Every summer I run into the same problem with every backpack I use: the backpack wrinkles up my shirt and makes my back sweat. My shirt gets wrinkled not just on the back, but on the shoulders and anywhere else the straps touch. And these wrinkles set because they are effectively being steamed in from the sweat off my body.
So I end up carrying a backpack that I love, but it making me look like a sweaty disheveled guy. That’s just not ok with me. I like looking put together, and that doesn’t seem possible on hot days with a backpack.
The thing about this is that it’s not really something that can be solved or designed around. Trust me, the lightest and meshy-est of hiking daypacks cause the same issues. It’s just a fact of backpack life it seems.
Solutions
There are none, except to do what I do on hot days: use a shoulder/briefcase. It’s not ideal, but when I know the weather is getting up there I simply switch bags (to the Founder’s Briefcase right now). I’d rather use a bag that doesn’t make me look disheveled than one that can’t help but make me look disheveled.
Still, it drives me nuts.