5 Best Knapsack Sprayers of 2024

Within this list there are some pricier garden sprayers, but it doesn’t always make sense to spend a lot of money if a cheaper option is all you need. As always, it depends what job you’re doing, but the Spear & Jackson Pump Action 5L Pressure Sprayer is a small, basic knapsack sprayer that will help apply herbicide, pesticide, water, and liquid fertiliser to the garden.

It’s a budget option, that’s true, but Spear & Jackson make some quality tools, and this is no different. The primary features work well, and the secondary areas are where costs have been kept down.

For example, the spray that is produced from the lance is powerful enough without being overly pressurised, and the adjustable nozzle can be twisted to produce a range of different spray patterns – whether you want to mist the humidity-loving plants in your garden, or apply cleaning solution to your patio. Therefore, in terms of primary functions, this garden sprayer is very effective.

With just a 5 L capacity, it’s one of the smaller garden sprayers here, and may not be the best sprayer for large spaces; however, its small size does help to keep the weight down.

This is perhaps just as well, as its biggest shortcoming is the strap provided – it comes with a single strap, instead of the backpack-style arrangement of some other knapsack sprayers. This can cause the tank can swing around, bumping your leg whilst in use.

That said, every cloud has a silver lining: in this case, the fact the sprayer is positioned at your side means you can pump it when necessary, in order to continue spraying, without having to take off the unit.

Overall, this isn’t a sprayer that can be used for jobs that require a lot of high pressure – it doesn’t produce a jet that will clean a car, for example. However, it’s one of the best knapsack sprayers on a budget, and it’s good for certain tasks. If you need to apply solutions over plants, or cleaning products to surfaces before giving them a scrub, it’s a useful tool to have around.

For smaller gardens, the VOXON 5L Pump Action Garden Knapsack Sprayer has a good spray without requiring you to carry around a large, heavy tank.

Weighing under 1 kg when empty, it doesn’t exceed 6 kg even when filled with water. If you’re concerned about carrying heavier weights, or just want something that’s less effort, this is an option that’s suitable for the majority of gardeners.

It’s easy to pick up, and has a ‘backpack sprayer’ design with two adjustable straps which makes it even more manageable. Overall, this is one of the best knapsack sprayers if you want something that’s easy to support without being too heavy. Backpack sprayers are often very large, but this is a smaller size that still offers the convenience of two back straps rather than one shoulder strap.

Due to its size, this is a backpack sprayer that’s obviously best suited to small/medium gardens, but if you don’t want anything heavier you could also use it over larger spaces too – you’d just have to spend more time filling it so jobs would take longer.

Fortunately, VOXON have made the container of this backpack sprayer translucent, which at least means that time can be saved when mixing and diluting chemicals; this can be done directly into the container, using the level markings as a guide.

Talking of sprayer features, there’s also a built-in funnel as part of the design, to create a large filling mouth which avoids spilling water or chemicals over the side. This is a problem that can occur with other backpack sprayers. Not only does this reduce waste, it stops nearby plants and paving coming into contact with chemicals by accident.

Also, in order to prevent damage to the sprayer, it’s fitted with a pressure release valve so that you can’t overdo it on the pressurised vacuum.

The spray lance has an adjustable nozzle, which can be twisted to produce different spray patterns. It goes from a fine mist to a more concentrated spray. There’s also a trigger lock to allow for continuous spraying which can be easier on the hands.

As a cheaper, smaller model, it doesn’t hold pressure quite as well as some more expensive knapsack sprayers, so you’ll likely find that you need to take it off and pump it more often than you would with those models – especially if you want to maintain a more powerful spray.

Fortunately, it isn’t too difficult to take this backpack sprayer off in order to do this because it isn’t too heavy to pick up again; however, putting it on and taking it off will probably slow down some tasks.

To conclude, this is a good quality, manageable option for small/medium gardens. It’s the best backpack sprayer featured here if you want something with supportive double straps that isn’t as large as typical backpack sprayers.

Whether using a hose, lawnmower or pressure sprayer, having to keep the ‘on’ lever held down for extended periods is no joke – hand fatigue doesn’t take long to set in.

If this is something you’re all too aware of, one of the best things about the Hozelock 7L Pressure Sprayer is that it has a lockable trigger mechanism to enable continuous spraying

Whilst some motorised sprayers require you to constantly squeeze the spray trigger, this model gives your hands a bit of a rest making it a lot easier to use for longer jobs.

Of course, this ‘continuous use’ is limited to how long it takes before the tank needs refilling, but generally you can get at least 20 minutes from the 7 L container – this would certainly feel like a lifetime if you had to hold the lever down the whole time.

