How I stopped borrowing my husband's oversized pack
For two summers I just used my husband's hiking backpack because buying my own felt like an unnecessary expense, except it was always too big and the straps sat in the wrong spot, so I'd come home with weird shoulder soreness after even short hikes.
I finally asked in a local hiking group what smaller packs people liked, and got a handful of suggestions, most of which were either too pricey or too tiny to be practical for anything more than a water bottle.
I landed on a compact, foldable daypack that actually fit my frame properly, and the difference was immediate — no more shoulder ache, and it packs down small enough that I can stuff it in my suitcase for travel too.
Now it's just part of my normal kit, folded up in my car most of the time, ready whenever I decide to go.
