Why and How to Organize and Pack Backpacking Gear on the Trail and in Camp

I focus on bringing fewer items.

I do like a thin loop of cord tied near the top of the front pocket of my backpack. I keep my flashlight, Swiss Army Knife and compass attached to that loop with mitten hooks. That allows those items to be easily accessible without getting lost. I’m meticulous about returning those items back to the loop immediately after use.

Excellent topic Mark, one that’s long overdue.

* To me weight distribution is the most important factor in packing and my philosophy goes against what many might think. I remember reading a packing FAQ on SMD’s website years ago that said it’s best to keep the heaviest items up high in the pack and as close to the back as possible. It’s somewhat counter intuitive because the center of gravity is higher, but I find everything rides so much better that way. I place lighter items in the lower side pockets of my pack and NOT water bottles because there again that puts too much weight down low on the pack (water and food on top). I’d like to know what others think about this approach. I mean putting fluffy, bulky and lighter per volume items on the bottom and heavier things on top?

* I always pack 3 DIY 7D stuffsacks of varying sizes that are meant just to keep many items concise and manageable, especially when I’m sitting around camp and I’ve unpacked for the evening. The smaller items all go into one of the 7D stuffsacks, as well as the stuffsacks from bag, pad, pillow, stakes, etc. This keeps everything together and I find I don’t lose anything that way. And when I pack up in the morning I put every item back in the same place as the day before so I always know where to retrieve something. I just get into a routine and then I don’t have to slowly think through what my next step is going to be all the time. Everything is practiced and is therefore easier and quicker to deploy.

My general goal is that anything I need when not camped should be accessible from outside the main body of the pack. This protects my inactive clothing, sleep system, etc. from moisture or loss. Some of those things need to be more readily accessible (trail snacks) and thus packed where I can reach them.

Other items should always be with me — whether or not the pack itself is. This last category includes such things as satellite messenger, phone, fire kit, whistle, backup light source (not the headlamp), etc. These items need to be stored in a way that can travel with me.

Simplicity is key — less to keep track of, less to lose, less to carry.

Great article! I like to think I am highly organized, and I’ve packed my pack pretty much the same way for about forever. I’ve made a few changes recently with lighter gear and less stuff overall, but basically the system is always the same and works well. However, I find when I am camping with others I am always, always, always the last person ready to go. Doesn’t matter what time I get up, or whether or not we are having coffee, or breakfast, or if it’s raining, etc. I’m always the last one ready. The only exception was when my husband and I did a group Chilkoot Trail hike; the other members of the group were always slower. Maybe my husband is just faster at taking the tent down than I am when alone? Or the other group members were socializing when we were ready to hike. I don’t know. The pattern has frustrated me, but I’ve given up worrying about it because that just makes things worse. And most of the time I go solo with the group (all our own gear).

There’s nothing I would change. I know where everything is (I could pass the no headlight test), and I rarely bring anything unnecessary (with the exception of a few first aid items that fortunately go unused). But it does get tiresome being last, while others are trying to be patient. I would even try to get up ahead of others, but as soon as they hear me stirring, they start getting up too, even when I beg them to please just sleep longer! And they know why I’m getting up earlier. So it goes.

Monte – I think having heavier items on top in a frameless pack help if the frameless pack is too wide and the pack becomes a sack of potatoes where everything gravitates towards the bottom or such. I felt that with MLD Prophet DX210 which is 7 inches deep. With Yargear, it is 5 inches wide and VX21 and so, there is a little bit more structure and things tend to stay vertically where you put them as they have no space to slide around.

That said – I have definitely felt I can climb better when the water bottles are up at the top of the pack for easy access. I should try placing food as well like you do and try it. I am training for the AZT where 3L’s are common on some sections and having 2L on the top rather than on side pockets does help while climbing. But, I still feel like I like to have it on sides so that I don’t have any water accidents inside the bag etc.

I feel 22 lbs with 1 L of water is easier to carry than 22 lbs with 3L of water. Water weight is so dense! I have tried splitting the 3L into several half liter bottles to distribute weight as well.

I carry a bear can, and like to have it horizontal at the bottom of my pack. Hence, I have a larger bag. The advantage of a larger bag is, compression isn’t needed and organization is simple. I agree that after food and my bag and tent, everything is so light that organizing it according to fit and accessibility rather than weight is entirely appropriate.

I do as Paul in terms of filling my Bearikade. I have a small, light belly pack for carrying lunch and steripen and map. I put lunch in that in the morning, so no need to unpack my canister until dinner. It stays at the bottom of the pack. For me, a canister up top creates too much sway. Plus, my pack has a ‘shelf’ on the bottom that carries the Bearikade (inside the pack) perfectly. No pack sag this way either.

