For the first part of my role-playing life things such as encumbrance and where a character was packing what were very well ignored. I've grown tired of using the "magic bag" rules for characters who don't have a bag of holding or the like. It is in this pursuit that I have come across several questions regarding how heroes pack around their gear.
1. In regard to item's such as longbows (they're describe at being just under 5' high in the core book), tridents, longspears, lances, and quarterstaves. When a weapon is almost as tall as the character wielding it is there any reasonable way for it to be stored so that the character may free both hands? I believe if such a weapon was stored on a persons back they would not be able to walk properly. I want to be sure of this before I force my players chose between being at all times deprived of one hand, or setting down there precious weapon when an extra hand is necessary.
2. The core book does not seem to have clear rules for containers. The maximum weight and volume of magical containers are defined. Yet, what is the reasonable weight limit of a backpack? Just because your Str 18 barbarian can luge around 200 lbs. without it slowing her down does not mean her pack can hold every bit of that with out tearing. It's easy to say what items are too large or awkwardly shaped to fit in a pack. Much more difficult is setting a limit for all those tiny knick-knacks your players like to carry around.
I appreciate any time invested in answering this question. My hope is such attention to detail will give my players a greater investment in the game world, and allow it to play less like a video game. Again, thank you.