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tauwillow
03-23-2014, 16:29
I have a new Osprey Aura 50L size small and I've been taking it out on training hikes. I put it on where I want it, but over the course of my hike the backpack migrates up so that the hipbelt clasp sits on my belly button or just above it. This also means my chest strap is now sitting on my neck.

I'm not sure what I can do to fix the problem. Is the pack the wrong size, am I putting it on incorrectly, or is there something else I'm not considering?

lonehiker
03-23-2014, 16:38
Maybe it has helium in it.... All joking aside, how much weight do you have in it? Try simulating what you would normally have for a 3-4 day trip. Loosen the shoulder straps might help as well.

myakka_
03-23-2014, 16:43
I agree about trying to adjust the shoulder straps tension. I use heavy packs at work hiking mountains..... Try putting on the pack straps first. Set it to hang where you want. Tighten the belt snug. Then loosen the straps so that the weight of the pack is on your hips. You can tell how loose to set the shoulder straps by thinking of them as just a way to keep the pack vertical, not to carry any weight.
Ultimately I think your answer is in adjustments.

Good luck!

Weather-man
03-23-2014, 16:44
There's a ton of these types of videos on the web. Maybe this will help? http://youtu.be/X258hs7HHaw

It also may be your build as a woman and perhaps one of the more experienced woman hikers will weigh in with advice.

For what it's worth I rotate the tightness of the straps throughout a hike. I'll start with everything properly adjusted and then perhaps loosen the shoulder straps so the weight of pack is almost all on my hips....after a while I may reverse this and leave the waist belt open and carry the pack on my shoulders for a while. I'll do this throughout the day.

Generally as of late I'm starting to go lighter and carry on my hips more frequently. I just had back surgery and I'm trying to carry the weight below the injury site to see if it causes less insult.

Dogwood
03-23-2014, 16:55
Have you had your torso length measured and does it, and your waist belt size, match your backpack measurements? When you adjust and tighten up your backpack are you using the correct sequence? After all straps are loosened put the pack on. The waist/hip belt is usually the first that gets adjusted. I usually shrug my shoulders up a bit with the pack on as I cinch down the waist/hip belt because I like my packs to ride right on or perhaps just a tiny bit high on my hips. Besides, since many of my packs I use don't have load lifters and are virtual framsheet backpacks(Rucksacks) they will droop a bit on my hips. With a heavily loaded Osprey Aura 50L you want the load almost entirely transferred to the hips. Then, my shoulder straps are adjusted. Then, my load lifters if I have that feature on my backpacks. Then, the sternum strap gets cinched last and not too tightly or right across my lungs. If load lifters, sterum straps or shoulders straps aren't loosened before you put your pack on it can lead to a backpack riding high on your body even if you have the correctly sized backpack. Likewise, cinching all those straps in an incorrect order can lead to a backpack riding high as well.

Dogwood
03-23-2014, 16:55
http://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/backpacks-adjusting-fit.html

Dogwood
03-23-2014, 16:57
I usually shrug my shoulders up a bit with the loaded pack on as I cinch down the waist/hip belt because I like my packs to ride right on or perhaps just a tiny bit high on my hips.

Slo-go'en
03-23-2014, 17:40
Usually a pack will slip down as you hike, not up. Do you tug on your shoulder straps as you hike?

tauwillow
03-23-2014, 18:34
I'm currently carrying 20 pounds in the pack to train with. I'll be adding more weight as I get accustomed. (up to 30 pounds) I had the pack sized and adjusted for me at REI when I bought it, which I know can be fraught with danger. He said he had been sizing for 12 years, and that my torso was on the cusp of a med/small but thought the small was the best fit.

While I've been walking, Ive played with the strap adjustments. When I loosen the shoulder straps, thats when I get choked in the throat. When I tighten them, the pack sits tighter to my body, but puts more burden on my shoulders.

Weather-man
03-23-2014, 18:48
How are you packing the load? Sounds as if you're carrying heavier items high and away from your back, causing the load to "fall" away from your body when you loosen the shoulder straps.

