Compact rucksacks

You’ll be spending a lot of time together – make sure you and your day pack get on famously.

KNAPSACK IS A HORRID word. It’s probably second only to ‘bobble hat’ when it comes to the antiquated phrases hurled at walkers by non-walkers. ‘Ooh, are you off for a ramble? Got some Kendal Mint Cake in your knapsack?’

But the interesting thing about the word knapsack is its origin: it comes from the German knap (to bite) and zak (bag) – thus, ‘bite bag’: a bag that is designed to eat the stuff you want to take with you. And when it comes to compact rucksacks, ‘bite bag’ is not only a very accurate term, but somehow slightly cute too.

So here we celebrate the bite bag: rucksacks of up to 30L capacity, perfect for day walks. Small enough to minimise your burden, but capacious enough to stash a waterproof and warm layer (especially in summer, when we hope we won’t have to take them out), plus food and drink, first aid kit, map, compass and a bit of tech.

Most of them can also offer more on top of that: extra pockets for easy access, storage for walking poles and a hydration system, a raincover and a clever harness that will disperse all that weight so we don’t notice it.

That’s a lot to ask for in a small item – but that’s why walkers will forever be in love with the knapsack.

About this review

We’ve chosen 12 rucksacks which should be widely available in the UK at the time of going to press, both online and in stores. The packs range from 7 litres to 30 litres capacity; we’ll look at 30-60L rucksacks later in the year. Most of the packs are unisex, as shown by this symbol ( ). Separate dots ( ) mean it has variant designs for each gender. We don’t pick an overall winner as everyone is looking for something different and no single option will suit every walker’s preferences. But Nick and Rachel have each picked a Tester’s Choice they particularly liked, and chosen a Best Value option too.