We’ve tested the best hiking daypacks for 2024, suitable for everything from walking in the countryside to hiking in the Lake District fells or the Scottish Highlands. This round-up looks at the backpack options with a volume between 20 and 40 litres for this test. All will be large enough to carry everything from extra layers, food, water and navigation equipment, plus extras like trekking poles and storm shelter.
Different walkers look for different features in rucksacks, so we’ve gone for a broad mix of designs. They include zipped openings, floating lids, removable hipbelts, ventilation panels, compression straps, stretch side pockets and small hip-belt pockets for stashing things like phones and snacks.
How To Choose The Best Daypack For Walking
As is the case when choosing the best backpacks for backpacking, there are also lots of elements to consider when choosing a daypack. Are you prepared to carry extra weight to ensure a full feature set, or would you prefer a stripped back pack to save grams while you’re walking? Do you want ventilation that allows good airflow between your back and the rucksack, or do you like a snug fit that keeps the rucksack close to your body as you move? We’ve tested options to suit every kind of walker.
It’s worth heading over to our daypacks buyer’s guide if you could do with more details on what to look out for. There you’ll find information on everything from back sizing and ventilation, to the pros and cons of waterproof backpacks.
Many of the backpacks in this Top 10 are featured in our Outdoor 100 and in our Green Gear Guide. Within these product guides, you’ll be able check out a more in depth review of each pack, including tester’s verdicts and industry trade secrets.
Best Daypacks For Hiking 2024
Here are the results of our team’s testing over the last couple of seasons. Most of these passed muster for our Outdoor 100 series and Green Gear Guide, with each one rated for its material quality, the overall functionality, carry comfort and features.
- Best Overall Daypack: Gregory Arrio 30
- Best Daypack for Running and Hiking: Montane Trailblazer LT
- Best Eco-friendly Daypack: Osprey Daylite Plus Earth
- Best Waterproof Daypack: Osprey Downburst 36
- Best Daypack for Winter Hiking: Klattermusen Ull Blot 30
- Best Pack For Travel: Cotopaxi Allpa 35
1. Gregory Arrio 30 Daypack
Best daypack overall: Our test team chose this as the best in test
Price: £100
Weight: 850g
Best for: Coastal hopping, peak bagging, fastpacking, trail running
The Gregory Arrio 30 Daypack is a perfect all-rounder of a backpack: lightweight, comfortable, and aesthetically pleasing. It’s jam-packed with clever features, from the open-air mesh back panel (back sweat is a thing of the past) and super comfortable perforated foam harness, to the integrated safety whistle in the sternum strap.
The Arrio’s intuitive organisation is a real plus, with quick-access pockets on the top and to the side and zips which are easy to use (and locate). You’ve also got a side stretch mesh pocket across the front which is perfect for a flask or a first aid kit.
It’s also equipped with a fitted rain cover. Winter walkers should note that there’s no ice axe attachment however.
What we liked: Superb comfort, intuitive organisation, hydration reservoir compatible
What we didn’t like: no ice axe attachment
Selected for the Outdoor 100 – Here’s our full Gregory Arrio 30 Daypack review.
Buy the Gregory Arrio: £100 at Alpinetrek.co.uk
2. Osprey Daylite Plus Earth
Best eco-friendly daypack: A contender for best overall but certainly the best for sustainability
Price: £75
Weight: 589g
Best for: day hiking, commuting, everyday use
The Osprey Daylite Plus Earth is a smart day pack that showcases some admirable efforts by the American brand to lower their footprint, most notably through the use of a fabric that’s made entirely from recycled materials. We’ve been using it over the past couple of months, including on a three-day hiking trip to the Lake District, and the team have been very impressed with its performance.
With its 20-litre volume, this is the kind of pack that’s best suited to day hiking, day-to-day use and commuting. We’ve found it can easily cater for a waterproof jacket, warm layers, a thermos flask, and all the other extras you’d carry in the hills. Its sternum strap, basic hipbelt and its flat, padded back panel also make this a realistic pack to use for running, not so much as a technical option for ultra running but as something for running to work with.
Usefully, the Daylite Plus Earth packs down quite flat, so it’s also the kind of pack that you can stash in the bottom of a duffel bag if you’re travelling and want to have something for daytime forays.
You can also count on the fabrics being PFAS-free and bluesign approved – meaning they’re certified for sustainable processes and minimal impact on people and the environment.
The current RRP on this pack is £75 which is quite reasonable, especially given the sustainability efforts involved here, and the overall durability too. It has the feel of a pack that’s built to last.
What we liked: sustainably made, durable, useful storage options, comfortable
What we didn’t like: no rain cover or water proof materials
Here’s our full Osprey Daylite Plus Earth review.
