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Speed is only occasionally of the essence when it comes to going out hiking. When you need to be going somewhere you might want to hurry, but most hikes tend to be for leisure. So when you go out hiking for fun, you want to limit the weight you’re carrying whenever you can.
The lightness of a backpack is one of the most important components of its use. While having plenty of storage space can be useful to a hiker, unless you’re going on a more extended hike this can just end up being wasted space on your back. When every inch is rubbing on you or weighing you down, you don’t want to travel any heavier than you have to. After a few hours, you might even wonder why you’re carrying a pack in the first place. The obvious reason is because you need a few of the basics of camping, but tell that to your back.
Often a one day pack can be composed of only two or three pounds of basic equipment. In a situation of that nature, you don’t want to be hauling things you aren’t going to use just because you can. While this might sound like a good idea when you’re walking through the camping gear section, walking through the terrain of a natural area might make it a little bit less fun. If you want to be left behind, keep reminding someone who brought a heavy pack about how light yours is.
