When you are going on a hiking trip you are not going to travel with a classic suitcase, instead you will bring a hiking backpack. However, people are often not sure whether or not these type of luggage is allowed as carry on on a plane.
Can you take a hiking backpack as carry on?
Yes, a hiking backpack is allowed as carry on if your backpack is within the size and potential weight limit of the airline. The average size limit is 22 x 14 x 9 inches (56 x 36 x 23 cm).
When is a hiking backpack allowed as carry on?
There are usually a couple of rules in place when it comes to what is allowed as carry on luggage. The exact rules will differ depending on the airline you are flying with. Every airline will have a maximum width, height, depth and weight of what is allowed.
Let’s take a look at an example. For Turkish airlines the allowed measurements are 55 cm (l) + 40 cm (w) + 23 cm (d) and the maximum allowed weight is 8 kg. Additionally, you can have one (small) additional item like a camera, umbrella or laptop.
In order to know what is allowed you should simply take a look at the official website or the airline you will be flying with. Google goes a long way, for example, if you would simply type in “delta airlines carry on rules” in google, you will get all the information you need.
To be clear, the fact that you are bringing a backpack or a suitcase generally doesn’t matter, it’s all about the size and the weight of the luggage.
What airlines allow a hiking backpack as carry on?
As stated before, all the airlines that I checked do allow hiking backpacks. However, the backpack has to be small enough and sometimes there is also a weight limit. If you are considering to bring a large hiking backpack, this is almost never allowed, simply because they are too large.
Not that the size includes wheels and handles. Also, often there are no weight restrictions on carry on luggage, but this does not mean that there are no weight restrictions on checked luggage.
An overview of some of the most popular airlines:
| Airline | Size | weight |
|---|---|---|
| American airline | 22 x 14 x 9 inches
56 x 36 x 23 centimeters |
No restrictions |
| Delta Airlines | 22 x 14 x 9 inches
56 x 36 x 23 centimeters |
Only in specific locations
|
| Jetblue airlines | 22 x 14 x 9 inches
56 x 36 x 23 centimeters |
No restrictions |
| United airlines | 22 x 14 x 9 inches
56 x 36 x 23 centimeters |
No restrictions |
| Alaska airlines | 22 x 14 x 9 inches
56 x 36 x 23 centimeters |
No restrictions |
| Southwest Airlines | 24 x 16 x 10 inches
61 x 41 x 25 centimeters |
No restrictions |
| Ryanair
Free carry on |
15.7 x 9.8 x 7.9 inches
40 x 25 x 20 centimeters |
No restrictions |
| Ryanair
Priority carry on |
21.7 x 15.7 x 7.9 inches
55 x 40 x 20 centimeters |
10kg |
| Turkish airlines | 21.7 x 15.7 x 9 inches
55 x 40 x 23 centimeters |
8kg |
Note that try my best to keep this information up to date. However, the only way to be 100% sure is to check the official website of the airlines.
Will carry on luggage actually be checked?
In terms of security carry on luggage will of course always be checked. However, will they actually check the weight and the size of the luggage as well? Or can you usually get away with oversized backpacks?
Once again, this mainly depends on the airline you are flying with. For me personally, it has been many years since my luggage was last checked. However, theoretically it can happen with every airline. Also, if your carry on luggage is very oversized, there is a bigger chance that someone will stop you.
It also seems that cheaper airlines will more often check the luggage. The reason for this is not entirely clear. However, we can guess that cheaper airlines will usually be more cramped than the more expensive ones. This means there is usually less space inside the airplane.
In my opinion, it’s better to be safe than sorry so I would not recommend taking the risk.
What to do when my hiking backpack is too large?
If you know your backpack is too large to be used as carry on luggage, there are a couple of things you can do. The most obvious one is to simply check in your backpack and do not use it as carry on luggage.
However, if you are travelling with a group, you might be able to put some of your stuff in their backpacks. If they also don’t have enough space, you could simply check in one piece of luggage with the group. This way you would avoid paying for checked luggage for every member of the group.
If you backpack is only slightly too large you can always try to take one item out of it – if the airline allows it. For example, Turkish Airlines allows you to have a carry on backpack + 1 additional item like a laptop. Remember if you can squeeze your backpack into one of these, you are good:
If you do get caught with oversized carry on luggage you will probably have to pay a fee – this will also depend on the airline.
A hiking backpack as checked luggage
If your backpacking pack is simply way too large for carry on, you will have to bring it as checked luggage. There are a couple of things you will have to keep in mind before you do so.
Be very careful with external gear. For example, very often hikers/backpackers will attach a tent externally. This is no problem when you are actually out there hiking but in the luggage space of the airplane the tent might come loose. Hiking poles and sleeping pads are also quite often externally attached.
There are 2 ways how you can deal with this:
Use a protective flight cover
This is a rain cover that can also be used to protect your externally attached gear in the luggage space of an airplane. Also, it will prevent any issues with lose straps as these are tucked away underneath the cover. I really like a protective flight cover because it also functions as a rain cover and I’m going to bring a rain cover anyway.
For those of you who are interested, this is the one I’m using:
This is the Forclaz travel transport rain cover, used for backpacks between 40-60 liters. I’m really happy with this cover and would recommend it to any type of hiker/backpacker.
Put your external gear in your carry on luggage
Another thing you can do is to take your externally attached gear of your hiking backpack and put it in your carry on luggage. Personally, I usually use a dry bag as carry on. Once I start hiking I will attach the dry bag to the bottom of my backpack again. But you could even use a plastic bag as carry on luggage.
Still looking for a hiking backpack?
If you are still looking for a good hiking backpack, I would highly recommend taking a look at one of the following suggestion lists:
Note that 40L hiking backpacks are pretty commonly used as carry on luggage. However, 50L hiking backpacks tend to be slightly too large. That being said, it also depends on how much stuff is inside the backpack of course!
Can you take a hiking backpack as carry on – Conclusion
Theoretically, a hiking backpack is allowed as a carry on. However, it will need to be small enough to fit within the maximum allowed dimensions. Also, it cannot exceed the maximum allowed weight. These rules will differ depending on what airline you are flying with.
The main thing to remember is that the rules are made by the airline company, so be sure to check their official websites!
If you decide that your hiking backpack is not allowed as carry on luggage make sure to take the proper precautions before checking it in. You can either use a protective transport/rain cover or make sure that you don’t have any external gear attached.