Buy the Osprey Daylite Plus Earth: £75 at Osprey.com
3. Montane Trailblazer LT 20L
Best Lightweight Daypack for Hiking and Running: Lightweight and stable, this was judged to be the best for fast and light adventures
Price: £100
Weight: 300g
Best for: Hiking, fastpacking, trail running, general outdoor use
This is primarily designed for fast and light adventures – mainly running or fastpacking – but from our experience using it, we’ve found it’s right up to scratch as a three-season daypack too. With its 20-litre capacity, this pack suits day trips in the mountains where you want your essentials with you – your wet weather gear, insulation, your lunch and snacks and map etc.
Montane have deployed a bunch of very light materials here, giving it a total weight of a meagre 300g. And comfort hasn’t been sacrificed either; this pack wraps around your body’s contours nicely and neatly with just enough padding to keep the contents inside from poking into your back. It’s reasonably durable too thanks to its silicone coating and ripstop weave.
This is a fully waterproof daypack, using a water tight fabric, taped seams and rolltop closure to block out the elements and there are a bunch of nifty pockets and storage options. We particularly liked the front bungee which gives this pack that extra capability if you do want to stretch its potential and use it as an overnight bag.
Our only gripe is that with the bungee, cords and straps it is a little bit on the fiddly side. Still, if you’re looking for something that’s lightweight but capable and loaded with useful design touches, this would be a good option to go for.
What we liked: very light, waterproof
What we didn’t like: straps are a little fiddly
Selected for our Outdoor 100. Read our full Montane Trailblazer LT review.
Buy the Montane Trailblazer LT: £100 at Amazon.co.uk
4. Osprey Downburst 36
Best waterproof daypack: Our top selection for use in extremely wet weather
Price: £300
Weight: 1528g
Best for: Big days out and overnights
This is one of those packs that’s versatile enough to serve either as a daypack for those big days out or as a pack for lightweight multi-day missions. We used it to carry all of our backpacking kit for a summer wild camp and it worked great, though it doesn’t leave you with too much space for extra food or luxuries.
What stands out most about this is the fact it offers IPX 5 waterproofing. That might not make it fully submersible but, as we found during our tests, it makes it capable of seeing off the worst weather you can possibly imagine.
Yes, we’ve seen waterproof packs before, but not any that strike such a good balance between protection, durability and weight. This is mainly thanks to the high-spec TPU coated nylon that Osprey have developed for this – it’s top notch stuff.
The model we tested fitted perfectly, with the adjustable back length giving the potential for a perfectly refined fit.
What we liked: waterproof construction, volume capability
What we didn’t like: expensive and not suitable for use in snowy conditions due to back system design
Buy the Osprey Downburst: £300 at Osprey.com
5. Klättermusen Ull 30
Best daypack for winter hiking: We liked what this brought to the table as a pack for four season use
Price: £250
Weight: 850g
Best for: Ski touring
The Ull is a specialist, technical ski touring pack made from undyed, 100% recycled polyamide that is reinforced with durable Aramid fibres – which are also used to make Kevlar (yes, the stuff in bulletproof vests). But as well as being tough, it’s kind to the planet, since this backpack is also fluorocarbon-free.
The pack has a cinch closure system for easy one-handed access. The ability to roll the top to compress it, in order to keep it close to your back, is another nice touch in this area. Move into the guts of the backpack, which offers the user 30L worth of storage, and you’ll find a safety pocket for avalanche tools. The internal space offered by the backpack, it’s worth adding, can be adjusted via the Ull Blot’s compression straps. This means you can optimise the pack’s shape to suit your situation.
What we liked: Lightweight, eco-friendly, durable
What we didn’t like: Very expensive
Selected for the Outdoor 100. Read the full Klattermusen Ull Backpack Review.
Buy the Klattermusen Ull 30L: £250 at Klattermusen.com
The Best of the Rest
6. Fjällraven Tree-Kånken
Price: £60
Weight: 410g
Best for: Light summer hiking
The Tree-Kånken is an evolution of the classic Kånken design, sharing the same looks but with much more sustainable materials. It’s made from something called Pine Weave, a bio-based material that’s derived from cellulose fibres obtained from tree bark. Fjällräven get their wood for this collection from trees grown just outside the brand’s hometown and the foresting is all done sustainably and is fully traceable to its source.
This is a practical and versatile bag that’s equally at home in everyday life or on more casual outdoor excursions. The main compartment has a large zipped opening that makes the Kånken easy to pack and unpack, aided by its practical rectangular design, and it comes with a foam pad in the inner rear sleeve. This stops stuff from digging into your back and can be used as a handy seat when needed.
The side pockets will accommodate a slim water bottle (take a look at Primus’ Klunken for the perfect partner) or an umbrella. There’s daisy chain webbing to fix a bike lock or to hang things off with a carabiner or two and there’s also webbing straps along the base where you can quickly fasten a jacket or tripod. Other details include easy-grab top handles, adjustable shoulder straps, a reflective logo, and a handy zipped pocket at the front that’ll fit flat items like maps, books or work documents.
