For trekking, hiking, and camping, a good-quality rucksack from a reliable brand is a necessity. After spending more than 5 years researching 40+ rucksacks and carrying multiple among them in many trekking trips, we highly recommend Tripole Walker 55 Liters Rucksack as the best rucksack in India. It comes with water-repellent fabric and rain cover, which proved to be working in our travel. The best thing about this rucksack bag is its internal frame, perfect for long trips and the torso adjustment mechanism to fit everyone’s height.
Apart from Triopole, brands like Trawoc, Wildcraft, Quechua, Fur Jaden and Skybags are good alternatives for rucksacks with 40 to 90 litres of capacity. This is why we have added additional recommendations to match the needs of different travellers in 2024. Let’s explore!
The Best Rucksack Brands In India
| Rucksack Brands | Best Known For |
|---|---|
| Tripole | Feature-rich design |
| Trawoc | A perfect balance of cost and quality |
| Wildcraft | High quality design |
| Quechua | Good quality materials |
| Fur Jaden | Budget-friendly with decent quality |
| F Gear | Affordable price |
| Polestar | Another economical option |
| Hyper Adam | Catchy appearance |
| Aristocrat | Sober design |
| Skybags | Overall quality |
Let’s see the rucksacks from these brands and analyze their pros/cons to help you choose a suitable one.
High-Quality Rucksack For Trekking And Hiking
For travelling, trekking, hiking, or camping for multiple days, a quality rucksack provides adequate balance while keeping the torso straight, sufficient storage space, weather-proof material and sturdy build quality.
Top Pick: Tripole Walker 55L Rucksack
Specifications
| Brand | Tripole |
| Capacity | 55 Liters |
| Colour | Black and sea green |
| Frame | Internal frame |
| Material | Polyester |
| Closure | Buckle, drawstring |
| Straps and Paddings | Adjustable shoulder straps, hip straps, breathable air mesh padding |
| Water-repellent | Yes |
| Rain Cover | Yes |
| Laptop Sleeve | Yes (15 inches) |
| Dimension | 25 x 22 x 78 cm |
| Weight | 1.6 Kg |
| Warranty | 3 Years |
| Our Rating | 9.2/10 |
What Can You Expect From Tripole Walker Rucksack?
Tripole Walker Rucksack comes with an internal frame that consists of a fibre frame and aluminium rods to provide the ultimate support to the back and maintain a perfect balance during walking. Such a feature makes it sturdy, comfortable and easier to carry.
There are three other features of this rucksack that we liked most. Such as-
- Rain Cover: A rain cover is an essential item during trekking to protect the rucksack from rain as well as dust. Most rucksack brands do not provide it with the rucksack. But Tripole provides a rain cover which is good in quality and coverage area.
- Bottom Compartment: During trekking and hiking, the shoes, sandals, and clothes often get dirty and are difficult to wash up during the trip. For this reason, a separate compartment is needed to store all these items. Tripole has taken care of this problem and built a bottom pocket to ease the storage of dirty wearables.
- Laptop Compartment: Many people like to carry a lightweight laptop while hiking for personal entertainment or official purposes. This rucksack is built with such a feature.
All these advanced features are extremely useful and preferred by most trekkers. Tripole Walker rucksack is a good choice for a 4-7 days trip like trekking to Sandakphu or Kedarkantha. So, if you are looking for the best rucksack for trekking in India with a capacity between 50L and 60L, it is a perfect choice.
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Best Alternative: Trawoc 65L Internal Frame Rucksack
Specifications
| Brand | Trawoc |
| Capacity | 65 Liters |
| Colour | English blue, navy blue, grey |
| Frame | Internal frame |
| Material | Polyester and fabric |
| Closure | Buckle, zipper, drawstring |
| Straps and Paddings | Padded adjustable shoulder straps, hip straps |
| Waterproof | Yes |
| Rain Cover | Yes |
| Laptop Sleeve | Yes (17.5 inches) |
| Dimension | 80 x 30 x 26 cm |
| Weight | 1.1 Kg |
| Warranty | 1 Year |
| Our Rating | 9/10 |
What Can You Expect From Trawoc 65L Rucksack?
