Your hiking backpack should be equipped to carry everything you'll need for a day in the outdoors. You need to think about hydration, snacks, lunch, an extra layer for changes in the weather, trekking poles, a headlamp, a map that's easy to get at – you need a pack that's around 20 litres capacity with the features to bring it all together. In this lineup, it's hard to beat Osprey, both the Talon 22 and the Daylite Plus will take it all in their stride. Lowe Alpine's Aeon 27 has a slightly larger capacity and is another excellent choice.