What we liked: Eco-friendly design, stylish and practical design
What we didn’t like: very small capacity, low on technical details
Selected for the Green Gear Guide – Read our full Fjällräven Tree-Kånken review.
Buy the Fjällräven Tree-Kanken: £60 at Ellis-brigham.co.uk
7. Haglöfs L.I.M 35
Price: £100
Weight: 890g
Best for: Three-season day adventures, fastpacking, long-distance fastpacking
Super lightweight (especially for a pack with a suspended back system) and produced using ethical fabrics, this pack is somewhat minimalistic in design but without any compromise in function or performance.
For us, arguably the most impressive feature was the back ventilation system. The suspended lightweight mesh panel effectively keeps the contents of your pack away from your back, allowing that much-needed airflow and preventing sweat from building up.
It’s also surprisingly durable, with a 70-denier rip-stop polyamide that’s reinforced with 140-denier sections in high-wear zones. There’s just about the right amount of padding in the hip belts too – and these have large pockets on them where you can stash a good amount of snacks.
At just 35l this backpack is best suited to day hiking, but it’ll also cater for a few minimalistic backpackers and fastpackers too.
What we liked: Innovative minimal design, lightweight, comfortable to carry
What we didn’t like: Not very stable
Selected for the Outdoor 100 – Here’s our full Haglofs L.I.M 35 review.
Buy the Haglofs LIM 35 Pack: £100 at Alpinetrek.co.uk
8. Lowe Alpine AirZone Ultra 36
Price: £150
Weight: 800g
Best for: big days out or lightweight backpacking
This is one of those packs that straddles the line between daypack and multi-day pack. With its 36-litre capacity, it’s easily big enough to cater for a big day out in the hills while it’s also just about the right size for carrying lightweight camping gear.
It has a suspended back system which is comfortable and offers bucket loads of ventilation. It also keeps the contents of the pack from poking into your back. The downside is that, with the pack fully loaded, the trampoline style system keeps the weight of the pack quite far from your body.
We liked some of the details here, including the big stretchy mesh pockets and the dual hipbelt pockets which we found are big enough for a mobile phone. The main downside we found with the Airzone Ultra is that the top closure of the pack wasn’t always that reliable in wet weather and sometimes we felt it left our kit a bit exposed. We’d therefore recommend using it with drybags.
What we liked: lots of airflow, lightweight design
What we didn’t like: top closure a little unreliable in wet weather, can feel unstable
Buy the Lowe Alpine Airzone Ultra ND 36: £150 at Alpinetrek.co.uk
9. Bach Molecule 15L
Price: £100
Weight: 680g
Best for: general day hiking, commuting
This might be listed as a 15L pack but it can actually manage a fair bit more than that. That’s thanks to its rolltop which gives an extra 5 litres of capacity, plus the stretchy mesh side pockets.
The back system is quite simple, with just foam panels and a hardened back panel, but we found that it’s still comfortable and functional. We also liked that it keeps the pack’s load nice and close to your body, creating a very stable centre of gravity and a balanced feel.
The ripstop Robic Nylon fabric that Bach have used here is impressive. It’s lightweight but also very tough. It’s also 100% recycled. It’s not fully waterproof but when we used it in wet conditions we found that it does have a very high water resistance. In our tests, we also liked the clever zipped pocket on the harness. It’s a big mesh pocket that’s perfect for keeping your phone within easy reach but it can also be zipped up and kept out of the way when it’s not needed.
What we liked: lightweight and durable fabric, packs flat so can be carried in a suitcase
What we didn’t like: nothing
Buy the Bach Molecule 15: £100 at Alpinetrek.co.uk
10. Fjällräven Ulvö Rolltop
Price: £170
Weight: 650g
Best for: Commuting, general outdoor use
With a look that’ll fit right in in the city, at work or in the classroom, the Fjällräven Ulvö Rolltop will make for a great commuter pack for the urban dwellers out there, but there’s more to it than that. In fact, the Ulvö carries a load of features that make it suited for a range of activities from city to summit.
Fjällräven’s own all-new tough and waterproof Bergshell fabric has been used here with the Ulvö Rolltop. It’s an impressive fabric that’s soft to the touch and that boasts a protective laminate underneath with fully taped seams – all of which makes the backpack impressively watertight. Interestingly, the weave they’ve adds an extra level of durability to the Ulvö through the use of a flat ripstop technique that minimises the risk of fibres catching and scuffing on anything rough.
A roll top closure makes access to the main compartment simple and efficient, whilst also adding an extra barrier of waterproof protection for gear stashed inside this pack. Inside there’s a useful zipped pocket as well as a padded laptop sleeve. There are stretchy side pockets as well – super useful for stashing things quickly while on the go.
What we liked: Durable, waterproof, padded laptop sleeve
What we didn’t like: Nothing
Selected for the Outdoor 100 2019/20 – Check out our full Fjällräven Ulvö Rolltop Backpack review.
Buy the Fjällräven Ulvö: £170 at fjallraven.com