while other backpackers would rather pack small bags and put them inside the backpack. Granted it'll be a lot harder to steal something from inside your pack than from pockets on the outside. But I like the convenience of reaching for something easily. Just not something valuable.

The best women's backpack is easy to slip on
The words 'slip on' may not quite apply to backpacks but if you can't get your pack onto your back relatively easily, you can hurt yourself and pull a muscle. My preferred method is to set my pack upright on a rock or ledge at about the height it'll be on my back. I then just slide my arms through the straps and off I go. So those shoulder straps had better be easy to slip on!

A cover for shoulder straps
Many backpacks have a zippered cover into which you can tuck all the straps. You can then carry the pack around like a suitcase or if it's really light, like a shoulder bag. This is a great feature because it keeps straps from getting caught in loading ramps, forcing baggage handlers to rip or even cut them off. Your backpack wouldn't be of much use without straps!

And just a plain cover
This isn't usually part of the backpack but you'll need it anyway - a waterproof cover. Keep it handy because you never know when you'll be hit by a downpour. And speaking of waterproofing, place your delicate gear - laptops, phones and music - into a dryliner so even if the outside of your pack gets wet, your valuables won't.

What size should I get?
I would recommend somewhere between 55 liters and 65, no more. There are larger backpacks but the bigger your pack, the more you'll fill it. Don't make the beginner's mistake of carrying a huge pack - you'll regret it. What ultimately decides the size of your backpack is the length of your torso - your pack should be not too long, and not too short. When you lean your head back, it should rest on top of the pack, not bang against it.

Women's versus men's backpacks
Some women will actually prefer men's backpacks. If you're flat-chested then the men's straps across the chest may not bother you but if you're busty, the strap on a woman's pack is placed higher - which makes it more comfortable. If you're getting a man's pack, make sure those sternum straps are adjustable. And if you have slim hips and are taller than average, a man's pack may actually fit you better than a woman's version. A shorter frame will also fit better into a woman's backpack than a man's.

And what now?
Once you've decided whether a women's backpack is for you and you know what you're looking for, please run a few tests before you leave the shop:

• Put something heavy into the pack and walk around the shop with it. Walk a lot.
• Are you comfortable? Does anything pull, tug or pinch? If it does, adjust it.
• Make sure your straps are the right length and ask the salesperson for help if you can't slide them yourself.
• Lean your head back. If it hits the backpack, the pack is too long.
• Look at the buckles and straps to make sure they're sturdy. Buy a few extras - you never know when one might break.
• Make sure it's a snug fit around your hips, because this is where most of the weight will be carried.
• Consider a pack with a mesh back to avoid the pack sitting directly on your back, causing you to sweat from heat.
• And once you choose your travel backpack, sew something reflective on it. You'll be glad you did if you're ever stranded on a busy road at night.

Each of us is different and my perfect pack won't be yours. The best women's backpack ranges provide plenty of choices, but you may have to try a number of them before you decide.

Just don't skimp: along with your footwear, this is the one piece of equipment you'll be wearing the most. Spend the extra hundred dollars if it means getting the perfect pack.

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