Going on a hike requires ample preparation since you have to purchase and bring multiple essential hiking items.
You also need the best hiking daypacks to help you carry them all without hassles.
However, looking for one can overwhelm you because of the number of options available in the market nowadays.
There are also so many things to consider when searching for the right hiking daypack.
Hence, we reviewed five of the best daypacks for hiking and included a short guide to help you decide.
Comparison Chart
Best Hiking Daypacks
1. Venture Pal 40L Travel Hiking Backpack
Venture Pal is a famous brand when it comes to daypacks.
If you are looking for something light and affordable for your hiking, their 40L Travel Hiking Backpack will surely be a great treat for you.
It is also one of the company's best-selling items, and many backpackers are already using it.
Product Highlights
To produce some of the best day hiking backpacks, Venture Pal focused on functionality.
This 40L Travel Hiking Backpack is very popular because of its humane design, making it convenient to use.
It's made of high-quality nylon fabric that is resistant to wear and tear.
Its zippers are also heavy-duty and enhanced, thanks to the bar-tracks placed on the major stress points.
Also, its double-layer bottom provides extra strength so you can carry more things without worrying about it ripping.
The Venture Pal 40L Travel Hiking Backpack only weighs around 0.7 pounds, and you can fold it in its own pocket if you want to store it.
Aptly named, it has 40L of storage space, so you can put a variety of things inside that you can use for hiking.
It also has breathable, padded shoulder straps to relieve stress from your shoulder, even when you maximize the bag's capacity.
The Venture Pal 40L Travel Hiking Backpack also features a multi-compartment design with a zipped compartment, two side pockets, and one zipped front pocket.
It has a waterproof pocket in the main compartment that allows you to separate all of your wet clothes from other personal items that you brought with you.
There is also a separator and a small zippered pocket in the main compartment to help you organize your things.
Lastly, there are 11 colors you can choose from, including green, black, navy, orange, purple, and red.
What We Like
The best thing about the Venture Pal 40L Travel Hiking Backpack is the convenience it provides when hiking.
It's very light and has a lot of pockets inside, which is really helpful if you always bring a lot of items with you.
What We Don’t Like
The only thing we didn't like with the Venture Pal 40L Travel Hiking Backpack is the zippers.
They look sturdy at first and although they're made of heavy-duty materials, after several washes, you will realize that they would get stuck and be harder to zip.
PROS
CONS
2. Waterfly Crossbody Sling Backpack
While the previous item focuses on storage capacity, the Waterfly Crossbody Sling Backpack is all about size and weight.
It is one of the best day hiking backpacks you can use if you don’t want to bring a lot of things with you.
For instance, if you're going for a short hike.
Product Highlights
You can keep all the small things in order with the Waterfly Crossbody Sling Backpack.
It has a dimension of 18 x 9 x 38 centimeters or 7 x 3.5 x 15 inches, so it will not weigh you down when you are hiking.
You can run and jump around without worrying about your things since they are perfectly safe on this backpack.
It also comes with a front zipper bag and a buckle bag where you can put your mobile phones, power banks, and more.
If you always bring tissue, makeup, keys, and other small important items, its smaller compartments inside can keep them more organized.
There is also a side mesh pocket with a height of six inches that can hold a 2.4-inch bottle.
If you love to listen to music while hiking, there is a hidden earphone hole on the front.
It will provide easy access to your earphones anytime.
The bag's adjustable and reversible shoulder strap has three D-rings on its lower part.
You can connect the shoulder strap with the right or left D-ring depending on your choice.
The Waterfly Crossbody Sling Backpack is made of high-quality and breathable materials, so you will always feel comfortable while hiking.
Color-wise, there are 14 options for you such as black, white, flaxen, purple, dark gray, teal blue, gray, and navy blue.
What We Like
One of the best features of the Waterfly Crossbody Sling Backpack is its size.
Not everyone loves to bring backpacks during a hike, and most people don’t really bring too much.
It has the perfect size to carry all the necessary items you need without putting pressure on your movements.
What We Don’t Like
The Waterfly Crossbody Sling Backpack is not meant for people who are six feet tall and above.
The strap is not too long, so it would feel awkward when you put it around your shoulder.
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CONS
3. Venture Pal Lightweight Hiking Backpack
The Venture Pal Lightweight Hiking Backpack is definitely an amazing pick if you plan to bring many things with you.
Like the Venture Pal model we reviewed earlier, it is also a type of backpack focused on storage capacity.
It is a bit big but very lightweight.
Product Highlights
Many people consider Venture Pal Lightweight Hiking Backpack as the best daypack for hiking since it provides enough room for all your hiking essentials.
It has multi compartments to help keep your things organized.
