Max Your Backpack Capacity in Starsand Island: All Upgrades Explained

What to know

• Backpack upgrades increase your total inventory slots permanently.
• The upgrade option is found directly inside your inventory menu.
• Material costs increase with each upgrade tier.
• Expanding storage is essential for efficient farming, mining, fishing, and questing.

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If you’ve spent time gathering resources in Starsand Island, you already know how quickly your inventory fills up. Whether you’re mining stone, harvesting crops, fishing rare species, or completing ranching quests, limited backpack space can slow you down. Fortunately, the game includes a built-in upgrade system that lets you permanently expand your carrying capacity using common crafting materials.

Below is a complete breakdown of how the backpack system works, how to upgrade it step by step, and why it’s one of the most important early-game investments you can make.

Feature	Details
Upgrade Location	Inside Inventory Menu
Upgrade Button	“Expand” (bottom-left corner)
Upgrade Type	Permanent slot increase
First Upgrade Capacity	35 total item slots
Initial Cost Example	5 Fiber, 5 Stone, 5 Softwood
Cost Scaling	Materials increase each tier
Instant Unlock	Yes, applies immediately
Max Upgrades	Limited tiers (shown in menu)

The system is straightforward but becomes progressively more resource-intensive as you expand further.

How the backpack upgrade system works

Your backpack begins with a base inventory capacity, which fills quickly once you start gathering multiple resource types. Instead of crafting a new bag, you directly enhance your existing backpack through the inventory interface.

When you select the upgrade option, the game shows three important pieces of information. You will see the materials required for the next upgrade, the number of additional slots you will gain, and the number of remaining upgrades available. This makes it easy to plan ahead and decide whether to upgrade immediately or wait until you stockpile more materials.

Each upgrade permanently increases your maximum item slots. There is no temporary boost or durability system attached to it. Once expanded, those slots remain unlocked.

How to upgrade your backpack step by step

Step 1

Open your inventory menu. You can access it through the main interface during normal gameplay. Make sure you are not in combat or locked in another interaction.

Step 2

Look at the bottom-left corner of the inventory screen and select the “Expand” option. This opens the backpack upgrade window.

Step 3

Review the material requirements shown on screen. The game clearly displays the quantity of each required resource. For early upgrades, these are typically basic materials such as Fiber, Stone, and Softwood.

For example, the first upgrade that increases capacity to 35 total item slots requires five Fiber, five Stone, and five Softwood.

Step 4

Confirm that you have all required materials in your inventory. If any materials are missing, you will need to gather them before proceeding.

Step 5

Press confirm to complete the upgrade. The additional slots unlock instantly, and your inventory expands without needing to reload or craft anything further.

You can repeat this process as long as upgrades remain available and you meet the material requirements.

All bakcpack upgrade progression in Starsand Island

Backpack upgrades follow a progressive scaling system. While the first upgrade uses very common early-game materials, later upgrades demand larger quantities and sometimes higher-tier resources depending on your progression.

Upgrade Tier	Total Slots After Upgrade	Materials Required
Tier 1	55 slots	5× Fiber5× Softwood5× Stone
Tier 2	60 slots	5× Carbon Line5× Softwood Planks5× Stone Bricks
Tier 3	65 slots	5× Copper Ingots5× Glass Panes5× Radiant Cores
Tier 4	70 slots	6× Bronze Bars16× Flour6× Flannel5× Carbon Line
Tier 5	75 slots	7× Hardwood Planks7× Iron Sheets10× Vegetable Juice5× Egg10× Protein Powder10× Fruit Pulp
Tier 6	80 slots	5× Premium Wood Planks5× Alloy10× Sugar2× Sheep Milk10× Fish Fillet
Tier 7	85 slots	3× Meteor Planks3× Eternal Alloy20× Honey20× Rice
Tier 8	90 slots (max)	4× Meteor Planks4× Eternal Alloy1× Rainbow Fabric5× Stardew Fern1× Perpetual Reactor

The exact number of total tiers available is shown directly in your upgrade window. This prevents guesswork and helps you track progression.

Because material costs increase each time, it’s wise to prioritize backpack expansion early when resources are easier to manage and your gathering loops are shorter.

Why upgrading early makes a big difference

In Starsand Island, nearly every core gameplay loop depends on inventory space. Farming produces multiple crop types. Fishing yields different species and byproducts. Mining generates ores, stones, and rare materials. Ranching introduces animal-related items. Questing often requires carrying crafted objects or collected resources.

With limited slots, you are forced to return home frequently to unload items into storage. This reduces overall efficiency and slows progression.

A larger backpack allows you to:

• Carry multiple resource stacks at once
• Complete longer mining sessions
• Fish without discarding low-value catches
• Gather farming harvests in one sweep
• Accept multi-step quests without clearing space

As you move into mid-game systems like automation, ranching expansion, or bulk crafting, the increased carrying capacity becomes even more valuable.

Efficient material farming for upgrades

The first backpack expansion uses Fiber, Stone, and Softwood, which are among the most accessible materials in the game.

Fiber is typically gathered from wild plants or grass patches scattered across the island. Stone is obtained through mining surface rocks and small ore nodes. Softwood is collected by chopping smaller trees or beginner-level forest resources.

If you plan to upgrade multiple tiers quickly, consider dedicating a short farming loop to each material type rather than collecting randomly. Mining in clusters and harvesting plant-dense areas will significantly speed up collection.

Because upgrade costs escalate, it’s also efficient to upgrade as soon as you meet the requirements rather than waiting too long. Early expansions generate long-term time savings.

Comparing backpack expansion to storage upgrades

It’s important to understand the difference between inventory expansion and base storage expansion. Backpack upgrades increase what you can carry on your character. Storage upgrades increase what you can store at home.

Feature	Backpack Upgrade	Storage Upgrade
Affects Carry Capacity	Yes	No
Affects Base Storage	No	Yes
Useful During Exploration	Extremely	Not directly
Helps with Long Trips	Yes	No
Requires Return to Base	No	Yes

Backpack expansion improves mobility and exploration efficiency. Storage upgrades improve long-term hoarding capacity. Ideally, you should invest in both, but backpack upgrades provide more immediate gameplay impact.

When should you stop upgrading?

Eventually, you will reach the maximum available backpack size. At that point, further expansion is no longer possible until future updates introduce new tiers.

If you have reached near-maximum capacity and find yourself rarely filling your inventory completely, you can shift focus toward upgrading tools, crafting stations, or automation systems instead.

However, most players find that maximizing backpack capacity significantly improves overall gameplay comfort, especially during mid- to late-game resource grinding.

How backpack upgrades improve every playstyle

If you focus on farming, more slots mean harvesting entire fields at once. If you prefer fishing, you can carry multiple species without discarding lower-value catches. If mining is your priority, you can complete deep resource runs without interruption.

Even quest-heavy players benefit because certain tasks require holding crafted items, tools, and quest materials simultaneously. Without sufficient inventory space, you may need to interrupt progress.

In short, backpack upgrades directly increase your efficiency, convenience, and productivity across every system in the game.