There are other pressure sprayers that seem to constantly leak air and reduce in pressure, but this Hozelock model stays pretty true to what you expect – 23 pumps can give 20 minutes spray time without requiring much (if any) additional pumping in between.

Made of thick plastic, it feels durable which is reassuring when potentially using garden chemicals like weed killers and pesticides. The container is also translucent, with measuring marks, so you can very easily dilute solutions and see how much liquid is left.

Weighing 1.77 kg when empty, the sprayer itself doesn’t add on too much weight, and there is an adjustable strap included as well – just another factor that helps it be easier to use for extended periods. Whilst this isn’t the most comfortable strap in the world, as it doesn’t have any padding, it does help distribute the weight and keep the sprayer secure, at least.

The spray itself is also very impressive. When used with the max pressure (23 pumps), the spraying water is powerful enough to wash windows and cars, with the same strength as a motorised pressure washer. You therefore need to get used to its power, and work out how many pumps best suit each job, to avoid jet washing the lawn when you’re trying to apply weed killer. To help with this, the adjustable cone nozzle can be twisted to change the force of the spray.

Overall, this is one of the best knapsack sprayers in terms of design; the trigger lock makes it relatively easy on the hands and it holds its pressure well. It’s a good mid-size model for carrying a decent amount of liquid without being too heavy and could be used effectively on a small to large garden.

Working in a big garden can be seriously slowed down by using the wrong-size tools. If you don’t want to keep stopping, the Faithfull 16L Pressure Sprayer is one of the best knapsack sprayers for use in larger spaces. It’s quite a lot bigger than other models featured here.

Of course, this large capacity sprayer brings with it some polarizing pros and cons: if you can manage the weight of the full sprayer, which can be mounted on your back with the backpack-style straps, it can really save time; however, if it’s too heavy, jobs are going to take longer.

That said, this backpack sprayer doesn’t have to be used to full capacity, so you could predominantly use it part-empty, and just have the option to fill it when necessary.

Due to its large size, one of the downsides to this 16L pressure sprayer is that it needs to be frequently pumped to maintain max pressure – it’s not possible just to pump at the start of the job and be away. Fortunately, this pumping can be done without removing the backpack sprayer, using one hand on the side pump lever whilst the other hand holds the lance.

Instead of only having one lance with an adjustable nozzle, as with some backpack sprayers, several nozzle attachments come included. These offer a range of spray patterns and can be used to efficiently spray weeds, flowerbeds, car hub-caps, or anything else you choose! The lance length is also sufficiently long enough to generally reduce stooping and protect the ol’ back from strain.

There’s also a trigger lock to allow for continuous spraying which is another factor that helps with comfort when using this sprayer.

The components are all made from tough plastic and are shatter proof and frost resistant – something that is good to know when working out where to store tools over winter.

One further thing to note: although the extra nozzles are undeniably useful, they need to be extremely well cleaned to avoid blockages – it seems the small openings catch debris easily.

Being able to control the pressure on a knapsack sprayer can be difficult – often, there’s no way to regulate the output once it’s been ‘pumped’. This isn’t the case with the Matabi Supergreen 12L Knapsack Sprayer though, as this sprayer features a pressure regulator on the lance.

You can choose between an output of either 1.5 bars or 3 bars by turning a valve. This is especially useful for spraying with different products. For example, when using 1.5 bars the droplets are bigger, which is better for spraying herbicides as the droplets don’t catch in the wind and get on other plants. Using the 3-bars setting creates finer droplets, ideal for pesticides (or general light-misting jobs).

If the pressure drops below the desired setting, the backpack sprayer will cut out until it’s pumped again, which is much better for ensuring consistent droplet size throughout the whole job. It also has a pressure release valve that ensures you can’t overdo the pumping.

There is a telescopic wand lance attached to this knapsack sprayer which helps make it more suitable for users of different heights. The lance also has an adjustable nozzle which can be twisted to alter the flow of spraying water.

Overall, this garden sprayer has the second-largest capacity featured here, able to hold up to 12 L, and it weighs just 3.16 kg when empty. When filled, it weighs somewhere around 15 kg, but the straps work to distribute the weight evenly across the back. It’s a good size if you’ve got a larger garden, even if it’s not the most comfortable to wear for an extended period.

Unfortunately, you can’t see inside the container which means it isn’t possible to know exactly how much liquid is left, nor is it possible to accurately dilute garden chemicals directly inside the backpack sprayer itself – this has to be done separately which is a bit more time consuming.

Even so, this is one of the best backpack sprayers if you’re looking to ensure an even application of products, and it’s also particularly easy to manage thanks to its backpack-style design. The bigger size makes it suitable for use on medium/large gardens.