“Pack It In, Pack It Out”, say the capitals, right under a tent, a tied sack and a hiking boot.

On this camper backpack, an old campsite rule of thumb sits beneath three small drawings and repeats from seam to seam. The bag is the medium kind, sized for weekdays and sports as much as for a weekend at a campground.

Reading one motif, left to right

Start at the left with a small tent: an A-shape with its pole tips crossed at the peak and its front left open, the panels filled in sage green. Beside it sits a tied sack, rounded, gathered and knotted at the top, in that same sage. Last in the row is a hiking boot shown side-on, tan with a sage-green sole and a few marks for laces.

All three stand on one thin black ground line, drawn in black outline with flat color inside. Below the line come two centered rows of heavy, condensed black capitals, the first ending in a comma. The rule they spell is short enough to learn on a first trip: what you carry to camp, you carry home again.

The motif is laid like brickwork, with white fabric showing between. A pair fits side by side on the front panel, and the row underneath starts halfway along. The print continues over the zip pocket on the front and onto the side panels, where it is turned on its side. Black is kept for the working parts: the handle at the top, the two straps and the pull on each zipper.

Outside, inside and on your shoulders

• Outside, the fabric: polyester through and through (100%), 9 oz/yd² (305 g/m²), and water-resistant, which buys what you packed some cover in wet weather
• Outside, the pockets: one with a zipper on the front for a map or a granola bar; the other is hidden, with a zipper too, on the back of the bag, where a wallet stays out of view
• Inside, the main pocket: large, with a separate compartment that takes a 15″ laptop, and lined in silky fabric
• Getting inside: two sliders with pull tabs ride the top zipper, so you choose where the gap opens
• Carrying, the straps: padded and ergonomic, with plastic sliders that adjust them, and soft mesh facing your shoulder blades
• Carrying, the limits: height 16⅛″, width 12¼″, depth 3⅞″ (41 × 31 × 10 cm), rated to carry 44 lb (20 kg) at the most

Who it's for

Car campers, scout families, weekend hikers and the one person in every group who walks a last lap of the site before the cars pull out. Wrap it up before someone's first camping trip, at the close of a scout year or when a birthday lands in tent season.

Quick answers

Is it rain-proof?

Call it water-resistant. That is the word the fabric earns, and it means help against the weather for whatever is inside. If heavy rain is forecast, give a laptop or a camera a cover of its own.

What is the drawing in the middle?

A sack tied shut with a knot. The art gives it no label, so it can stand for a stuff sack, a laundry bag or anything else you are hauling back to the car.

Can the whole rule be read on the front?

Yes. The motif on the front panel is complete: the three drawings on their line with both rows of lettering underneath.

Any advice after a dusty weekend?

A tip of ours, nothing official: empty the bag and shake it out, pat any marks with a sponge you have squeezed nearly dry, then stand it open to air.

Shipping and returns

Free US shipping. US delivery usually 5–12 business days. Easy 30-day returns.

Size guide