It also features a main zipped compartment, two side pockets, and two zipped front pockets.
The main compartment has a capacity of 35 liters, so you can benefit from it, whether it is a short or a long hiking trip.
The Venture Pal Lightweight Hiking Backpack is extremely durable since it's made with high-quality, water-resistant, and tear-resistant materials.
It provides long-lasting performance and strength while offering the lightest weight.
The daypack is only 0.7 pounds in weight and has a size of 14.13 x 10.87 x 2.8 inches.
You can also fold the bag if you plan to store it and just unfold it if you're going on a hike.
The double-layer bottom can provide that extra durability to make sure your things in the main compartment don't get damaged.
The Venture Pal Lightweight Hiking Backpack is comfortable to use because of its breathable mesh shoulder straps.
It has a lot of sponge padding that would relieve the stress from your shoulders.
You can also adjust the length of the shoulder strap depending on your height.
There is also a chest strap with a whistle buckle to lock your backpack in place while hiking.
Another great thing about the Venture Pal Lightweight Hiking Backpack is the 14 different colors you can choose from.
What We Like
The best thing about the Venture Pal Lightweight Hiking Backpack is its storage capacity.
It is the main selling point of the daypack and one of the reasons a lot of hikers use it.
You can use the daypack for long or short hikes since it is not too heavy.
What We Don’t Like
One of the common issues about the Venture Pal Lightweight Hiking Backpack is its interior.
If you put a lot of things inside or exceeded the weight limit, the interior lining peels away.
It is the same when it is too hot during the hike.
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CONS
4. Osprey Daylite Plus Daypack
Osprey is one of the oldest brands of backpacks in the market.
They have been in this industry since 1974 and provided a wide range of amazing designs to hikers around the globe.
The Osprey Daylite Plus Daypack is currently one of their best products and a top choice for many hikers.
Product Highlights
The Osprey Daylite Plus Daypack doesn’t look like traditional hiking gear, but it has a main compartment that can handle almost all the things you need to bring.
Its size is average compared with most of the hiking daypacks that you can find in the market.
It is the perfect companion for almost any kind of trip due to its versatility.
The Osprey Daylite Plus Daypack features a comfortable back panel that would prevent any pressure on your back while hiking.
It provides comfort and ventilation with its mesh-covered die-cut foam.
The built-in hydration reservoir pocket is a fantastic feature as well because you can fill it with water.
If you have any plans of bringing your laptop or tablet, there is also an internal pocket to keep your gadget safe.
The Osprey Daylite Plus Daypack also has two dual stretch mesh side pockets that give additional storage.
It's also available in 11 colors, including multiple shades of purple, black, orange, and tan.
What We Like
The Osprey Daylite Plus Daypack can be considered the best daypack for hiking simply because of its average size.
This bag is a perfect choice for people who do not want to bring something small or big for their hike.
It doesn’t look bulky and provides enough space for all the essential things you need to bring.
What We Don’t Like
The only drawback of the Osprey Daylite Plus Daypack is the absence of separators or compartments to organize.
As such, the things you put in the main compartment might get jumbled, meaning you might not be able to organize your things properly.
PROS
CONS
5. ZOMAKE Ultra Lightweight Hiking Daypack
The ZOMAKE Ultra Lightweight Hiking bag is one of the most popular daypacks for hiking.
The size is just right for people planning to go on a long hiking trip.
If you plan to have a day hike and bring a few important things with you, this backpack provides sufficient storage space.
Product Highlights
The ZOMAKE Ultra Lightweight Hiking Daypack offers a roomy design with a 20L travel capacity.
Compared to bigger bags, it cannot hold too many items, but it is perfect for a one-day hiking trip.
It has one main zipped compartment, two side pockets, and a front pocket to help you organize your things.
One of the best things is that you can fold the bag into a small pocket when traveling.
You can then just unfold it once you get to your destination.
The ZOMAKE Ultra Lightweight Hiking Daypack is made from water-resistant materials, while the zippers are durable and abrasion-resistant.
The stitches are all over the place, so you can guarantee that it is extremely durable.
The ZOMAKE Ultra Lightweight Hiking Daypack is versatile.
You can use it for all types of trips, making it a perfect choice for men and women who love to travel.
For color availability, there is a total of 12 light and dark tones, such as yellow, black, blue, gray, and pink.
What We Like
The overall design of the ZOMAKE Ultra Lightweight Hiking Daypack is definitely one of its strengths.
Among the different daypacks for hiking on this list, this is one of the most stylish.
The abrasion-resistant zippers will also guarantee that they will always work efficiently.
What We Don’t Like
There are instances when the ZOMAKE Ultra Lightweight Hiking Daypack's strap breaks easily.
If you put in too many items inside, the strap might break anytime.
