View Full Version : How often do you adjust your pack?
Hikes with a stick
06-14-2007, 13:13
How often do you adjust the suspension straps on your pack? When I bought my first pack at REI, they loaded it up in the store, and adjusted all the straps for me right then. For a while, I was afraid to adjust anything other than the hip belt, for fear I would not be able to get it comfortable again. I later found a video on REI's website, saying that all 5 sets of suspension straps should be adjusted each time the pack is put on.
So I tried readjusting my straps, and I think the comfort improved. I had never used the hip belt stabalizer straps before, those really helped to transfer the weight to my waist.
But it seems like each time I put the pack on, I can get it just a little more comfortable if I re-adjust all the straps. Does it ever get to a point where you get it exactly right, and don't have to change it again? Just put it on and go?
How many of you are always fiddling with the suspension adjustments? What tips do you have for getting them adjusted comfortably?
hammock engineer
06-14-2007, 13:30
I adjust mine just about every time I put it on. That way I get the feel right for however it is loaded at the time. This to me is even more important when I have a jacket or more layers of clothing on.
It only takes a few seconds and makes a huge difference.
I adjust mine every time I put it on. Somehow it just seems like something changes just enough to annoy me after a while. And I never repack in the morning the same way. Easier to fix it now than later.
Footslogger
06-14-2007, 14:57
I adjust it several times during the day to distribute the load and location of the straps on my shoulders and across my chest (sternum strap).
'Slogger
Nightwalker
06-14-2007, 15:42
First thing when I put it on, and every time it bugs me thereafter. :)
taildragger
06-14-2007, 15:50
I adjust it everytime that I think that I can find a more comfortable position.
So, there is no one "sweet spot" to leave it adjusted at. How you wear you're pack will differ with each load, the way the load moves, and your body and fatigue, and to some extent, terrain
bigcranky
06-14-2007, 17:23
When I take my pack off, I loosen the shoulder straps, the load lifters, and the hip belt, then I readjust everything when I put the pack back on.
I fiddle with mine constantly, I like shifting around the balance it keeps me from getting sore in any one spot.
All day long I'm adjusting my various straps. From the waist belt to the load lifters.
The frequency of adjusting the packs depends on the pack.
I adjust my Gregory G Pack every hour or so. The pack is a little too short & the shoulder straps carry the weight & slip.:(
I adjusted my Gregory Baltoro during the break in & now it's set:)
I never adjust my Gossamer Gear G5. It fit out of the box:D
I don't understand.
1. Buy a pack, fill it with gear, adjust it until it feels right.
2. There is no 2. The pack is already adjusted to feel right. Anything you do now will undo making it feel right.
garnetmom14
06-14-2007, 21:57
I tend to adjust the shoulder straps when I go up or down hill. I tighten them when I go down and loosen them when I go up. I'm not sure why, but it just feels better. (So what's to understand?) I'm always tightening my hipbelt. Maybe cause I loose weight as the day goes on??? Yeah right!
Tigger
I tend to adjust the shoulder straps when I go up or down hill. I tighten them when I go down and loosen them when I go up. I'm not sure why, but it just feels better. (So what's to understand?) I'm always tightening my hipbelt. Maybe cause I loose weight as the day goes on??? Yeah right!
TiggerI guess I was thinking of people who fiddle with all those extra strap thingies that hang off a lot of packs - load levelers, load lifters, load settlers, load stabilizers, load balancers, load tighteners, snuggers, compression straps, load transfer straps, multi-cinch points, anti-sway bars, front end struts and shock absorbers, that sort of stuff.
I wasn't thinking hip belts. It's a known fact that hip belts shrink over the winter.
I mess around with mine as I hike without even thinking about it any more, depending on how I need to distribute the pack weight.
mweinstone
06-15-2007, 00:14
you can learn alot about the state of things in our world by the lack of pack strap adjustment going on.its indicative of the root problems with sociaty.i have waited so long for this issue to rear its ugly head. thank you for this thread. as i walk in the woods, i see the packs hanging off hikers and lopsided and loose. i see swinging full waterbottles swinging swingaly. i wonder why they seem to not understand load carrying as its realy sort of the crux of backpacking. so few know they even have straps on top of the sholder straps. few use them or the hipbelt straps. i adjust constantly like a finely tuned racing packer. as i learned as a child, tighten the hipbelt on the way down to lower your center. loosten the sholder straps on the way up to allow for huffing and puffing. keep the pack close and tight when speed walking easy trail. and undoo your waistbelt when foording or crossing creeks to jetison pack if need be rather than going under with it. and the compression straps too. they close up the contents against your back .i feel sorry for folks who think little things like saving energy in each step dosnt add up to fun at camp.they arrive destroyed because there not learning to walk, their storming the mountains. wee willy said it best to me one fine dammascus morn as we walked to the creeper trail bridge to blab,...he pointed out that folks dont really even know how to walk in town let alone the hills. i suggest every one familerize themself with the art of walking.things like the rest step and three point contact. rythmatic breathing. these are my secrets to allways being chipper and gay in camp.otherwise i would arrive solom and desheveled like i see some doing.
