hip belt is chafing my side

[jefals]

Did a couple of 4 night hikes during the summer carrying 50+ lbs - no problem. Now I'm training with under 20 pounds, and every day I come back with red burn on my hip. Any clues?
Thanks!

[DuneElliot]

Belt doesn't fit right. Belt too loose. Belt sitting too high on hips now that there's less weight

[fiddlehead]

when i carry less than 20 lbs, I almost never fasten my hipbelt. (it's a tiny one anyway on the "Burn" pack)
Only when descending steeply.
Probably your body is used to your bigger pack and now you are rubbing in new places.

Like new shoes, it'll wear in eventually.

[Venchka]

What’s between you and the hip belt? That might be the problem.
Grease up with plain Vaseline per my Dermatologist’s advice.
Good luck. Hope it goes away.
Wayne

[jefals]

What’s between you and the hip belt? That might be the problem.
Grease up with plain Vaseline per my Dermatologist’s advice.
Good luck. Hope it goes away.
Wayne

What are you talking about? My shirt and my pants are between me and the belt. Why? What ELSE would be between me and my hip belt?
Vaseline - worth a shot. Thks

[jefals]

Don't buckle it, huh? I'll give that a try. That should definitely solve the chafing problem. Might cause other problems, but I don't know. I'll see. I guess you advised buckling up on the downhills for balancing, right? Makes sense...

[devoidapop]

Is it the same pack that you were carrying the heavy loads with? 30 less lbs has also got to be considerably less volume. perhaps your load is shifting around in that pack, where everything was stuffed in tight before?

[jefals]

Is it the same pack that you were carrying the heavy loads with? 30 less lbs has also got to be considerably less volume. perhaps your load is shifting around in that pack, where everything was stuffed in tight before?

Yes, it's the same pack. Nothing really inside the pack right now. Just rain gear in the back pocket (or the pack's front pocket, would be the correct terminology), batteries, headlamps in the hip belt pockets.
Most of the weight is the pack itself (Osprey Xenith -- don't know exact weight off top of my head - somewhere around 5 or 6 lbs), plus 4l of water I'm carrying - just to get some weight.
2.5l in a bladder and 1.5 in a smart bottle in the side pocket. (On the opposite side from where the chafing is happening).

[Venchka]

Balance the load in the pack better and get everything close to your back.
Is the redness evenly distributed on both hips?
Are you wearing a belt with your pants? That could be another cause of the problem.
Sounds like you have movement of fabric and or the hip belt causing friction on your skin.
Or, wait for it, return the pack to REI. Get a refund. Start shopping for a new pack.
Packs that are built correctly and fit you correctly don’t do what you are experiencing.
Good luck!
Wayne

[Venchka]

Remove the 1.5l bottle and see what happens.
Wayne

[Time Zone]

What are you talking about? My shirt and my pants are between me and the belt. Why? What ELSE would be between me and my hip belt?
Vaseline - worth a shot. Thks

I would think Vaseline is going to leave oil stains on your clothes.

In my experience, chafing has come about from one or more of these in combo:

- excessive sweat
- excessive movement of pack (belt too loose)
- untucked shirt with belt of pack over belt and waistband of pants (which in my case wasn't nearly as soft as my shirt)

One thing you could try is wearing the belt of the pack over your waist instead of your hips. Kelty's guide for fit on their externals indicates a primary positioning of the pack belt buckle over the belly button. Assuming you wear your pants on your hips, rather than up to your waist, this should prevent the pack belt from doubling up on the pressure and rubbing movement in the same spots caused by your own pants belt.

HTH

TZ

[bigcranky]

I've had this, it seemed to be caused by the hip belt pushing the waist band of my hiking shorts against my skin and rubbing.

I solved it by putting the tail of my merino wool t-shirt *inside* my shorts, where the soft fabric of the shirt prevents the rougher fabric of the waist band from rubbing directly on my skin.

[Venchka]

I've had this, it seemed to be caused by the hip belt pushing the waist band of my hiking shorts against my skin and rubbing.

I solved it by putting the tail of my merino wool t-shirt *inside* my shorts, where the soft fabric of the shirt prevents the rougher fabric of the waist band from rubbing directly on my skin.

That’s why I asked Jeff what was between him and the hip belt.
I do something similar: The tail of my synthetic base layer top is next to my skin. My hiking pants and shirt are equally lightweight and thin. Nothing to bunch up or chafe.
The hip belt is always TIGHT!
Wayne

[jefals]

I never paid much attention to whether my shirt was tucked in or not. I'll start being sure to tuck it in.
And - with the lighter weight, I wasn't so concerned with keeping the hip belt tight. Fiddle's suggestion has been working for me the last few days, tho. I just don't buckle the thing. Seems to be the EZ solution.