This rucksack has an excellent design, high durability, more space, and reliable build quality. Besides the internal frame, more storage pockets with covered zip locks and multi-directional straps, give more protection and flexibility to the user. If you are looking for a rucksack under ₹3000 from the best brands in India, it is undoubtedly a good choice.
The rucksack is very spacious, allowing you to carry all trekking or camping essentials. It even has a laptop sleeve with fantastic support and protection during a camping trip. Unlike other rucksacks, it comes with both the front and top loading options to easily access different compartments.
We found this rucksack most stylish with a smart look. It is made up of a breathable honeycomb mesh fabric to enhance comfort. Having been built with water-resistant PU-coated polymer fabric and a rain cover, it is suitable for Himalayan treks like the Valley of Flowers trek in Himachal Pradesh where rain is very frequent.
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Best Budget Rucksack for Beginners (2024)
While the above rucksacks can be expensive to you, here are the best and most affordable rucksacks suitable for starters. These may not have premium features but are good if you are on a tight budget or going for a short trip.
Top Pick: Wildcraft 45L Grey and Orange Rucksack
Specifications
| Brand | Wildcraft |
| Capacity | 45 Liters |
| Colour | Grey and orange |
| Frame | Frameless |
| Material | Nylon |
| Closure | Drawstring |
| Straps and Paddings | Adjustable shoulder straps with back padding |
| Water-resistance | Yes |
| Rain Cover | No |
| Laptop Sleeve | No |
| Dimension | 50 x 150 x 100 cm |
| Weight | 400 grams |
| Warranty | 5 years |
| Our Rating | 8.9/10 |
What Can You Expect From Wildcraft 45L Rucksack?
Wildcraft is one of the best rucksack brands with all basic needs and it is also very reputed among trekkers. The orange and black colour combination is attractive and looks great especially during hiking through the green forest trail or mountains.
Beginner trekkers often get confused about which rucksack they need. Don’t worry, we have also gone through the same process when we started trekking. We found this rucksack lightweight, has good durability, and adequate, and enough compartments to fill up the necessary travel items. Along with these advantages, it is resistant to water and can last for years if care is taken well.
This Wildcraft rucksack is perfectly suitable for both men and women. However, with 45 litres of capacity, it is suitable for short treks like Kheerganga and Triund. Thus, you need to carry fewer clothes, food, tools and other materials. All these typical features come at a cheaper price of under ₹2000, which is affordable for beginners.
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Best Alternative: Fur Jaden 55 Liters Rucksack
Specifications
| Brand | Fur Jaden |
| Capacity | 55 Liters |
| Colour Variants | 5 |
| Frame | Frameless |
| Material | Polyester |
| Closure | Buckle, zipper, drawstring |
| Straps and Paddings | Adjustable and padded shoulder and waist straps |
| Water-repellent | Yes |
| Rain Cover | No |
| Laptop Sleeve | No |
| Shoe Compartment | Yes |
| Dimension | 35 x 25 x 65 cm |
| Weight | 700 grams |
| Our Rating | 8.5/10 |
What Can You Expect From Fur Jaden Rucksack?
Fur Jaden is the most suitable alternative to the previous brand Wildcraft if you are looking for the best budget rucksack in India under ₹1500. It comes in a black shade with 5 colour variants- grey, orange, turquoise, military blue and navy red. Each of these variants is available in 55 litres capacity, suitable for 2-5 days trips.
This frameless rucksack is lightweight and easy to carry in trekking and hiking trips in the Himalayas. During travelling along a long rough trail, it is essential to keep your balance with proper weight distribution, save energy, and continue moving without being stressed.
The rucksack is built with water-resistant polymer materials but it does not come with a rain cover which is definitely a drawback. However, unlike the previous rucksack, it comes with a shoe compartment at the bottom of the bag, which comes in handy to store your dirty shoes during camping. Check the waterproof trekking shoes that get less dirty, so that you can pack them easily inside the rucksack.
