Best Day Rucksack – Top Rated Daypacks
Are you planning an outdoor day trip? This review of the best day rucksacks is what you need to study to find the optimum bag for your belongings. Investing in a day rucksack goes a long way in finding a secure and convenient pack for your essential items. A good quality rucksack doesn’t only store your items; its design promotes more comfort with less bulkiness.
So, whether you are day hiking, biking, or visiting the museum, a day rucksack is an essential item to have. We’ve tested several models in the past few months to find the top best options in the market. The review below outlines our selection for the best day rucksack from the tested models.
Jack Wolfskin Day 22L Daysack
The simple school-like design and multiple organising compartments of the Jack Wolfskin Daysack make it a practical backpack option. The design also gives the pack superior versatility – allowing you to use it anywhere from your daily college classes to weekend hikes.
Created from patented Armatech Plus 600D fine densely woven resilient fabric, the pack delivers toughness and strength to withstand the roughest conditions. A snuggle-up back system offers wide shoulder straps to distribute the load evenly. The straps also allow you to endure long periods of carrying the pack on your back.
Inside the main compartment, the pack offers enough space to store multiple A4-sized documents or books. Additional side pockets, small pockets, and pouches allow you to stuff in extra smaller items.
Trespass Deptron 30L Daysack
Integrating a 600D polyester fabrication, the Trespass Deptron 30L Daysack is water resistant – allowing you to comfortably carry it through light rain and other mildly wet conditions. Additionally, the 30L pack offers generous capacity, allowing you to easily organise and carry all your gear.
The padded inner compartment makes it safe to store your laptop. Additionally, the pack features two additional compartments and a third front zipper pocket with an internal organiser.
The side mesh pockets are ideal for stuffing in your water bottles. Furthermore, the pack features adjustable side straps to pack the backpack down. The padded shoulders and back support make the rucksack comfortable to carry for long periods.
Berghaus TwentyFourSeven Plus 30 Daysack
If you are looking for a hiking or walking day rucksack, the Berghaus TwentyFourSeven Plus 30 Daysack was made for you. The 30L Daysack is designed with a hydration bladder compatibility to allow you to refresh as you go. If this is not enough, you can stash more refreshments on the dual fitted external bottle pockets on either side.
Furthermore, walking pole attachments, a front bungee cord, and a cling-on clip offer added tactical space to store gear for more convenience. Whilst the pack is designed for outdoor activities; its versatile design allows you to use it for other needs such as commuting.
The pack features a large compartment with an internal zip pocket, dedicated internal organiser, laptop sleeve, and a handy key clip. To make the pack more comfortable, it incorporates a proprietary Flow back system with vented foam panels which increase its breathability and prevent sweat build up on your back. The height-adjustable chest straps allow you to enjoy a secure and comfortable fit.
Montane Trailblazer 18 Daypack
Featuring a unique hybrid design, the Montane Trailblazer 18 Daysack is perfect for mountain walking and trail running. The pack features a tough raptor fabric to withstand the harshest conditions whilst the covalent harness holds the pack in place.
The covalent harness integrates a customisable design for a body-hugging fit to stabilise the pack without limiting mobility. The V side compression system further complements the covalent harness system. The chest strap system offers an easy-to-use design thanks to its two click-and-go mechanisms.
However, stability isn’t the only key mountain travel requirement the rucksack meets. The pack also offers a low weight build and quick access design. The pack is equipped with dual harness pockets, accessible wrap-around pockets, a front stretch pocket, and a pole carry arm system to give you easy access to your gear and items.
Osprey Centauri Day Pack (22L)
Whether you are commuting or exploring a city, the Osprey Centauri Day Pack is quite resourceful. The day pack features a main compartment that accommodates different items, whether it’s multiple books or a laptop in the partitioned padded sleeve.
An attachment point makes the rucksack useful for outdoor sports such as cycling – allowing you to attach your LED lighting. To make the pack even more comfortable to walk around in, the pack features hidden garaging on the front of the backpack. The hidden garaging allows you to tuck away loose straps.
During more demanding activities, the daypack features a removable webbing hip belt and a sternum strap. For smaller item storage, the 22L pack integrates stretch mesh pockets, a front panel organiser pocket, and a zippered scratch-free sunglasses and electronics pocket.
Lowe Alpine AirZone Trail ND24 Daypack
If you require optimal storage space, the Lowe Alpine AirZone Daypack is what you need for your day trip. The rucksack is designed for hiking and trekking – offering enough space for all your essential gear. The pack’s comfortable build makes it ideally fine-tuned for female forms.
A proprietary fixed AirZone system facilitates increased ventilation across your back to tackle sweat build-up. The AirZone system integrates a tensioned mesh for even better breathability. The AdaptiveFit harness promotes optimal shoulder comfort. The pack features unique walking pole holders with TPU cross grips for spiked poles and pull-out elasticised pole loops with rubber caps.
An internal pocket allows you to comfortably fit your hydration bladder with exit points to pass the hose through. The large stretch mesh pockets on either side of the bag enable you to carry extra bottles.