Dogwood
03-23-2014, 19:26
Try the Osprey Aura 50 L in med length torso, fill it up 25 lbs, and with all things being the same check the fit walking around the store. From your avatar it looks like you don't have flat horizontal square shoulders but more of sloping shoulders. This shoulder physiology plays into correct comfortable backpack fit. Again, loosen all straps, put the loaded backpack on and tighten cinch down in the correct sequence. I bet it helps IF you have the correct torso and waist belt size to begin with.

Slo-go'en
03-23-2014, 20:34
If the chest strap is choking you, then it is set too high on the shoulder straps. It looks like the chest strap can be slid up and down, try moving it down as low as it can go. If your on the cusp of small/med sized torso length, you'll want to set the torso length to the longest it will go. That will also move the chest strap down lower.


You want to set the shoulder straps so they start to curve over your shouders about where your shoulder blades are and then position the chest strap so it is in a comfortable position just above your breasts.

tauwillow
03-24-2014, 00:53
I currently have a 10 pound bag of birdseed and some cans of soup inside, so the weight is low in the pack. I know the fitter at REI adjusted the torso length at its longest setting, but I'll see if I can get the chest strap at its lowest setting as well. I'll also be sensitive to the order that I adjust the straps when I put it on for our next hike. (which will be Wednesday)

Unfortunately, the closest REI is 3 hours away, so its not likely that I'll have a chance to go and try out the medium size that easily. If I can't get this small to fit properly, I may make the trip - but I'm hoping to avoid it.

Thanks to everyone for all the help.

CoffeeBager
03-24-2014, 08:59
So...as a woman with broader hips, this just seems to happen sometimes because the hip belt is trying to stay on a curved surface (a difference of 3-4 vertical inches may result in a several-inch difference horizontally as your body is wider at the hips and narrower at the waist). This curve is more pronounced if there's a fairly big difference between your hip and waist measurements like it is with me. So if your hip belt is 4" wide but over the course of that 4", your body is narrower at the top and wider at the bottom, the hip belt isn't gripping the same circumference along its height, which may cause the belt to slide upward.

I found that Deuter's women's bags helped most with this problem since they angle the hip belt to account for the difference in size between the waist and hip, though the bags themselves aren't particularly light. Here's their explanation:

In general, the female waist and hip area is also shaped differently, so in order for the waist belt to deliver a perfect anatomic fit when fastened, it should ideally have a conical shape. This conical form is achieved by angling the belt diagonally upwards and by curving the SL waist belt wings. ( http://www.deuter.com/US/us/sl-womens-fit/act-lite-45-plus-10-sl-33740-131.html )

If you picture trying to put a belt around a cone, you'll be able to see this better. If the belt is straight up and down (perpendicular to the ground), only the bottom part of the belt will be touching the cone. If you angle the belt, more of it will come in contact with the cone. That's what Deuter has done on their women's packs--angled the belt so more of it touches the cone. Most women's packs have shortened the torso, limited the width of shoulder straps, and made other women's specific adjustments, but they still have straight up and down hip belts. For women with traditionally athletic builds, this isn't a major issue since the difference between their hip and waist measurements isn't too big. For those of us who are a little curvier, the hip belt angle can make a big difference in whether the pack stays put.

I know you won't be getting a new pack this week, but my experience may help you understand what's going on if you're built more like I am.

Before I got the new pack, one thing that helped me was to loosen the hip belt just a bit. This is a bit counterintuitive, but loosening it let the pack sit lower. Tightening made the pack slide upward along my natural curve. Second, I think having real gear instead of birdseed will help. The pack will ride better when filled with gear. I almost bought an Osprey pack (I think it was the Aura, even) based on the weights they have at REI but decided to bring in my own gear first, and that's when I picked the Deuter.

Good luck!

Slo-go'en
03-24-2014, 09:03
All that weight just at the bottom of the pack is part of the problem. It should work a lot better once the weight is more evenly distributed with proper camping stuff, stuffed in it. The heaviest stuff (usually food bag) goes in the middle.