[Just Bill]

Is it the same pack that you were carrying the heavy loads with? 30 less lbs has also got to be considerably less volume. perhaps your load is shifting around in that pack, where everything was stuffed in tight before?

I think he nailed it... especially given your response.

It happens alot with UL packs too which is one reason (realize it or not) that folks started moving water bottles up front.
I had a SUL pack design that stowed my cook kit on the left and a single 1L smartwater bottle on the right. As I drank the bottle down I'd get a twist develop in the pack and some rubbing in the shoulder strap.

You're probably not feeling the shoulder strap issue because of the bladder (or the beefy pack) but cross loading or off loading the pack will twist it which is probably where the hip rub is coming from.
Even the rain gear could do it... with nothing else in the pack really that's a pound or so pretty far out from your center of gravity.

Guessing this is a frame pack- which would amplify the twist even further. You'll crank the hipbelt to compensate and it will get worse.

So either no hipbelt on for the light load or balance the load as others suggested.
Put in a sleeping bag to chew volume and keep everything in the main pack body...

You can also use another SUL trick; fill your missing volume with a partially inflated sleeping pad or pillow. A full pack carries best, even if it's a light one.

[fiddlehead]

Learned it from my Sherpa from Nepal who I helped get over here back in 93.
We went hiking on the AT, and he carried whole potatoes and onions and ...........well, a heavy pack, but never fastened the hipbelt.
So, I started trying it and found out it's one of those things like trekking poles, or dogs on the trail; people think you need them but once you try hiking without them, it's OK.
The Sherpas will put the load on their forehead if it gets too heavy by putting a sling around the bottom of the pack and a rag to pad their forehead, and that works too, but we tend to follow the herd here in the states and would probably not be into the way they carry their load.
But it is worth a try.

[Just Bill]

And if you canoe... you use a tumpline (the forehead thing you mention) to portage your gear.

It is funny how hyperspecialized long distance hiking is though and how strangely some of it's tenants would be seen in other areas of outdoor travel or the simple burden of hauling a load as part of daily life.

[jefals]

Learned it from my Sherpa from Nepal who I helped get over here back in 93.

If you had a Sherpa from Nepal, you must have had quite an adventure. (And if you helped him get over here, that must have been quite an adventure as well! - tho nothing like the adventure it would be if you were doing it today, I imagine)
~~~
Well, I'll tell ya a little story. When I got my first backpack, I never buckled the hipbelt. Probably for about a year. Why not? It took me that long to even notice the stupid thing HAD a hip belt!

[jefals]

Is it the same pack that you were carrying the heavy loads with? 30 less lbs has also got to be considerably less volume. perhaps your load is shifting around in that pack, where everything was stuffed in tight before?

I think he nailed it... especially given your response.

It happens alot with UL packs too which is one reason (realize it or not) that folks started moving water bottles up front.
I had a SUL pack design that stowed my cook kit on the left and a single 1L smartwater bottle on the right. As I drank the bottle down I'd get a twist develop in the pack and some rubbing in the shoulder strap.

You're probably not feeling the shoulder strap issue because of the bladder (or the beefy pack) but cross loading or off loading the pack will twist it which is probably where the hip

A lot of good info here; thx, JB.
Not sure if I was clear, but load shifting inside the pack can not be happening, as there is nothing on the inside. I'm carrying that 1.5l bottle on the outside pocket, as it has a hose and it's my primary water. The bladder is there only for weight - or on those rare occasions when I drink the 1.5. (Or if the 1.5l should break or something. One time I did fall, and the bottle fell out of the pocket, the hose came undone and the bottle emptied. It can happen).
It's probably time for me to start adding a little weight. Maybe I'll put another 1.5 on the other side. That'll balance the load - at least at the start.
Just thinking -- if I drink from the bladder instead of the bottle, that'll keep the load balanced.
Out on overnight hikes out here in the scarce-water areas, I like drinking from the bottles first, as it's a little easier to tell how much I have left.

[Just Bill]

Not sure if I was clear, but load shifting inside the pack can not be happening, as there is nothing on the inside.

That would exacerbate the issue further. An empty pack with just the outer pockets filled with several pounds of water will sway/twist up the pack with every step.
Even just dumping a sleeping bag or two into the pack and setting the bladder and water bottle on it would help the issue greatly.

The other option is a liter in each side pocket and taking turns drinking from each to keep them even if you don't want to deal with the hidden bladder and disappearing water act.
That's a common complaint with bladders, right after removing and re-slipping them in after filling.