Obviously a number of factors have to be taken into account - the rider, the bike, the road surface, the distances, the amount of gear, the design and construction of the backpack....

I carried all my gear in a backpack (Gearsack) on my rides across Australia and wore it on my back.

The first time I had too much stuff and the straps cut into my shoulders, even though the shoulders don't support all the weight.

After learning my lesson I took only the essentials on subsequent rides and had no problems at all.

If you're out in the middle of nowhere on a highway with no bend in sight there's no problem loosening the straps and letting the seat behind you take some of the load. Handling really is not an issue in that situation.

Two advantages of wearing my backpack:

1. It helps to keep me warm on a cold day and stops the wind whistling up my back.

2. The reflective writing and triangles on it make me more visible at night.

This is hardly a ringing endorsement. Aren't there other, more direct ways of providing visibility and staying warm? I mean, which don't compromise handling or comfort? I don't have any problem if you want to wear a backpack (I wear a little one myself from time to time if it's expedient), but surely there would need to be better reasons than this to wear one all day, day after day.....? On long journeys (three months, six months, more) I carry a lot of gear; no way it's all going on my back.

Or perhaps this was your point after all?

Mark

markharf I'm not suggesting those are the reasons that I wear a backpack, they are merely two extra benefits of the particular backpack I own.

I use a backpack because I've found it a perfectly satisfactory way of carrying my gear.

As I said before there are lots of variables, but I'm a tall guy on a big bike and I travel light so comfort and handling are not compromised.