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CONS
Buyer’s Guide
There are so many hiking daypacks in the market today.
The ones we reviewed are only a few of the best items that you can find.
If you want to know how to find the best hiking daypacks, you should know the features you need to check before buying.
Size
When looking for a hiking daypack, you can see a number with an L beside the name, which actually refers to the daypack's maximum capacity.
The unit is in Liters and describes the number of things the backpack can carry.
Most of the hiking daypacks range from 20 to 35 liters.
Some models have 40L or more, but they are only a good choice if you plan to bring more things with you.
If you are going to buy a bag with a lower storage capacity, you won’t be able to bring your hiking gear with you.
Choosing the size of the daypack would depend on the things that you plan to bring.
If you don’t plan to bring a lot of things aside from your water and gadgets, getting a smaller bag will do.
If you plan to bring more, getting a 20- or 30-liter daypack will be a good choice.
Gender-Specificity
You need to be very careful when buying a daypack because there are times when the bags don't have unisexual designs.
Most backpacks are now designed with the figure of the user in mind.
For women, the fit is usually smaller. It means that if a guy accidentally buys a bag for women, he won’t be able to use it because it will be very uncomfortable to wear.
Just like hiking boots, before you buy a hiking daypack, make sure that you check if it is for male or female.
You can also find other daypacks made for both males and females.
These daypacks are adjustable to make sure that they would fit the users perfectly.
Ventilation
This is a very important feature that most people disregard.
You have to remember that the daypacks will stay on your body the whole trip.
If it doesn’t have enough ventilation, you can expect the area where the bag is would be drenched with sweat.
You don’t want the items inside to get wet, so you need to look for a daypack that provides proper ventilation.
Mesh materials are usually the best option when it comes to this.
Suspension
It pertains to the shoulder straps and hip belts meant to provide support to your body when hiking.
It will help determine the number of items you can carry and the comfort you will feel while carrying the daypack.
Most of the daypacks right now include cushioning on the shoulder area to reduce the pressure and improve comfort.
The hip belts are also important since they will carry most of the load that your shoulders cannot carry.
Make sure that the hip belts and shoulder straps are properly cushioned.
This is to help provide a more comfortable feeling while wearing the daypack on a hike.
Storage
This is the most important feature that you need to check when looking for hiking daypacks.
You need to see if the storage space is just a single space or comes with separators and compartments.
Basically, you should never get a daypack with only a single storage space.
Your things will get jumbled inside if it doesn’t have smaller compartments or a separator inside.
If the daypack has a lot of pockets, it means that you can properly organize your items inside it.
FAQs
1. What Color Backpack Should I Get for Hiking?
The color of your backpack would depend on your preference. You can choose whatever color you want.
However, if you are going to ask experts, you should go with dark colors since the stain will not be visible. You have to remember that a lot of things can happen during the hike, and there is a big chance that the bag will get stained.
2. What Is the Best Size Backpack for a Day Hike?
The best size of your backpack depends on the things that you plan to bring with you.
Some people don’t want to bring a lot of things, so they can settle on 10 to 15L of space.
If you plan to bring more items with you during the hike, you should opt for a 25 to 35L backpack.
The space that they can provide is sufficient to carry all of your hiking gear.
3. How Many Liters Backpack for a Day Hike?
For daypacks, you should only go with 20L to 35L backpacks.
Anything lower may not be able to carry more things for you.
Getting something bigger will make the backpack heavier.
If you prefer to hike without bringing too much, get a smaller daypack with a 10- to 15-liter capacity.
4. What Should I Pack in My Daypack for Hiking?
For short hikes, you should always bring water and food with you.
It is also better to bring some hiking gears that you can use along the way.
You should always bring a flashlight with you in case of emergencies.
Change of clothes would be very important as well. That said, you don’t need to bring too much since it would make your bag heavy.
Bringing a first aid kit would be useful during a hike.
Small wounds are inevitable, so you need to have band-aids, alcohol, and other medical supplies to treat them.
5. Can You Use a Regular Backpack for Hiking?
You can use a regular backpack if you want, but don’t expect them to still be in one piece when you return.
Regular backpacks are not capable of withstanding the harsh environment during the hike.
If you put too many items inside, the backpack might get damaged while you are hiking.
Regular backpacks are usually heavier and don’t have a big main compartment.
They also don’t have any proper ventilation, so you should expect your back to be drenched in sweat the whole trip.
What Is the Best Daypack for Hiking?
Our pick for the best of the best daypack for hiking is the Venture Pal Lightweight Hiking Backpack.
The bag itself is not too big, but it can carry up to 35L of items.
Although the interior lining might get damaged because of excessive heat, proper maintenance and usage will prevent this problem.