01-05-2025
The Best Day Hiking Backpacks for Every Adventure
The premise of Nemo's Endless Promise line is that it's designed to be kept out of the landfill forever—100 percent recycled, infinitely adjustable, repairable, and once it's reached the end of its life, it can be sent back to Nemo for total recycling. The Cero fabric is solution dyed to reduce water waste, as is the cushioning. At first glance, that makes the pack awfully fiddly. It's a little annoying and fussy to adjust the fit and the storage options with the Resolve's strange system of bungees and pull-tabs, instead of straps or webbing. Over the long term, however, those bungees will be easier to repair, recycle, or replace, and once I got used to it, it was pretty fast and easy to adjust. This pack is weirdly comfortable. It's technically frameless, but it does feel like it has some structure. It sits nice and high on your back—I do not like carrying weight around my hips—and at 1 lb. 15 oz., it's pretty light, considering all the hardware that it has on it. The cushioning is made in a funny tube-shaped pattern that looks like the hot dog rollers at 7-Eleven, but it also allows for plenty of airflow next to the skin on your back and shoulders. I have been using it for biking around town, but this will also be a nice day pack for summer hiking adventures, for as long as you need to have it around. —Adrienne So Specs Capacity 16L Weight 1 lb 15 oz Pockets 11 Sternum strap Yes Waist Strap Yes
Osprey has been making Talon packs since 2007. Head to any popular trail, and I guarantee you'll see someone hauling one. Their popularity is well earned, and the latest top loading 33L iteration is impressively well specced and weighs just 2 lbs., 12.5 oz. No, it's not a gossamer thin, ultralight pack, but the 100D high-tenacity nylon is tough and made from 100 percent bluesign-approved recycled materials, with a non-PFAS DWR. Annoyingly, there's no rain cover, but that omission aside, it's a superb daypack.
The clever back panel used here can be adjusted between 17-22 inches to fit a good range of torsos, and the injection-molded design combines well with the wide hip belt to offer a great level of support. That said, the hip belt has day hike, rather than multi-day, levels of cushioning, but that's fine as the 33L capacity limits how much you can take anyway.
It is a versatile pack with a large top lid, two zippered pockets and a large front stretch pocket that I stash jackets, bike locks and all sorts in. There's a couple of stretch side pockets too, zipped snack pockets where you need them, and everything can be cinched down tight to minimize bouncing. You can safely carry two ice axes too, and the clever hiking pole storage means you can access and stow them without taking the pack off. —Chris Haslam Specs Capacity 33L Weight 2 lb 12 oz Pockets 8 Sternum strap Yes Waist Strap Yes
