By Dana Okoro, Editorial Reviewer · Published September 14, 2026, 6:03 PM ET
Direct Answer
"Bushwalking" is the Australian and New Zealand term for hiking, so the best bushwalking backpack is simply a well-fitted hiking backpack — sized to trip length, with a durable, abrasion-resistant fabric like 210D or heavier nylon that holds up to scrub, low branches and uneven bush terrain.
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In plain English
In Australia and New Zealand, people say bushwalking where Americans say hiking. The walks often go through thick scrub, low branches and rough ground rather than wide, cleared paths. The backpack you need is a normal hiking pack, sized to your back and to how long you'll be out. The difference is how much rubbing and scraping the fabric has to survive.
Pack fabric is often labeled with a number and the letter D, which stands for denier. It describes how heavy the threads are, a bit like the thread count on sheets. Heavier threads usually make a tougher fabric that shrugs off twigs and thorns. Stretchy mesh pockets are handy on smooth trails but can snag and tear in scrub, so solid fabric pockets and fewer dangling straps hold up better off the beaten path.
Bushwalking describes hiking through bush, scrub or less-maintained terrain, a usage most common in Australia and New Zealand. The gear fundamentals are the same as any hiking backpack — torso-length fit, a structured hipbelt, and capacity matched to trip length — with fabric durability weighted more heavily.
Why fabric durability matters more for bushwalking
Off-trail or scrub terrain brushes against a pack's fabric far more than a maintained, cleared trail does, so a heavier-denier fabric — 210D to 420D nylon rather than the 30D to 70D fabrics found on packable or ultralight packs — resists snags, abrasion and small punctures better over repeated trips. Reinforced panels on the pack's lower back and sides, common on many standard hiking packs, add extra protection in spots most likely to brush against brush and rock.
Pocket and pack style considerations
Solid-fabric side pockets hold up to scrub better than open stretch-mesh pockets, which can snag and tear on branches. A simpler pack silhouette without a lot of loosely dangling straps or external mesh also catches less on low vegetation than a pack with many hanging attachments.
Capacity and fit still come first
Fabric toughness matters, but it doesn't replace correct sizing: measure torso length from the C7 vertebra to the iliac crest, and size capacity to trip length — 20–25L for a day walk, 30–50L for a longer day or first overnight bushwalk. A well-fitted pack in a more durable fabric handles bush terrain better than a lightweight, minimally built pack regardless of how tough its material is.
Bottom line
There's no separate "bushwalking" product category distinct from a hiking backpack — the term describes the terrain, not a different piece of gear. Choosing a correctly sized pack built from a sturdier fabric, with fewer exposed mesh panels and dangling straps, covers what bushwalking specifically demands beyond standard trail hiking.
Decoding fabric labels
Denier is the weight in grams of 9,000 meters of yarn, and a higher number means a heavier yarn. Many labels outside the US use decitex instead, which converts at about 1.11 decitex per denier.1 Heavier isn't the whole story, though. US tariff rules classify nylon or polyester yarn as high-tenacity when its tenacity exceeds 60 cN/tex,1 so a lighter high-tenacity yarn can outperform a heavier ordinary one.
Real packs show the spread. Gossamer Gear's Mariposa uses 100D and 210D recycled Robic nylon,2 and Granite Gear's Crown3 60 uses Robic high-tenacity nylon in 100D and 210D.3 Kelty's Asher 65 is made of 600D polyester oxford.4 Hyperlite says its Southwest uses a fully woven 200-denier Dyneema fabric and is designed for on-trail, off-trail and all-season use with solid-fabric pockets.5 The page's 30D to 70D and 210D to 420D bands are general guides rather than sourced cut-offs; the fiber and weave behind the number matter as much as the number.
Wear, warranties and field repair
Scrub damage usually counts as wear rather than a defect. Gossamer Gear does not warranty fabric failure due to durability issues,6 Gregory's guarantee excludes normal wear and tear,7 and Deuter's warranty excludes wear and tear but it offers a lifetime repair service for incidental damage where repair is possible.8 Read the terms before assuming a torn panel will be covered.
Small tears can be fixed on the spot. GEAR AID advises cleaning the area with isopropyl alcohol, cutting the patch with rounded corners, overlapping the damage by at least half an inch on all sides, and patching both sides of large holes.9 Sun is the other slow enemy: Nikwax says UV exposure destroys water repellency and reduces fabric tear strength,10 which matters in strong southern-hemisphere sun.
Moving through thick vegetation
Scrub affects more than fabric. Dense canopy and deep valleys reduce satellite correction quality, and GPS units can give inaccurate information in mountain terrain,11 so carry a paper map and compass as a backup on off-track routes. A systematic review of hiker injuries found the lower limb was the most commonly injured body location, with blisters and ankle sprains the most common injuries,12 which rough, uneven ground makes more likely.
Brush also hides ticks. The CDC advises walking in the center of trails and avoiding high grass and leaf litter to reduce tick contact,13 which isn't always possible off-track, so check yourself and your pack after a walk through thick scrub.
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