Backpack styles have proliferated in recent years, creating a dizzying rainbow of high-tech, specialized designs in all shapes, sizes, and weights. Today's packs are often created for very specific activities. A growing spectrum of load-carrying technology is used. Lightweight and ultralight styles are increasingly common. An astonishing range of fit adjustments are available. And recycled fabrics have finally begun to appear in pack construction. Expect all of these trends to continue in the years ahead.

Category Explosion
These days it's virtually impossible to find one pack that's a go-to workhorse for every outdoor adventure under the sun. Instead most of today's packs are designed for specific categories of activities: trail running, fastpacking, bird watching, rock climbing, ice climbing, canyoneering, mountaineering, technical trail, multiday, extended trip, ski touring—and the list goes on. You could buy a backpack tailored for each of your outdoor pursuits—no doubt manufacturers and retailers would be happy if you did so.

Perhaps the most notable example of category explosion has been the growth of the "weekender" category, mid-sized packs designed to carry gear for a one- or two-night outing. The average length of backpack trips has declined over the past decade, with shorter outings outnumbering week-long sojourns. Manufacturers and retailers have certainly noticed this trend, creating a category that didn't exist a decade ago. The years ahead are poised to bring us specialized packs for such things as geocaching, walking the dog...and carrying all of your backpacks.

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Learn more about backpacks and various other gear on author Matt Heid's blog, AMC Equipped.

Weight-Transfer Tech
Good backpacks put the majority of weight on your hips. In order to do so, they require a rigid structure to support and transfer the load to your waist. Once upon a time, this came in only two ways: metal external frames or stiff aluminum internal stays. Load support technology has evolved significantly in recent years. This trend is perhaps best exemplified by the advent of peripheral hoops—lightweight metal loops that run around the perimeter of the pack. Also increasingly common are molded plastic frame sheets, which come in a wide range of shapes and sizes unavailable a decade ago. Both these technologies have become common in daypacks and mid-sized packs. (Most large packs still feature aluminum stays, which perform better under heavy loads.)

Shrinking Packweight
Lightweight fabrics durable enough to handle backcountry abuses are also shrinking pack weight. Most of today's mid-sized, weekender-style packs hover in the 3- to 4-pound range, with many options tipping the scales below the 3-pound mark. The growing availability of other ultralight gear, such as tents and sleeping bags, has aided this trend; most lightweight packs are not designed for loads greater than 30 pounds or so. Expect to see additional ounces wither away in the years ahead.

Fit Mania
At the other end of the spectrum is a trend toward more fit adjustments to help hikers cruise in maximum comfort, especially around the waist. Heat-molded waistbelts conform to your precise anatomy. Waistbelts can be canted up or down and feature foam in different densities: softer and squishier next to your hips for comfort, denser on the outside for support and structure. Multiple adjustment straps offer precise manipulation of waistbelt shape. Expect future packs to come with full instruction manuals to explain it all. Another prominent manifestation of the fit trend has been the rapid expansion of packs designed specifically for women, which feature more conically-cut hipbelts and curved shoulder straps.

Recycled Materials
Virtually all backpacks are made from synthetic, petroleum-based materials like nylon and polyester, which don't usually come from recycled sources. Watch for this to change in the coming years as affordable recycled fabrics become increasingly available to manufacturers. Nylon in particular, which is notoriously difficult to recycle into pack-worthy fabrics, will be more widely used in recycled forms. Also expect more plastic components, such as buckles and frame sheets, to be made from corn-based, PLA plastics. One of the leaders in this arena is lightweight gear-maker GoLite, which launched its Tier 1 Recycling Program in 2009; the majority of its 2011 line features recycled nylon fabric, an industry first.