Hey everyone,

So I'm new to backpacking, and obviously before I can get out there I need a good pack. What I was wondering is if anyone had any suggestions for a backpack for a big guy like me. I'm 6'5 250 with pretty broad shoulders so I realize finding a backpack that will fit me well and comfortably won't be as easy for me as for some others. Any ideas?

Mark

Your height and weight are, to some extent, irrelevant. What is most important is your torso length. I've met 6'5" guys who use small/medium packs, and 5'8" guys who need a long.

Most pack websites (and online retailers) have instructions on how to measure your torso, and how that length relates to their size classifications. If you have no local store to visit, you can try that - though I've never been able to get a reliable self-measurement.

The best thing you can do is to take your gear to a store and get fitted for a pack, then load it with your own gear (sandbags do not give you a good approximation of weight distribution in a pack.) Walk around with it for a while. Try several packs until you get one that fits well. (Two points of etiquette: First, find out when the store isn't busy, and go then so you don't get in the way of other customers, and so you can have access to the clerk for an extended, uninterrupted period of time. Second, if you find a pack you like at the store, buy it there; don't try to save ten bucks by ordering it online - the store's help and availability are worth something.)

I've found that I prefer packs with adjustable suspensions; they let me fine-tune the torso length and mean a better chance that I'll find one that fits. (Osprey Kestrel and Deuter ACT packs have this feature, as do many others.)

Glenn nailed it. You need your torso length, everything else is irrelevant until then. Also, you need to know how much pack you need. You can't do that until you get all your other stuff. Buy your pack last. If you can, rent a pack and use it a couple times. It will help you know more of what you want as well.

I'm going to take a conventionally backwards approach and suggest choosing a pack size first since you are just starting out. I'm only doing this because you are a beginner and probably haven't made your final choices in other gear. The choice of size would be based on expected weather and length of trip.

Recently, I got a couple smaller packs. One is 44 liter, the other is 33. The bigger is $149 new and the smaller is $129. You could easily spend over $300 for a larger bag. By saving money on the bag, now you could afford to buy a down sleeping bag that would stuff compactly into the bag. Down would likely be the only thing that would fit, so you have been driven to a quality purchase.

You would also be driven to synthetic clothes which pack smaller and maybe a different choice in rain gear or layers to wear to stay warm. You will probably need a down fleece which will pack real small and is light. You will also have to learn to stay warm using layers instead of having a big parka.

On the 33 liter bag, space is limited. A small stove like a homemade alcohol stove would be a great option. For cookware, a little 2 cup pot would work great instead of that one liter Alpine set you may already have. You would have to learn to bring compact food with you instead of Mountain House or some similar brand with heavy bags.

The tent is going to be a bigger problem for you than the pack. With your size, you are probably going to need to use a tarp. Maybe there is a single person tent someone knows about. But whatever it is, with a small pack, it's going to have to be small and by default, light weight. The sleeping bag and down fleece will likely be the only expensive items.

If you can fit everything into a 33 or 44 liter pack, the weight will be low enough so you won't even notice it. Even if the fit isn't so good.

Think about where you will end up with one approach over the other. If you go in with all the wrong gear and ask for a pack, you will get one that fits all the wrong gear. Later, you will replace the gear and the pack. If you go in with the right pack, you will be forced into the right gear.

There are a lot of caveats that go with this approach. And most people stink at sales and won't able to help you.

The stereotype is that going lightweight means lots of expense, titanium, drilling holes in toothbrushes, and giving up safety. It can be all of these or none of these with choices in gear.

Think of us as as a salesperson with a multiple personality disorder. You will get a lot of opinions, and they will all likely be good. But collectively, we have a lot of time to help out if you can interact with us.

The general advice is buy a pack to fit your gear (choose the pack last); this allows you to test-load the pack with your actual gear, to tweak the fit and also determine how convenient the pack will be to use (is the water bottle pocket large enough and reachable? What can I keep in the hipbelt pockets? That kind of thing.)

However, I agree with Gershon - if you're just starting out, it's not wrong to buy the pack first; the ability to borrow gear from your buddies is a good reason to get the pack first. Just don't go too small unless you've already decided you're going to head down a minimalist and/or ultralight path (and cost be damned!) If I were to recommend a size for a beginner, who indicated they wanted to use a synthetic sleeping bag and 2-person tent to start with, I'd recommend a 50 - 60 liter pack with a good suspension. Such a pack would probably range between 3 and 4+ pounds (if you're looking for a budget price, you might have to settle for a 5 pound pack. The general rule is light, cheap, and good - you can pick any two.) Eventually, you may be able to replace it with a 40 - 50 liter pack as you tweak your other gear - at which point the larger pack becomes your winter pack, when you have to carry extra clothes or other gear.

Just a caution not to try to measure your torso length yourself. When I tried it, I came out several inches different every time! Get someone else to use the measuring tape!

Lots of info on pack fitting and selection in the many great articles on the home page of this site, listed in the left-hand column.

Stores like REI should have a torso measuring device that works much like a Brannock Device-the gizmo you use to measure your feet. it has a hole that fits over the bone at the base of your neck, then a sliding plate that comes down to your hips. It is made of plastic, as I recall or maybe stiff cardboard.

Get a pack that is adjustable. Some of the less expensive or lighter ones aren't. The more adjustments you can make, the better the fit unless you just happen to be the right size and shape.

To confuse and bemuse, I am here to testify that others measure you wrong a lot. I had to follow McHale's instructions for self measurement and do it a few times to verify, to find out that all those trips to the local outfitter and to REI, the staff failed utterly at getting within an inch of my actual back measurement. This made a huge difference for me since I am right in between the small and regular/medium sizing for most pack brands. Three backpacks of the wrong size later, I figured it out.

Now I ignore the labels "small" and "medium" and go straight to the website of the pack under consideration to look up sizing in inches, and match to my actual back measurement - which is what I suggest. Also, you will want your hip measurement, as packs with fixed, nonswappable, nonadjustable hip belts don't work for everyone. For me, this means any Osprey "ultralight" backpack - aside from the frame just being wrong no matter the size because they make me sore, I can't get the hipbelt swapped so can't use the pack.

So the steps I suggest to you to save yourself time and money:
Google McHale backpacks and read the sizing instructions.
Measure your back and hip sizing - ask a spousal unit or good friend to work with you to verify if you want.
Go directly to the website of the packs you think you might want and look up size ranges.

McHale makes awesome backpacks, by the way, and makes them to order, specific to your sizing.

The packs I have ordered online have tended to be the ones that work for me best. Granite Gear has a great policy - if you buy one (from anywhere) and find the hip belt or shoulder straps don't work for you, you can ship it to them and they'll swap them out for you for free. The Nimbus series has an adjustable frame, swappable straps and belt, and hauls quite a load.

The pack should also be able to carry the bulk and weight of your gear - generally, a 55-60 liter pack will get you started if you're renting a bunch of stuff from REI. My usual 3-5 day backpack is a 40 liter. I got rid of the 5 lb tent, the 3 lb sleeping bag, the 2 lb sleeping pad, and bulky fleece layers, and also the extra doodads I didn't need and didn't use.

Thanks guys i appreciate the help