I hate backpacks.

They are the worst. Seriously. I tried and tried to like them. I don't mind them when I am walking - I really prefer them for graduate school since I have to carry so many papers to/from, but on my back during a ride, no thanks. I even bought a super nice one designed for my commute. But no.

I feel like a freak because everyone seems to like them, but I don't. Can't stand to have something that big on my back. Gah. I feel almost suffocated.

Anyone else share this? My backpack is uber supportive, but I just feel constricted.

I guess it is back to shoving the pack into my second bucket pannier.

If I *must* physically carry a bag on my back while cycling, I prefer a messenger bag. I haaaaaate cycling with a backpack, I feel all smooshed. But for walking, I do prefer a backpack with a good sternum and/or waist strap to help distribute the load. So when I'm biking back and forth to campus, I load up a backpack and stuff it in a rear basket. :o

A few years ago on this forum, I mentioned that I disliked cycling with a backpack or even a messenger bag. I felt like a freak because alot of people like it/don't mind.

But now I'm noticing more people here and now when I bike around, more people using panniers.

The reason why I use pannier(s) 99% of the time, is that I am a small boned and petite person. (5'1" @ 97 lbs.) Most messenger bags are just too big and slide off my small back or bump uncomfortably along my side.

And I would like to save my back as the years go by, by not cycling with much or no weight on my back at all.

My whole body feels freer, stronger when I cycle and particularily going up hills without sweating more with a heavy backpack against my body.

+1 on the messenger bag. I find it much more comfortable. My son, this year, switched to a messenger bag for school and he likes it a lot better than his backpack. (He also figured out he does not have to carry everything all the time.)

I use a deuter race xp - the back is mesh and curved away from my back - so the backpack is not actually against my back and doesn't make it too hot.

I also keep the waist belt tight and loosen the other straps - so the weight of the backpack is mostly on my waist.

I've cycled with messenger bags a few times. I hated it.

My bag is a deuter too. However, I just can't ride with it on. Fits in my homemade panniers though! The messenger bag thing also was a fail. I am 5 FT even and have no torso and it just gets complicated. Tommorow I will give it a shot with everything in the panniers so I can use my core again. I am so glad to hear I am not the only one!

I like riding with a backpack, but only my very narrow one. It's basically just an extra pocket for my Osprey hiking pack, a narrow almost unpadded sleeve with an unpadded waist and chest strap. I can't fit very much in it and have to pack with a little care, but it sits between my shoulders like it grew there and I can hardly feel it. I don't really like riding with a rear rack or panniers, but for heavy stuff they're great. Heavy packs are the pits to ride with.

The only time I commuted with a backpack, I hurt my back. I am also 5' 1" and the messenger bag was HUGE on me. I commuted using my Camelbak, with the bladder taken out; it was just enough room for some papers, make up, and my lunch. I would bring my clothes to work on the days I didn't ride.
My "commuter" bike is so heavy compared to my road bike, I chose to ride the road bike, instead of the bike with a pannier. I could never seriously ride with a backpack or messenger bag; I suspect there's a big need out there for someone to design a messenger bag that would fit short women. A WSD messenger bag!

I hate how hot and sweaty my back feels when I'm biking with a backpack. I don't do it if I can help it. I have an enormous rear basket, a grocery bag pannier, a kitty litter pannier, and a trailer with a huge plastic tub on it. I never have to wear a backpack on my bike anymore! I just bought a new and bigger rear basket, and gave my merely "big" basket to my daughter so she doesn't have to bike to school with her backpack on either.

Did the commute with two panniers and my Trek trunk. Awesome! Got up the hill fast and arrived NOT covered in sweat or feeling like death.