Editing Backpack (section)

{{Short description|Bag carried on one's back}}
{{Other uses|Backpack (disambiguation)}}
{{Redirect|Knapsack}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
[[File:Rucksack1.jpg|thumb|right|A 30&nbsp;L top and bottom-loading [[Deuter Sport|Deuter]] Trans Alpine hiking backpack]]
[[File:Canon-Deluxe Backpack-200-EG.jpg|thumb|right|A 12&nbsp;L front-loading Canon 200EG photography backpack]]

A '''backpack''', also called '''knapsack''', '''schoolbag''', '''rucksack''', '''pack''', '''booksack''', '''bookbag''', '''haversack''', '''packsack''', or '''backsack''', is in its simplest frameless form, a fabric sack carried on one's back and secured with two straps that go over the shoulders; but it can have an external or internal frame, and there are bodypacks.

Backpacks are commonly used by [[hiking|hikers]] and [[student]]s, and are often preferred to [[handbag]]s for carrying heavy loads or carrying any sort of equipment, because of the limited capacity to carry heavy weights for long periods of time with hands.

Large backpacks, used to carry loads over {{Convert|10|kg|lb}}, as well as smaller sports backpacks (e.g. running, cycling, hiking, and hydration), usually offload the largest part (up to about 90%) of their weight onto padded hip belts, leaving the shoulder straps mainly for stabilizing the load. This improves the potential to carry heavy loads, as the hips are stronger than the shoulders, and also increases agility and balance, since the load rides nearer the wearer's own center of [[mass]].