How to pack a DofE rucksack: a comprehensive guide
Before you pack your rucksack you’re going to need to know what to put in it. If you haven’t yet, I’d recommend reading my Kit List. It covers which items should (and shouldn't) make the cut, from toiletries to clothes, to crockery and equipment.
When packing your rucksack for DofE, the first things you put in should be the last you'll need to take out. This means the bottom section should contain items such as your sleeping bag and tent, the middle section has spare food and spare clothes, while the top section has waterproofs and snacks for the day.
Before you start packing…
Should you buy your own rucksack?
Many expedition providers will supply you with your backpacks, so not everyone will need to purchase one. If you are, however, intending to take DofE further than the Bronze Award, I would suggest looking into getting your own rucksack.
Having a bag that you are familiar with can make a big difference, especially on the longer Silver and Gold expeditions — you know where all the pockets are and where you like to keep various items, but more importantly, you can be much more confident your own rucksack will be comfortable than a borrowed one. The difference between a comfortable rucksack and a painful one will have a big impact on your expedition — if it’s the latter, you’re in for a long and uncomfortable expedition.
For me, this benefit of comfort alone is reason enough to purchase an expedition rucksack. However, I had always intended on completing all the DofE awards, and am interested in doing multi-day hikes later in life. If this is something you resonate with, then go get yourself a rucksack. But if you're doing Bronze and are not sure if DofE is quite for you, I’d wait — having your own rucksack is worth it, but only if it gets used.
Which rucksack should you buy?
If you’ve decided to buy an expedition rucksack there are a number of routes you can go down to find the one that’s best for you. You could, a) research the many, many available rucksacks with different features at different price points only to come to a final, slightly uncertain conclusion, or, b) go for the tried and true expedition rucksacks that you can trust to have the comfort you need, the features you want, and the longevity to last literally thousands of miles of hiking.
You could probably guess that option ‘b’ was the one I opted for. The likes of Vango and Osprey are the kind of brands that have been making hiking packs for decades and know what they’re doing — it’s hard to go wrong. Just make sure you get the right size: a standard size for DofE is 60L - 70L (for all three expeditions).
I used this Vango Sherpa for all my expeditions and truly loved it. It’s a popular rucksack, and for good reason: it's fairly priced, perfectly sized, comes with a rainfly (which keeps your pack from getting soaked, although not a replacement for proper waterproofing), plenty of pockets, has a really sturdy padded hip strap and an adjustable back, which makes a big difference for comfort. I haven’t tested a wide range of packs, but I probably never will — the one I have now simply works too well.
How are you keeping things dry?
Before you pack your rucksack, you need to know how you’re keeping things dry. For a full rundown, read my definitive guide to waterproofing on DofE.
In a nutshell though, the most effective way of waterproofing on DofE is by using a combination of several dry bags, resealable plastic bags like these ones, or bin bags to create an organised and effective waterproof system. This means you’ll have one dry bag/bin bag for your sleeping bag, a resealable plastic bag for your food, another for your wash kit and so on. Almost everything needs to be kept dry, so don’t hold back. If you wouldn’t want to take it out of your rucksack wet, then it probably needs to be waterproofed.
Ok, now let’s get packing.
Bottom section
Work your way from the bottom up. The first things that go into your pack should be the last that need to come out — first in, last out. This means that at the bottom of your pack you want the items that won’t be used until you're setting up camp for the evening. This includes your sleeping bag, sleeping mat (if it's stored internally, many sleeping mats are roll-up foam mats stored on the outside of a rucksack), and tents. Of course, make sure everything that needs waterproofing is in an appropriate liner.
Middle section
This is where you should be packing more frequently used items that will not be needed urgently, as well as other rarely used items that you’d rather weren’t squashed as much by the weight of all the things on top of it. This generally is where you'll pack spare clothes (excluding waterproofs), food for the following days, crockery and some group equipment (like washing up liquid and matches), as well as any additional heavy items, such as cooking equipment. To increase the stability of your rucksack whilst hiking, try to keep heavy items as close to your back as possible.
Top section and side pockets
In the top section and quick access pockets you'll pack the things you use most frequently and the things you need most quick access to. This includes medical kits, waterproof jacket and trousers, your wash kit, miscellaneous items such as a headlamp and electronics, as well as snacks for the day and your water (note that if you use a bladder for water this will likely have a dedicated pocket).
Putting your rucksack on
When you put your pack on it's important to adjust all the straps to find the perfect setting for you. It's vital to remember that you want most of the weight to be on your hips — not your shoulders. This will help make the hiking much easier. A well fitted rucksack will reduce the chance and frequency of blisters (but bear in mind that it’s unlikely you’ll avoid them altogether), as it will rub against your skin less as the pack ‘hugs’ your torso.