As for water, I rarely carry any. there’s enough en route to meet my needs, with rare exception.

If I go through my gear list and write down the best place to store each item it doesn’t seem to make sense to use an internal frame or framless pack; inorder to simultaneously satisfy all gear requirements shouldn’t we use external frames?

Food: bear can/bag outside pack bag to avoid contamination and for easy access. Most comfortable about shoulder height.

Water: outside main pack bag for access. Heavy, packed against body.

Rain gear + active insulation: outside main pack bag for access. Don’t have to open pack in the rain.

Shelter: outside main pack bag for access. In high denier stuff sack for protection.

Sleep system + warm clothes: dry bag protected in main pack bag

Headlight, bandanna, small stuff: top lid pocket, hip belt pockets, front pocket, etc. for access

Considering the popular dual stay pack and systems management, wouldn’t it make more sense for the pack bag to only be half the length of the back with its top creating a load shelf to support gear strapped to the exposed upper portion of the stays?

Having learned to backpack online primarily from BPL, why all the popular packs are designed as 1 main pack bag with side pockets and stretchy front pockets has always confused me. It seems to me everything everyone here promotes about organization is at odds with the style of packs everyone is using. I’ve read here that these 1 main pack bag packs are lighter, but it seems to me a smaller bag would use less material and be lighter, given the same stays and suspension.

I thought this article didn’t apply to me until I began remembering searching and searching for small things. Organizing them into ditty bags, hip belt pockets, and pants pockets solved this. Now I could pass the blindfold test, I believe. By the way, I consider my pants pockets part of my Carry System, especially the side cargo pockets that zip closed for security.

Matthew K: “I do like a thin loop of cord tied near the top of the front pocket of my backpack. I keep my flashlight, Swiss Army Knife and compass attached to that loop with mitten hooks.” I like this idea a lot.

Karen and I seem to be kindred souls. I, too, am usually the last one out of camp, even if I’m the first one up. And I don’t even eat a hot breakfast or drink coffee. But then I’m getting close to 60, so I move slow in the morning until my joints and muscles have warmed up. Plus I need time to stretch, and I am fastidious about packing my gear carefully and neatly, not just blindly shoving everything in.

I used to have a couple of small ditty bags that were made of different material so I could tell by feel which was which when reaching into the dark recesses of my pack, but neither one was waterproof so I’ve resorted to Ziploc bags instead. Better protection, but harder to tell them apart without looking.

It’s all about trade-offs.

Hello all, Time between hikes usually means I forget my “systems” or groups of things. It takes a lot of time to get good and quick at this so you can be ready for a hike within 3-4 hours or less in-order to make it happen. Please see photos and spread sheet ( which may seem over the top) but has helped me get ready to go faster and remember how I stay organized on the trail. Thanks and take care all! Caroline

Re: layering food in bear canister.  That would work if you have each meal and portion separately bagged. But it does not work when you have at least some items that are used for multiple meals.  For example, that jar of peanut butter, or that summer sausage and block of cheese that will last for 3 lunches, or that bag of refried bean powder or hummus powder, or that sack of granola and nido for multiple breakfasts.  Anything like that, and you’ll be excavating that bear can every day anyway.  Doesn’t take long.  Nothing much to complain about.

Re:  clothing in a dry bag at *top* of pack.  Totally agree.  I don’t have any duplicate items except socks and underpants.  No separate camp or sleeping clothes.  Base layers, mid layers, wind layers, any or all of it might be needed during the day if a storm blows in or the temperature drops a lot.  I don’t want to have to dig into the protected guts of my pack in a sudden storm, to get out base layers or my jacket.  Learned that by experience on the Colorado Trail.

Mike M – Interesting that you can actually do chores while heating water. My water boils in 2 minutes, so no time to do anything; preparing coffee/breakfast is the only task at that time.

Mina – I cannot imagine not having extra layers packed. I have been too close to hypothermia when  it’s raining/sleeting/snowing for days on end with no break, and then the wind sets in. Not having a dry set of clothing for nighttime seems like madness. Where I go there is no bailout point. Your climate may vary!

I did a short snowshoe hike yesterday in deep fresh snow – over the hips in places without snowshoes. By the end I was soaking wet, even at minus 25F, and glad I had an extra hat, neck gaiter, gloves to finish out the hike. People say remove a layer so you don’t sweat, but then I’d freeze. I can sweat while in motion wearing only a single layer, and that’s just not enough at minus 25F with the wind blowing.