A backpack for carrying school supplies, camping equipment, tools or the like, including a plurality of pockets or compartments for various items and particularly including a longitudinal compartment within each back strap for storing one half of a longitudinally split hood. When inclement weather strikes, the user opens the compartment within each back strap, pulls out each half of the attached hood and joins the two hood halves together via a connecting means such as a zipper. The user then recloses the back strap compartments and puts the backpack on using the shoulder straps whereby the hood extends from the top portion of the backpack. The hood includes ties for fastening the hood around the user's head and under the chin.