Buying Guide – How to Choose the Best Day Rucksack
No doubt most day rucksacks feature a versatile design – allowing you to use them for multiple activities. Nonetheless, you want to at least have an idea of how you intend to use your day rucksack. This allows you to choose the right design for your needs. Our buying guide below offers a breakdown of the key features to look out for to find the best day rucksack.
Size
Generally, day rucksacks come in sizes ranging from 10 to 30 litres. Typically, these day packs are ideal for day walks, hikes, expeditions, and commuting. However, due to their relatively small size, they aren’t ideal for weekend trips that require gear such as sleeping bags. But, you can still use these day packs for weekend trips that require simple items such as clothing, water, food, and other small essentials.
Common Features
Different rucksacks come with different additional features. In fact, this is an essential category to focus on as these additional features determine the functionality of the pack. Amongst the common features include;
Rain Cover
If you plan to use the pack in wet conditions, you want it to be equipped with a rain cover. The cover allows you to protect the bag during rain and tuck it away in a built-in pocket when not in use. But, if your pack doesn’t have one, you can always invest in a separately bought one.
Hip Belt
To enjoy load distribution and stability, you want to look for features such as the hip belt. After all, nearly 70% of your load rests on the hips. Thus, a pack with a hip belt supports the load on your hip area.
Internal Framing
The hip belt is not all that enhances support and distributes the weight. Larger day rucksacks feature an internal frame to distribute weight and support the hips to maintain an upright walking posture.
Compression Straps
For the best day rucksack, bulkiness can be an issue; you don’t want your backpack to weigh you down. Thus, investing in a day pack with compression straps goes a long way. Adjustable compression straps allow you to pull them tight enough to reduce the volume of the pack and prevent movement of the bag during walks or runs.
Back & Chest Straps
You want a pack that doesn’t cause discomfort even when it has been on your back for a long time. In this case, you want to focus on details such as back and chest (sternum) straps. Ideally, you want the straps to be adjustable and padded for optimal comfort. The padded shoulder, chest, and back straps evenly distribute the load.
Extra Storage Space
Packs designed with extra storage space enhance convenience as they offer different spaces to fit in your gear. For example, a pack equipped with external clips and hooks is useful for hikers and cyclists – allowing you to attach tools such as daisy chains, walking pole hoops, and LED lights.
You can also separately invest in carabiners to attach to the backpack’s hooks or clips. Alternatively, you can opt for multiple internal and external pockets. For community day rucksacks, added protective compartments such as a laptop sleeve are also useful.
Reflective Piping
If you plan on using the pack in low light conditions or at night, choose one with reflective piping. The reflective piping enhances your visibility for added safety.
Fit
You have to make sure your day rucksack fits properly. To help achieve a perfect fit, you want to look for the right features. These include adjustable back, shoulder, and sternum straps. To make sure the pack fits properly, fill it with items to simulate your trip and check how it rests on your back. If the bag is too big, it will sit too low on your back – even when adjusted.
Additionally, to ensure you find the right fit, opt for a gender-specific pack. Typically, female-specific packs feature a shorter back due to the typically smaller female torso. Furthermore, go for a pack with S-shaped shoulder straps and less distance between the two straps. This design helps to fit the smaller female body.
To make sure your pack fits properly, do the following;
- Make sure the shoulder straps and hip belt are in line with your shoulders and hips
- When you fasten your hip belt, the pads should sit on your hips – the belt should be snug enough for the belt to hold the weight
- Adjust the shoulder straps to fit tightly (without being too tight) – you don’t want the pack to be too loose
- Make sure the sternum/chest strap is in line with the front of your shoulders – the pack should feel stable
- To prevent the pack from pulling down and to centre the pack, pull the top tensioners on the shoulder straps
- Make sure the rucksack doesn’t limit your movement
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Do I Need a Day Rucksack?
If you plan on taking one-day trips or adventures such as hiking or running, a day rucksack is ideal. Some of the best day rucksacks even feature a versatile design. Thus, you can even use them for daily commuting. Day packs come in a size range of about 10 to 30 litres depending on your needs.
2. Do I Need a Gender-Specific Sack?
It depends on your preferences. However, it is a good idea to get a gender-specific rucksack to enjoy optimal comfort and support. For example, female-specific rucksacks feature a more S-shaped strap that fits their bodies. Men’s rucksacks have a rather parallel shape to fit their bodies. Additionally, the hip belts on female-specific rucksacks sit a little higher to mould to their hip shape whilst their backs are shorter than the broader men’s backpacks.
3. What Size Rucksack Do I Need?
The size of your day rucksack depends on what you intend to use it for. For example, for activities such as running or cycling which don’t take a whole day, a 5 to 15L pack is ideal. A 15 to 30L pack is perfect for daytime walking, hiking, or trekking. But, the sizing needs vary based on the belongings you carry for activities such as commuting.
Conclusion
A Day rucksack is a go-to accessory for everyone. Its most prized feature is perhaps the versatility – allowing you to use the pack in a wide range of activities. The best day rucksack keeps your essentials close to hand – whether you are hiking, trekking, or simply commuting to work. Our review of the best day rucksacks above offers an excellent lineup of different models based on your needs.
