The Best Family Hiking PACKS for Outdoor Adventures
SUMMER 2022
If you’re looking to choose the best hiking pack for your multi-week trek down the Pacific Crest Trail or along the Camino de Santiago or for a push up Mt. Rainier, you are planning an awesome outing, but you’re in the wrong place right now, to be candid. We know, because we’ve spent time doing all that and more… but sans kids.
Choosing the best hiking pack for family outings means knowing the scope of the adventure at hand, and more often than not, that means an experience that’s scaled down a bit. Which has its benefits: shorter treks require less gear so you can usually get away with a smaller, lighter pack. The adult hiking packs we are covering here are, for the most part, therefore day packs, plus a pack or two that could serve for a weekend trek when you will be carrying your own gear plus the majority of the supplies the kids need.
Selecting the best family hiking packs does also mean finding the best hiking packs for kids, of course, but that rarely means finding a pack with maximum storage capacity so much as it means finding a kids hiking pack a young trekker can comfortably manage, that will be functional and easy to use, and, perhaps most importantly, that your kids will actually want to have on their backs. Or that the littlest hikers will be glad to clamber into to go onto your back.
We’ve tested plenty of adult and kid hiking packs alike in myriad conditions, and here’s our take on a few tried and true backpacks for family hiking.
The Best Hiking Packs for Family Treks, from Hydration Packs for Kids to Kid Carriers Mom or Dad Will Use to Keep the Family Hike Going
Best Multi-Day Hiking Pack for Parents - Outdoor Vitals Shadowlight 60
This pack by all means belongs on your back during a kid-free, multi-day intense trek up the mountains, through the forests, or over the foothills. So why is it also our choice for a great multi-day hiking pack when you’re trekking with kids? Because it is crazy light. And when you can take it for granted that you’ll be ending up with most of your kids’ gear on your back, it’s a good idea to start with a pack that’s so light you can hardly feel it when it’s unloaded. This is a great hiking pack for men or women of really any size as it comes in a 45 liter and a 60 liter capacity, both of which weigh under two pounds unloaded. It’s also a great pack for various sized mom or dad hikers as you can choose either pack sized for short, regular, or tall users. As for the pack itself, its main compartment has roll-top or center zip access, it has a water bladder pouch a dual side bottle pockets, it’s got zippered pockets on the broad hip belts, it’s got daisy chain loops on the shoulder straps, it’s ergonomic and highly adjustable, it has a soft and supportive pad for your back, and it has never let us down so far. And we don’t see that happening any time soon. Or ever.
The Best Compact Hiking Day Pack for Adults - Patagonia Altvia
If you’re looking for a very lightweight, very comfortable compact day hiking pack, then you found it with this one from good ol’ Patagonia. The Altvia offers 14 liters of cargo capacity spread across a main compartment and an easy access upper pocket, plus the option to strap on some more stuff via webbing on the little pack’s back.
While compatible with a hydration bladder, this pack isn’t built around one – think of that as an added bonus, but really the Altvia is at its best when a smaller water bottle (or a LifeStraw) is tucked in among your bare bones supplies for that shorter or faster hike. In the case of a quick family hike, said supplies will be snacks, band aids, and… more snacks.
The Best Packable Hiking Pack for Adults - Hyperlite Summit Pack
If you’re traveling to your outdoor adventure destination, you need a hiking pack that can pack down into your other luggage, and that’s just what you’ll get with the Hyperlite Summit Pack – so too is this backpack clutch if you’re toting a much larger bag with all your camping gear in it and you want a hiking day pack that’s a good size when in use but quite small when not. The Summit Pack from Hyperlite has a capacious 30-liter cargo capacity, considering how small it packs or folds down, it has webbing for additional gear on the back, and it features an adjustable chest and waist strap to help distribute the load.
The Best Hiking Kid Carrier - Kelty Journey PerfectFIT Elite
This has been our go-to kid carrier hiking pack since our daughter was old enough to safely sit up and be strapped into it, which was at about eight months of age. And it’s bittersweet to know that, at the time of this writing, we’re within mere months of her finally outgrowing it as she approaches 40 pounds. Amazingly adjustable to accommodate different kid-sized passengers, this pack is equally impressive for how well it can be adjusted to fit various adult bodies, safely and stably distributing the load across hips, shoulders, chest, and core, and letting the family log as many miles as mom or dad has in them. The pack features a retractable sun shade for the little one, two large zippered gear compartments that can carry more than enough supplies for an all-day hike, easy access pouches on the hip belt, and a fold out stand that lets the pack sit upright when it’s off your back, whether for loading or unloading your kid or for taking that well-deserved mid-trail break.
The Best Hiking Hydration Pack for Young Kids - CamelBak Mini Mule Hydration Pack
Every ounce of gear weight adds up for any age of hiker, but gravity seems to pull especially hard on those little legs once they have a pack on their back. Which is why it’s best to limit a kids’ pack to the basic necessities, and nothing is more needed on a hike than water. This compact, slim, and lightweight kids’ hydration pack puts up to 1.5 liters of H2O on your kid’s back, but more to the point it evenly distributes that water weight across his or her shoulders and chest, so the child can stay hydrated without losing steam. The drip-free mouthpiece is easy to use, with a steady flow of water that’s well-regulated, and the pack also has just enough storage area for some snacks, a pair of sunglasses, a tube of bug spray, and the like providing your youngest hiker a sense of autonomy on the trail.
The Best Hiking Hydration Pack for Big Kids/Teens: Nathan Quick Start Hydration Pack
To be clear, this is not technically a kids’ hydration pack at all; rather, it’s a compact and lightweight pack designed for adult trail runners, hikers, or cyclists who want plenty of water, a bit of storage capacity, and minimum added weight. It just so happens that for that design, the Quick Start is perfect for kids. The pack fits our eight-year-old like it was designed for his frame, though it can easily be adjusted to accommodate a larger (or slightly smaller) body, too. The flow of water is easy to regulate and the water bladder can hold a generous 1.5 liters when filled, while the pack offers enough additional storage capacity (three liters of space) for a layering garment, a hat, sunblock, a trail map or wildlife book, and, of course, snacks.
The Best Hiking Hydration Vest for Adults - Nathan Pinnacle Hydration Vest
This is a great example of a full-sized piece of gear that is nonetheless lightwight, ergonomic, and designed to keep you moving, not slow you down. It can carry more than enough water for a vigorous day hike (1.6 liters, to be precise) and, more to the point when you’re hiking with kids, it offers 12 liters of storage capacity, so you can carry most of what they’ll need to keep moving. Which, yes, basically means food. But the Pinnacle can also accommodate other choice pieces of family hiking gear, like a first aid kid, bug spray and sunblock, spare socks, and even some fun stuff like a monocular or a game to play during a lunch break. If you’re a competition long distance trail runner, this is the pack for you. If you’re a hike-loving mom or dad who wants a great hydration vest that’s blisfully ergonomic and can stow some gear, ditto. And who ever said those things were mutually exclusive, by the way?
The Best Hiking Hydration Pack for Adults - Osprey Skarab
This is a true hiking pack, not a hydration vest, it just happens to be built around helping you carry plenty of water. That would be 2.2 liters of water, for the record, which is nearly enough for an all-day hike for many folks (pack a water filter to be safe), while the 22-liter gear capacity is enough space for you to even use this pack for a two-day, overnight trek, provided someone else has you covered tent-wise. You can always clip some additional gear under the pack thanks to a pair of gear loops, and what with sternum and waist straps, the load will be well distributed.