Most people use the terms rucksack and backpack interchangeably, and whilst this does make sense, there are actually a couple of technical differences between the two. All rucksacks are backpacks, but not all backpacks are rucksacks.
A backpack, as the name suggests, is a back that is carried on the back. The term actually refers to the kinds of simple bags that most people use to carry around school or work equipment which don’t often have many additional pockets or straps.
A rucksack traditionally describes a military-style backpack that is equipped to carry and withstand a lot more than a simple backpack, and comes from the German words for ‘back’ and ‘bag’.
Despite the semantics, the two terms are used interchangeably by brands, and when choosing the best backpack you should not be put off by whether it is described as a ‘rucksack’ or ‘backpack’.