8 Ways To Customize Your Backpack

Backpacks of many travelers look pretty boring. I am talking about the look from the outside of travel backpacks. You got yourself a backpack like thousands of travelers out there. Nothing interesting, am I right? Avid travelers don’t really pay that much attention to their backpacks most of the time because it will not be traveling with them all the time. But if you are like me and have a so called ‘intimate relationship’ with your backpack, invest some time into customizing it to make it unique and convenient for your travels.

Customize Your Backpack

Traveling Backpack | (c) Photo By Mark Braun

1. Write Your Details On Your Backpack

Use a permanent marker or luggage tags to write your name, email, phone number and an address. Who knows, if your backpack gets lost someone might find it and actually take the effort to get it back to you.

2. Sew On a Patch And Make It A Pocket

You can never get enough of pockets when you travel. When the regular pockets in your bag is all filled with stuff, the next best thing you can do is sew on a patch onto the backpack. But make sure you only sew on three quarters and bingo, you have an extra pocket! You can also add a bit of velcro to keep things inside secure.

3. Have a Large Plastic Bag In Your Backpack

You never know when you need a plastic bag or ziplock bags. It is considered a survival tool by outdoor experts. And come on, you can hot shelter from the rain under your Swiss Army knife. And if you have any electronic gadgets, the best place to keep it is in a plastic bag.

4. Take Off The Extra Straps

We all have seen the backpacks with about 10 extra straps that many of us have no clue as to what to do with it. If you seen the mountain climbers’ backpack, you know exactly what I am talking about. Personally, I think that modern backpacks are ‘over engineered’ and you will be amazed the amount of weight reduced when you take off the extra straps. Just make sure you do not cut anything critical that is on the backpack you might need.

5. Make Your Backpack Shine

Most of us with backpacks and traveling involve lot of walking and seeing sights. So to be safe like joggers and bicyclists, you will be much safer on the road if you have some reflective straps or cord visible on your backpack. You can sew on reflective material on your backpack. A good place to do it is on the shoulder straps.

6. Secret Pockets

Once you get your backpack, make sure you have a good look at the design of the bag. Why I say this is, because there are extra pockets you will find you never knew existed at time. Once I realized it after months of having the backpack. There might be internal pockets or flaps that you can use to hide some money or other valuable items.

7. Take Off The Extra Gadgets Off The Zipper

Backpacks of course look all cute when you have Winnie the Pooh toy hanging on it. But such things (bells, tags, compasses, etc.) are just extra stuff that is not needed. What’s worse, it adds weight to your backpack when you have ten of such things. The best thing to do is, take those fancy gadgets off and place it somewhere inside your backpack. This way, it is more discreet and you will not get tangled into anything while on the road.

8. Tattoo Your Backpack

I’m not talking about travel tattoos you get on your skin. Don’t wait for someone to come along and doodle on your backpack. Why not take a permanent marker or paint and create your own design or embroidery? You will be able to spot your backpack when it is with hundreds of other bags at the airport.

These are some ideas to customize your backpack to make it more convenient and beneficial for your travels. If you have more tips to customize your backpack, be sure to share on comments section.