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Best Multi-Utility Rucksack For Longer Trips
The following rucksacks come with very handy features that might help you during long trekking trips. The higher capacities and multi-utility features make them ideal for the Kashmir Great Lakes trek or Rupin Pass trek that requires 7-8 days.
Top Pick: Tripole Colonel 80L Rucksack With 12L Detachable Daypack
Specifications
| Brand | Tripole |
| Capacity | 80 Liters rucksack with 12 liters daypack |
| Color | Army green, black, digital camouflage, olive green |
| Frame | Internal frame |
| Material | Polyester |
| Closure | Zipper |
| Straps and Paddings | Padded shoulder straps, waist belt with back support |
| Water-resistant | Yes |
| Rain Cover | Yes |
| Laptop Sleeve | Yes |
| Dimension | 34 x 24 x 85 cm |
| Weight | 2.4 Kg |
| Warranty | 1 Year full warranty + 2 years limited warranty |
| Our Rating | 9.1/10 |
What Can You Expect From Tripole Colonel Rucksack?
While all of the previous rucksacks have a capacity of 45-65 litres, they are ideal for shorter trips. You need a higher capacity rucksack like Tripole Colonel with additional features like a detachable daypack, more pockets and compartments for a week-long journey.
Not only the higher capacity, but this rucksack from Tripole also has multiple load adjustment straps, torso adjustment mechanisms, sternum straps and 5-layer paddings at the back. The sturdy internal frame makes it durable and keeps the trekker in balance during a day-long trek.
Apart from it, you will get a rain cover to protect your belongings and a bottom compartment to store dirty shoes and clothes. You can carry your laptop inside the rucksack and the daypack too. With all these cool features, it stands out to be one of the best rucksacks under ₹5000 from a reputed trekking bag brand.
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Best Alternative: Trawoc 80L Rucksack With 15L Daypack
Specification
| Brand | Trawoc |
| Capacity | 80 liters rucksack and 15 liters daypack |
| Colour | Black, grey, olive green |
| Frame | Internal frame |
| Material | Polyester |
| Closure | Buckle, zipper, drawstring, D-ring, whistle buckle |
| Straps and Paddings | Padded adjustable shoulder straps, hip straps, heavily padded back panel |
| Waterproof | Yes |
| Rain Cover | Yes |
| Laptop Sleeve | Yes (17.5 inches) |
| Dimension | 30 x 30 x 88 cm |
| Weight | 2.4 Kg |
| Warranty | 1 Year |
| Our Rating | 9/10 |
What Can You Expect From Trawoc 80L Rucksack?
This 80L rucksack by the Indian brand Trawoc meets requirements for a 7-8 day long trek with its attractive design, high material quality, and good build quality. Because of the internal frame, more storage pockets with covered zip locks and multi-directional padded straps, this rucksack gives good comfort, protection and flexibility to the user.
It is made up of high-quality waterproof polyester materials for all weather conditions, including heavy rainfall and scorching heat. Though the rucksack is pricey, it is worth the money spent in the long run. So, if you are looking for the best 80L rucksack from a reputed brand, it is undoubtedly a good choice.
Besides usual facilities, this rucksack has easily accessible side pockets, hip belt pockets, whistle buckle, thick mesh padded hip supports, and compartments for water bottles, 17.5 inches laptop, shoes, rain cover, top zipper, front zipper, etc. The option for front and top-loading systems make it easier to pack and unload.
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If you think that these bags are not what you were looking for then you check our other article on the best travel backpacks in India. These travel backpacks are good alternatives to rucksacks. You can also check full list of backpack brands, if you do not prefer the above rucksack brands.
Why Should You Buy A Good Rucksack?
While trekking, it is very important to maintain health, keep the body fit, and relieve stress to conserve energy as much as you can. Many travellers are worried about upkeeping pace during the day-long adventure hiking. Beginners who are inexperienced face this doubt mostly. Following the guidelines on adventure tourism by the Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India, would be very helpful for them.