Grasshopper2011
03-24-2014, 11:30
+1 on weight distribution being part of the problem. Stuff some pillows or a sleeping bag in the bottom and along the part that is furthest away from your back to keep your weight close. You won't be carrying much other than water that is as dense as bird seed.

Grasshopper2011
03-24-2014, 11:31
Also, the sternum strap is really only needed if the straps fall off your shoulders. It should be loose if you use it, but you may be able to get away without it. They do tend to sit kind of high on that pack. Loosen your load lifter straps before you loosen your harness straps, the re-tighten the load lifters.

Dogwood
03-24-2014, 12:17
While I've been walking, Ive played with the strap adjustments. When I loosen the shoulder straps, thats when I get choked in the throat. When I tighten them, the pack sits tighter to my body, but puts more burden on my shoulders.

What Coffebagger said about her hips could also play into this scenario but it sounds like the load is not sitting mainly and squarely on your hips and/or the other straps aren't being adjusted properly. Then, the pack starts to sag or pull away from your body and you are attempting to compensate by tightening your shoulder straps(perhaps overly so?) and the whole pack is rising up also resulting in you sternum strap coking you.

lonehiker
03-24-2014, 12:45
I currently have a 10 pound bag of birdseed and some cans of soup inside, so the weight is low in the pack. I know the fitter at REI adjusted the torso length at its longest setting, but I'll see if I can get the chest strap at its lowest setting as well. I'll also be sensitive to the order that I adjust the straps when I put it on for our next hike. (which will be Wednesday)

The sequence you do the straps isn't as important as it is being made out to be. You will loosen and tighten straps throughout the day for comfort anyways. As mentioned above, once you get a more normally balanced load it should ride better. You might consider just packing it as if you were going on a trip. Then, if you still don't like how it rides, return and try another pack.

Lynnette
03-24-2014, 14:57
I have a new Osprey Aura 50L size small and I've been taking it out on training hikes. I put it on where I want it, but over the course of my hike the backpack migrates up so that the hipbelt clasp sits on my belly button or just above it. This also means my chest strap is now sitting on my neck.

I'm not sure what I can do to fix the problem. Is the pack the wrong size, am I putting it on incorrectly, or is there something else I'm not considering?

HI. Im glad to hear you say this. So it confirms it is not ME or you. I have tested several internal frame packs recently in the woods with my full load, only to have one that I really was liking have the waist belt became defective and it was recalled.... then the Osprey Aura 65L Wm S . Also the Aura 50L. Adjusted on me by people in the outfitters, the packs were squeezing me by the shoulder straps. and the waist belt trying to climb up me. like what you say. I ditched the pack and am returning it. There must be something going on with the 2014 models. I live a long way from the retailer and will get it returned after my hike - using a different pack.
Good luck. See you in the woods.

Special K
03-24-2014, 17:08
I've got the same pack. I love it and I am small. Here's what I do: Run your hand along the meshing that goes against your back. There is velcro. You can adjust the internal frame up or down. I have mine all the way down for smallest size to fit my back. Now loosen all straps, shoulder, side and hip. Put pack on. Tighten hip belt first. Make sure buckle is squared on top of your belly button. Tighten hip straps evenly (very important). Make sure hip belt is VERY snug. Hips will carry most of load. Now tighten side straps evenly (same time). It will make pack lay nicely on your back. Lastly, tighten shoulder straps evenly. Not too tight. I usually tweak these during the day. Each time I take my pack off I loosen all straps and begin again. Especially helpful after a big meal or when posture changes due to pain or fatigue. Only takes a few seconds. Hope this helps!

Special K
03-24-2014, 17:10
...almost forgot. Last but not least...fasten chest strap (but not tight).

saltysack
03-24-2014, 18:48
Try a ULA with the different design/shape of shoulder straps...s curve.


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winger
03-24-2014, 20:34
Pack is riding up on your torso then it's too small.