How to Select a Backpack for Camping

Video Transcript

"Hi. This is John Stewart and this is the many different types, kinds of packs there are. First type of pack you'll find is going to be an internal frame pack. They're going to be sleek, narrow and got a lot of clips on the outside. When you turn the pack around you're going to see a basic suspension system. You're not going to see the big metal bars that you see on an external frame pack. The advantages of having an internal frame pack is that you don't have to strap anything on the outside of your pack. You can put everything on the inside where it's protected from the outer shell of sleep; of the pack. This way you don't have to worry about anything getting wet or ruined by having it on the outside of the pack. The other type of pack that you see is an external frame pack. These packs have a very big metal rigid frame on the outside with the pack actually attached to that. A lot of different things will be put on the outside of these packs including your tent, sleeping bag, ground mat and stuff like that. So, at that point you've got them hanging on the outside and if you don't have a pack cover or something like that they can get wet. There are some advantages to them, but they also are a little bit heavier than your internal frame packs. Internal frame packs tend to be a little bit more comfortable than your external frame packs. So, that's the two different types of packs that you can get."