Everytime I take my pack off I "Unadjust it" by loosining ALL of the adjustment points. There are 6 places to adjust on my pack: Hip belt 2, sholder straps 2, & load adjuster straps on the hip belt 2. So I have to adjust it EVERY time I put it on. I also adjust whenever I feel it needs it. Why be afraid to adjust your pack to changing conditions? Sometimes the adjustment points slip, sometimes a pressure point(s) develops, etc.
I have even (Gasp!) completely undone the hip belt & walked for hours like that. And (Double GASP!) I removed the sternum strap, & it's associated adjustment point.
If it feels good do it.
I have even (Gasp!) completely undone the hip belt & walked for hours like that. And (Double GASP!) I removed the sternum strap, & it's associated adjustment point.
If it feels good do it.
Ray Jardine, I believe, talks of a hip belt being "unnatural" for the hiking/walking motion in humans, and suggests/hikes without one. He also, speaks of only using one shoulder strap at a time. I have used these methods in training hikes around town, and they have proven quite comfortable. Especially, in the fact that they provide for much less heat build-up to ones back with the improved air flow of only one strap use. Of course we're talking going light pack weight. He isn't all that keen on using a sternum strap either, again heat build-up and inability to remove one's pack quickly should the need arise.
Ray Jardine, I believe, talks of a hip belt being "unnatural" for the hiking/walking motion in humans, and suggests/hikes without one. He also, speaks of only using one shoulder strap at a time. I have used these methods in training hikes around town, and they have proven quite comfortable. Especially, in the fact that they provide for much less heat build-up to ones back with the improved air flow of only one strap use. Of course we're talking going light pack weight. He isn't all that keen on using a sternum strap either, again heat build-up and inability to remove one's pack quickly should the need arise.
Ole Ray obviously has wider/stronger shoulders than I do. I've got an old GoLite made according to the Jardine plan. Even with a very small load, the straps want to slip off my bony shoulders. Within a few hours I end up feeling neck and shoulder strain. No doubt it would be very beneficial for me to carry this pack and build up those weak muscles...but I prefer to use a pack with sternum strap and hip belt instead. Yes, even on a day pack.
I love Ray's book to pieces but there are some of his ideas that don't work for me. Corn pasta is one. Cutting the chest and hip straps of your pack is another.
Oh, yeah, and when I buy the bottle of soda so I can use the container as a water bottle, I drink the soda, instead of pouring it out on the ground.:D
Marta/Five-Leaf
camojack
06-15-2007, 06:49
i suggest every one familerize themself with the art of walking.things like the rest step and three point contact. rythmatic breathing. these are my secrets to allways being chipper and gay in camp.
Hmmm...well, I'm glad I've never seen you being gay when we were camping. :eek:
Unless you're using it in the original sense; that I have seen you being. :D
camojack
06-15-2007, 06:52
Oh yeah, and I voted (like most others) for "whenever I feel it needs it". ;)
1n the Sun
06-15-2007, 08:16
yes...i loosen straps going up hill and when i think the pack is affecting my breathing, then tighten things when it feels too shifty...
and yes...hip belts definately shrink while in winter storage...strange but true!
Frolicking Dinosaurs
06-15-2007, 08:20
All day long I'm adjusting my various straps. From the waist belt to the load lifters.Being a somewhat portly older lady, my weight flucuates about 6 lbs a day normally - even more when I am backpacking. I adjust all items except the thing that sets torso length on a continual basis as needed to to keep my load riding correctly and keep from getting hot spots / rub burns.
Not only every time I put it on, but every time I take it off. That's how I was taught eons ago, and it's been working ever since. I find if I don't loosen the straps before I take the pack off it doesn't feel right when I put it back on. Ten seconds tops, well worth it.
Also, while hiking, I tend to loosen the shoulder straps descending and tighten them ascending.
Since, I am using a bladder and I am munching continuously. The load is constantly changing and adjusting the straps helps keep it comfortable.
RadioFreq
06-15-2007, 11:58
Not only every time I put it on, but every time I take it off. That's how I was taught eons ago, and it's been working ever since. I find if I don't loosen the straps before I take the pack off it doesn't feel right when I put it back on. Ten seconds tops, well worth it.
Also, while hiking, I tend to loosen the shoulder straps descending and tighten them ascending.
Ditto that.
Ole Ray obviously has wider/stronger shoulders than I do. I've got an old GoLite made according to the Jardine plan. Even with a very small load, the straps want to slip off my bony shoulders. Within a few hours I end up feeling neck and shoulder strain. No doubt it would be very beneficial for me to carry this pack and build up those weak muscles...but I prefer to use a pack with sternum strap and hip belt instead. Yes, even on a day pack.
I love Ray's book to pieces but there are some of his ideas that don't work for me. Corn pasta is one. Cutting the chest and hip straps of your pack is another.
Oh, yeah, and when I buy the bottle of soda so I can use the container as a water bottle, I drink the soda, instead of pouring it out on the ground.:D
Marta/Five-Leaf
Agreed, his ideas are good for some and not so for others. I'm with the HYOH mentality. I thought it odd how he feels that anything except water is a diuretic.:-?
Cookerhiker
06-15-2007, 18:22
All day long I'm adjusting my various straps. From the waist belt to the load lifters.
Same here. I never go an hour without adjusting it.