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Some backpacks are specifically designed to carry certain items. Common examples include backpacks for small valuable items such as laptops and cameras; backpacks designed to hold laptop computers in particular generally have a padded compartment to hold the computer and medium-sized pockets and flaps to accommodate accessories such as charger cables and mice. These are especially common in college and university settings. In order to supply these devices with electricity, a few high-end backpacks are equipped with solar panels.

There are also single-strap packs that are essentially a hybrid between a backpack and a messenger bag.

Inexpensive, very simple packs that combine the drawstring and straps into a single piece of cloth or webbing are occasionally sold for use at sporting events and the like. Some high-end retailers use a similar design for their shopping bags as well.

Rolling backpacks are backpacks with wheels on the bottom and an extending handle. Because of their design, rolling backpacks reduce the strain on the user, though the shoulder straps may be used to carry the pack for short distances when the terrain is not suitable for wheels. Rolling backpacks are most commonly used while traveling by airplane or train.

Hydration backpacks are also available. These light daypacks are especially designed to hold water in a special water bladder (also known as reservoir), and their purpose is to allow the carrier constant fluid hydration handsfree, so that the carrier can focus on the mission ahead without having to stop for water breaks. This is possible because of the tube that leads from the bladder (which sits within the backpack), to the front strap of the bag, which is long enough to reach the mouth of the carrier. These packs are used in extreme conditions such as military operations, during performing extreme sports and also for different competitions, races (such as Spartan or marathon) and even music festivals.

A commuting backpack unfolds in one movement into an electric vehicle that goes up to 32 km/h with a wireless remote control.^[14]

Backpacks in general fall into one of four categories: frameless, external frame, internal frame, and bodypack. A pack frame, when present, serves to support the pack and distribute the weight of its contents across the body more appropriately, by transferring much of the weight to the hips and legs. Most of the weight is therefore taken off the shoulders, reducing the chance of injury from shoulder strap pressure (many backpacks equipped solely with shoulder straps can affect the posture of a person carrying more than 14 kg (30 lbs)), as well as being less restrictive of the upper body range of motion. Most backpacks are capable of being closed with either a buckle mechanism, a zipper, or a dry-bag type closure, though a few models use a drawstring fitted with a cord lock for the main compartment.

A bodypack is a backpack fitted with one or more pockets that are suspended on the wearer's chest and loaded in such a way that the load in the front and the load in the back are close to equal. The majority of the load in a bodypack is carried by the hips. The ideal load carrying system should not disturb the wearer's natural posture, balance and maneuverability. The load must be dispersed onto the skeletal structure in an even manner, and should not produce unbalanced forces on the body.

A backpack — also called bookbag, kitbag, knapsack, rucksack, rucksac, pack, sackpack or backsack — is, in its simplest form, a cloth sackcarried on one's back and secured with two straps that go over the shoulders, but there can be variations to this basic design. Lightweight types of backpacks are sometimes worn on only one shoulder strap.

Backpacks are commonly used by hikers and students and are often preferred to handbags for carrying heavy loads or carrying any sort of equipment, because of the limited capacity to carry heavy weights for long periods of time in the hands.

Large backpacks, used to carry loads over 10 kilograms (22 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 stabilising 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.

But as these tote bags have grown in stature and ubiquity, their abundance has encouraged consumers to see them as a disposable item that they don't need to reuse, defeating their very purpose. Not only do many stores offer inexpensive or even free tote bags at the register, they've also become a common marketing tool stamped with logos and used by nonprofits and businesses as promotional gifts.

This can be seen by a 2014 study which found that owners of reusable bags forget them on approximately 40% of their grocery trips and use them only about 15 times each before being discarded. Moreover, about half of respondents typically chose to use plastic bags over reusable ones, despite owning reusable bags and recognizing their benefits