1. Measure Your Torso
Fitting a backpack is one of the few situations in which your height doesn't determine your size. Backpack fit depends on torso length. Find a friend to help measure your torso from your back. Using a cloth tape measure, start at the seventh vertebrae, the bony area below the neck and between the shoulder blades. Measure from the seventh vertebrae down the spine to the small of your back where the top of your hipbone starts. This is your torso length. Torso length less than 18 inches means you need a small suspension backpack. A medium suspension is for torsos between 18 and 20 inches. Torso lengths over 21 inches need a large suspension backpack.
2. Check Your Hipness
While torso length is the most important factor in backpack fit, don't neglect your hips, especially if you're buying a backpack with interchangeable hipbelts. Measure your hips at the pointy iliac crest, also known as your hipbones. Men and women with narrow hips need a standard belt. If you have more curves, get a women's style belt. Judge the fit of the hipbelt by fastening it snugly around your hips. If the pads don't touch and you have plenty of webbing left, you have the right size hipbelt. Pads that touch means you need a smaller belt, but if you're at the end of the webbing, you need a bigger belt.
3. Adjust Straps to Complete Backpack fit
Anchor shoulder straps just below the crest of your shoulders, making sure they fit snugly without gaps. Look for the end of the strap padding to stop at least five inches below your armpit. Next adjust the load lifting straps to balance your backpack load. Tighter load lifting straps bring the load to your center of gravity, but may put too much pressure on your shoulders. Loosen straps to adjust load so that hips carry more of the weight. The purpose of sternum straps is to keep shoulder straps from sliding. If that's not a problem with your backpack, you may choose not to use sternum straps.
4. External Frame Know how
Backpacks come with internal frames or external frames. Both have their benefits. However, when you're fitting an external frame backpack, look for the curves of the frame to follow the contour of your pack. Adjust the hip belt to align the frame to your back. The top bend of the aluminum frame should start at the shoulder points.
5. Fill it up for Final Fitting
The very best way to fit a backpacking backpack is to fill it with backpacking equipment. This is hard to do in a store or online, but try it as soon as you get your backpack home. Loosen all the straps and fill your pack. Put on the pack and then adjust straps in this order: hip, shoulder strap, load lifting strap and sternum strap. You might have to remove the pack to adjust shoulder straps. If the fit is good, you have a winner. If not, exchange your backpack for a better fitting one. When you're ten miles out on the trail, you'll be glad you did.
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