I'm pretty new to backpacking, but from what I've read/learned, I wouldn't think there is any one best pack to get. There's several brands making good packs, and the variances between any two different people make for a lot of variability in which brands make packs good for any particular person. Then there's the goals of that person that further influence which brands and which packs within a brand are good.
If you have access to a bigger camping/outdoors shop to try things on, get the pack fitted, and wander around the store wearing it with some weight in it, that would probably give you a good place to start.
Beyond that, how much gear do you tend to carry? Do you have a budget? How long do you tend to stay out when you go? What activities do you enjoy doing while out: do you tend to go out and base camp for a bit, do long marches and cover lots of miles? What kind of trips you make adds in a lot of variability on what you would want in a pack for your trip!
So, do you have any further details about the kinds of trips you're taking, how long they last, and what you enjoy doing while out? That would go a long way to helping get decent recommendations!
If you're unfamiliar with them: Moosejaw, Backcountry, Garage Grown Gear, and REI are some pretty good sites for new equipment, and REI tends to have physical locations in various places around the country too, as well as periodic "garage sales" of used equipment. There is also Geartrade to buy used or overstock equipment from both retailers and direct from consumers.
Hope you're having fun out there!
I saw the Kickstarter for Knave 2nd edition and backed that, but I think that is a ways out yet. I don't have the 1st edition yet though. I didn't realize it was created with grade school kids in mind, that's pretty sweet! It was certainly already a contender, but I didn't realize how big of a heavy hitter it was likely to be here.
I've heard of Fiasco, and am interested in it, but I hadn't seen any way of increasing the player counts and wasn't sure how well it handled 6+ people, since it describes itself as only up to 5. That was the biggest reason I haven't gotten it yet, my gaming group is 6 people, and my family is 6 people now as well. Do you have experience with it, and are there ways to make it work with additional people?
I was definitely planning on something PbtA. I've already got Avatar: Legends, Masks, Dungeon World, and Monster of the Week. And I either already have them in print or I'm waiting on a delivery or a Kickstarter to get them in. I've not gotten to actually play one yet, but I know several people itching to try Avatar so I'm just waiting on the opportunity there.
My idea for an initial system was Heroic Tales which is quite rules lite at three pages for the entire system, including generators, and play tips! The PDF hits six pages via a cover page and two pages of blank character sheets.. I've been having a lot of fun playing it online the last several months.
Before discovering Heroic Tales my favorite system had rapidly become the TinyD6 line from Gallant Knight Games and I still enjoy playing it quite a bit, and was planning on making it one of the offerings as well. It has a section on doing ranges for combats in theater of the mind that I have used with several groups and enjoyed. It also has quite a bit of different genres to play with as options and I've gotten most of them in print by now.
I was also considering throwing in a level zero funnel from Dungeon Crawl Classics, in part because the dice chain seems like a really neat concept, and the spell tables seem like a delightful way of handling getting more powerful as a mage over time.
I also have found I very much prefer less crunch in my games, but I know a lot of the teens hear "D&D" and want to actually play that as well. So I figure I'll include it, but way at the end after they've gotten to try lots of other things. Hopefully I can help them learn many of the main mechanics and decision making skills before then so that all the rules don't bog everything down too much!
Have you much experience playing with teens? Any things of note to make sure to mention we'll be avoiding in a Session Zero? I really only have experience with my 12 year old in that regard, and am only just now getting to spend time around more teens due to involvement with her.