5 Best Ozark Trail Backpacks Sept 2024

You may find it helpful to make a list of meals for each day you are out on the trail to ensure that you are not over- or under-packing for your trip. Further south, you can find Klepzig Mill, a historic building constructed nearly 100 years ago along the banks of Rocky Creek. A short detour off the main trail will take hikers to Rocky Falls, an impressive cascade that flows into a natural pool perfect for swimming. The entire trail is open to hikers and offers easy and moderate hiking conditions. Much of it is also accessible for mountain biking and horseback riding.

Similar to the Ozark Trail cooler, the Pelican features orange wheel rims and also has orange clasp accents. You can get this cooler in three colors, Tan which is featured here, as well as graphite and white. The other two colors will have different rims and accents, so if you don’t love the orange you have options. Pelican is a newer entry in to the world of rotomolded coolers and have taken their own spin on design and function. Overall the Pelican coolers have sharper edges and a bit more of an industrial feel than the competition. One of the first things to note about it’s design is that it has a larger drainage hole and a tethered drain cap, which is a nice feature.

You can also select free store pickup on many items, which might even be available the same day. At a price point of $79, it’s unlikely you’d be able to find anything else that’s brand new, competes with its features, and costs less than $100. You can likely find this pack at your local Walmart or online at Walmart.com. On the small side, so it won’t work for hikers who need a spacious pack.

Camp out at the top overnight, catching a glimpse of a full sky of stars if it’s clear. If you’re searching east of the Rockies for stunning scenery, technical terrain, and a long hike option sans the AT crowds, this is your pick. If you’re on a multi-day hike, toilet paper and a cathole shovel are necessities. When you have to answer nature’s call, make sure to stay at least 200 yards away from a water ozark trail backpack source and bury any solid waste at least 6 inches deep. Exploring Missouri’s scenic backcountry is one of the best reasons to head out on the Ozark Trail.

Includes Trekking pole attachment points, compression straps and a sleeping bag compartment. I carried this daypack back n forth on a trail to the shower while camping. The bag stayed in place on my back using the sternum strap.

Be aware, this is a daypack, intended for lighter loads and shorter distances. It isn’t built to be on your back 8 hours a day, and it won’t support 25 pounds. Used for its intended purpose, this is one of the best hiking/backpacking deals I’ve ever come across. This pack has no extraneous features, save for the small front zip pocket and an internal hydration sleeve. There are no compression straps or other means of securing anything to the outside of the pack, aside from the “daisy chain” on the front.

By default, this unexpectedly ended up being my go-to daily bag for several months. It’s been stuffed to capacity with almost everything I had to carry, including, but not limited to, outerwear, lunch, groceries, laptop, iPad, a Bose speaker, and combinations thereof. I am a 6-foot tall male, weighing 185 lbs and it fits just as well as other day packs I’ve tried. My shoulders did not chafe nor rub or irritate while walking and I did not get any bruising on my hips. I only walked about a mile away on a dirt trail to the showers but it was not a flat surface and the equiptment on my back was stable. Fast and easy to adjust and all buckles and webbing are in good quality.

I priced other internal frame daypacks before my trip and this was by far the cheapest. I took this pack on a 5-day mountain bike ride from Pittsburgh, Pa., to Washington, D.C., and it performed very well. The coolers remained in the same location for the duration of the 6 day test, only being opened to snap daily progress pictures. In a sheer stroke of luck for this test, we are having a very aggressive heatwave in Southeast Michigan with temperatures around the 90’s during the day and staying in the 70’s overnight. I’m using my North facing deck as the staging area which receives direct sunlight at almost all hours of the day.

We’ve scouted the best routes, from easy day hikes to epic overnight bike-packing.Find detailed itineraries, directions, and maps right here. Trailspace’s community of gear reviewers has field-tested and rated the top daypacks. I’ve had this pack for 2 years and I’ve beaten the living daylights out of it and it still performs just as well as the day I bought it. I don’t make it a habit of buying my gear from Walmart, but this was a excellent purchase. I use this pack on a daily basis to carry my office clothes while I ride my bike to work and to carry light loads while out Geocaching.