The key to conserving energy and maintaining pace is reducing the weight of the backpack as much as you can. General-purpose backpacks are not at all suitable for trekking because of numerous disadvantages. A high-quality rucksack has tremendous advantages to carry during a trek or hike.
- Rucksacks are lightweight and easy to carry.
- A good rucksack can maintain the balance of the body by keeping the centre of the mass stable with respect to the traveller. He/she can even adjust the straps to make it more perfect.
- These provide larger space to pack up essential trekking gear including clothes, tools and accessories.
- Hiking backpacks have more pockets and compartments to store different kinds of items.
- A good rucksack from a reputed company is built with durable materials.
- Most of the rucksacks are water-resistant.
- Rucksacks provide extra padding on the shoulder as well as the waist.
- Many of the manufacturers provide rain cover and compartments for shoes and laptops with their rucksacks.
Because of these huge advantages, a good quality rucksack is recommended for every trekker. The rucksacks we have listed above are the best in India to be good at most of these purposes. Now let us see why we have recommended these rucksacks.
How have We picked and Why Do we recommend these Rucksacks?
We have been looking for the best rucksack in India for quite a long time. Over 5 years, we have thoroughly checked, taken feedback from fellow trekkers, and used some of them in our own trips. We have learned some crucial factors about rucksacks that every trekker must know. Over time, we cross-verified each of these factors with the features and advantages of these rucksacks. Now let us see what we are really talking about.
Structure and Frame of Rucksacks
There are two types of frames available for rucksacks- internal and external frames. While external frame backpacks have been used from an early time, internal frames are more recent innovations. External frames can be clearly visible if you try to distinguish them from internal frames.
External frame backpacks are known to carry a heavier load and have better durability and because of the small gap between the back and the frame, it does not let you feel stuck. Despite these advantages, these are heavier and unstable as you may face difficulty moving on narrow terrains. These are not got for people with back problems.
On the other hand, internal frame backpacks are more suitable for a long trail as these give more comfort to the user. The supporting aluminium rods and fibre frames act as springs and provide a better experience to the trekkers. As a result, it perfectly maintains the balance and the weight and does not let the load shift sideways.
You can clearly see the numerous advantages of internal frame rucksacks from this comparison with external frame rucksacks.
Detailed Comparison: Internal Frame Vs. External Frame Vs. Frameless Backpack
Choosing the Right Capacity
The selection of the right capacity of the rucksack is the most vital part that confuses most beginners. Backpacks are commonly available with a capacity from 35 Litres to 80 Litres. But which one do you need most?
The capacity of the rucksack depends mostly on two factors- your load-carrying capacity and the duration of the trip.
The capacity to carry the load can vary from person to person. There is no definite answer to it. But, in general, for week-long hiking, men are recommended to have 55-65 L rucksacks and women mostly prefer 50-55 L backpacks.
It also depends greatly on the number of days for your trip. For short trips like camping at Pawna lake and hiking to nearby forts, we recommend Wildcraft Grey and Orange Rucksack. The following capacities of rucksacks are suitable for both men and women according to the duration of trekking or hiking.
| Duration of Trip | Recommended Capacity of Rucksack |
|---|---|
| Single Day | Up to 40 L |
| Overnight | 45-50 L |
| 2-4 Days | 45-55 L |
| 7 Days | 50-65 L |
| More than 7 Days | 55 L + |
From the above table, you can easily choose the capacity of rucksacks that we highly recommend. Now after this vital selection, you need to check the material as this is also crucial to find the best rucksack for travelling in India.
Selecting the Material of the Rucksack
The price of a rucksack greatly depends upon the build material. Premium backpacks are made with highly durable materials that are very easy to maintain and less prone to damage. Most of the manufacturers in the Indian market prefer Nylon as it is softer but sturdy, durable and does not get damaged easily. Because of this reason, Nylon is preferable among most users too.
Apart from Nylon, the second most recommended material is Polyester. There is one typical advantage of polyester over nylon. Polyester rucksacks hold the colour of the material for a longer time and do not fade away easily. These are more water-resistant and easier to clean.
Some materials like Polypropylene, Ripstop, Cordura, and Cotton Canvas are also used for manufacturing rucksacks. Though these are not so popular in the Indian market, it is good to know the current innovations and trends. Read More about backpack materials to stay up-to-date.
Comfort and Convenience are Must
While trekking in India, it is very essential to keep the momentum with your group. Even if you are a solo traveller, the management of time is important to reach the destination in time. To do this, comfortability during walking plays a big role here. The convenience of carrying the rucksack is one of the biggest factors that can ease your journey.
The comfortability depends on several factors, out of which, we have talked about the structure and frame of the rucksack above. The second important factor is the availability of fastening straps. There are several types of straps and belts that you may notice in a rucksack- compression strap, Stash pocket strap, base compression strap, distribution strap, shoulder strap, chest belt, and hip strap. All of these play a significant role to carry the rucksack in a better comfortable way.
Number and Size of Compartments
We all prefer to have multiple compartments in the rucksack to store various kinds of items as per suitability and needs. It does not only ease segregation but also helps to organize the materials in a better way. Small pockets near the straps can also help the users to keep the necessary tools, medicines or even food closer to their hand. If you like birdwatching, carrying a binocular in these small pockets would be helpful.
Apart from the general compartments, some people like to have special compartments for keeping shoes, laptops, and wallets. Some rucksacks even have secret compartments where the travellers can keep valuable items or money for safekeeping.
These pockets, sleeves and compartments are extremely useful and can vary in size. This is because of the design and dimensions of the rucksack. The larger the bag is, the more the number of compartments could be available. However, if you are planning for travelling a long distance by air, check the best trolley bags instead of a rucksack.
Other Notable Features That We Considered
Apart from the frame, capacity, material and compartments, there are also several things that we took into account before selecting these best rucksack bags. These features are not necessary but having them can help you get more accessibility and protection. One such feature is the rain cover of the rucksack. Many brands include it in their products. We recommend buying a rain cover separately even if it is not included in the package.
Some of the rucksacks come with extra clips and hooks that can come in handy to tie up suitable tools and equipment like trekking poles, action cameras, mobile phones, hats/caps, etc to the rucksack.
Tips for Packing and Loading the Rucksack
During hiking, travellers may face load unbalancing problems that may be difficult sometimes. Often people unload the whole packing to find a small item. This can be troublesome and irritating. To avoid such problems, they need to load and pack the rucksack in the right way. The following tips can help you solve these unwanted problems.
- Fit lightweight goods near the bottom of the rucksack, and heavy materials near the centre and close to your back.
- Load clothes, jackets, and other items around the centre and top uniformly. Trekking jackets are lightweight and compact, so you can pack them easily inside the rucksack.
- If you are camping, you may have to load up your rucksack with all the camping essentials like a tent, stove, sleeping bag, headlamp, etc. In that case, you need a rucksack with at least 50 litres of capacity.
- Use top and side pockets to store handy items like sunglass, snacks, and candy.
- After packing, tighten the side straps suitable for the load packed.
- Adjust the shoulder straps according to your body shape and back area.
- Next, fit the waist belt below the pelvis area for better comfort.
- Buckle up the chest strap and adjust the load uniformly.
- Cleaning the rucksack in a washing machine is a bad idea as it may damage the fabric. Therefore we recommend washing it by hand with lukewarm water and non-detergent soap. It will keep the fabric in very good condition with prolonged durability.
- Most of the materials for rucksacks are water-resistant but not water-proof. This is why you must put a rain cover on the rucksack as soon as the rain starts.
Check the following video to know more about how to choose a rucksack, wear and pack it.
Buying a good rucksack is essential for every traveller. It does not only let you pack every essential item but also provides good back support and balances the weight in the correct way. In this article about the best rucksacks in India for 2024, we have talked about the worthiness of each of these products to help the users in the right way. If you have any more doubts, share them with us in the below comment section.
