Padding hip belts

[Bear Cables]

I am having a problem with my hip belt leaving bruises on my pelvic bones. I don't have a lot of "natural" padding as I am on the slim side and wonder if anyone knows of a way to add extra padding to the belt. I have a Golite Quest pack.

[MaybeTomorrow]

Seems like that pack has padding so my first thought is how much weight are you packing? Maybe reduce weight instead of adding padding? Also, you my not have the pack adjusted to distribute the load evenly between your shoulders and hips. You might try going without the belt to test the strength
of your shoulders. If the load seems suddenly very heavy you might need to build some shoulder strength and shift your load to their. Finally, is your belt very tight? Again, too much weight + too much load on your hips + tight belt sounds like a good formula for bruises. Btw, I'm just speculating.

If you really want to add some padding just get some off a yard sale pack or old foam pad and sew it on. Its easier than you think!

PS. all gear should be customized.

[JAK]

I like an arrangement where you have a wide belt around the hips but it splits into two in front with a high buckle and a low buckle, so you can tighten them differently to conform to the hips. You need less padding this way which saves weight. Easy modification to make.

[royalusa]

If you do need to add more padding, you could use a piece of water pipe insulation.

[JAK]

If it fits just right you need less padding, as long as the straps are wide enough. The hip belt should be just high enough that it is narrower on top, so as it slips down it gets tighter, and you can jerk it up now and then to fit looser. At 20 pounds and less it should feel pretty weightless. At 30 pounds and above straps need to be wider and fit better. The clothes you wear make a difference also. I like to wear the hip belt over a smooth top layer which is overlapping smooth shorts or pants without too much belt loops and such in the way.

[Creek Dancer]

I don't think any of the weight of the pack should be carried in your shoulders. Based on my knowledge, the weight should be on your hips. The straps that go over your shoulders are there for stabilization. In fact, some packs have load lifters that are designed to be adjusted so that your pack does not rest on your shoulders. I think REI has a video on this.

Anyhoo, like someone else said, check the weight of your pack against the pack specifications. My GoLite craps out at about 23-25 pounds, but I think the Quest can carry more than that.

Good luck. I hope you get your problem resolved.

[Bear Cables]

Seems like that pack has padding so my first thought is how much weight are you packing? Maybe reduce weight instead of adding padding? Also, you my not have the pack adjusted to distribute the load evenly between your shoulders and hips. You might try going without the belt to test the strength
of your shoulders. If the load seems suddenly very heavy you might need to build some shoulder strength and shift your load to their. Finally, is your belt very tight? Again, too much weight + too much load on your hips + tight belt sounds like a good formula for bruises. Btw, I'm just speculating.

If you really want to add some padding just get some off a yard sale pack or old foam pad and sew it on. Its easier than you think!

PS. all gear should be customized.

Thanks for the input and advice. My pack fully loaded with 5 days of food and two liter water is 26 lbs. Straps are comfortable in weight bearing. I am short waisted so there is not much space between waist and hips.

[Bear Cables]

I could try the pipe insulation...

[kayak karl]

lessen the weight and see at what point it starts to hurt and go from there. even with 35# in my go-lite pinnacle pack padding did not help. adjusting and distribution of weight in pack did. i keep it at a max of 30# (water is on front straps)

REVIEW
http://www.backpackgeartest.org/revi...yl%20McMurray/

scroll down to "observations"

[stranger]

First - how many days in a row have you used the pack? Have you used it for more than 5 consecutive days? If not, this could be your problem, your skin simply being irritated from the belt, it happens to me on every single pack, for the past 18 years, just got to get past day 4-5 and I'm sweet.

Second - check to make sure you are wearing the hipbelt in the correct location, this means the top edge of the hipbelt should be higher than the top of the hipbone, which is only about 2 inches under your ribcage. Try sitting down with the pack on, if you feel the hipbelt restricting your ability to sit down, you are wearing the pack too low.

Third - what clothing are you wearing, in particular pants or shorts? Do they have a thick waistband that may be doing the irritation? Try wearing your hibpet higher and your pants lower. Sometimes it's the pressure of the hipbelt, but the clothing that is causing the chaf or pain.

Finally - adding more padding could simply make the problem worse, but give it a go and see what happens.

[Papa D]

If you carry for a week, the bruises will go away - - I don't know why but they will - if I haven't been out in a while I get em for a day or so then they go away - your body will just get used to them. You might also try to re-position things a bit like Stranger suggests and make sure that you have a high quality pack that fits properly but I'd skip the "more padding" idea and tough it out if possible. The bruises should stop after a few days.

[Bear Cables]

I like an arrangement where you have a wide belt around the hips but it splits into two in front with a high buckle and a low buckle, so you can tighten them differently to conform to the hips. You need less padding this way which saves weight. Easy modification to make.

How do you make that modification?

[pdcolelli42]

I'm pretty skinny too and I get bruises from my hip belt also. Like some others suggested though after a few days of wearing the pack consecutively it goes away for me. I also like to adjust the pack throughout the day depending on if my shoulders are more sore or if my hips are more sore. Sometimes I put nearly all the weight on my hips which is how I prefer to carry the pack but sometimes I let my shoulders do the work if my hips get too sore. For the record I carry a frameless pack with around 20lbs for 5 days of food and very little water.

[jakedatc]

I prefer mesh with thin padding or even all mesh for my waist belt instead of normal padding. I am skinny and pads just bruise instead of cushion. the mesh conforms to me instead of digging in.

for that reason i use the Osprey Exos 58 and 34 for hiking and i put a Marmot mesh waist belt on my Black Diamond climbing pack.

[stranger]

The more pliable the best the better it will move with you and less likely to rub or chaf...also the term 'bruising' is often thrown around, I would be surprised if anyone has actual bruises on their hips unless they have 40-50 lbs or something, perhaps the term that more accurately reflects what's going on would be 'irritation' or 'chaffing', again, after 5 days this seems to go away.

More padding does not equal more comfort, it could be the 'cut' (the shape) of the belt, very likely for women or overweight men, or it could be the location of the belt (very likely). Remember most packs are built on the skeletal structure, so if someone is overweight, the pack will not fit properly in most scenarios.

[stranger]

best should be 'belt'

[jakedatc]

The more pliable the best the better it will move with you and less likely to rub or chaf...also the term 'bruising' is often thrown around, I would be surprised if anyone has actual bruises on their hips unless they have 40-50 lbs or something, perhaps the term that more accurately reflects what's going on would be 'irritation' or 'chaffing', again, after 5 days this seems to go away.

More padding does not equal more comfort, it could be the 'cut' (the shape) of the belt, very likely for women or overweight men, or it could be the location of the belt (very likely). Remember most packs are built on the skeletal structure, so if someone is overweight, the pack will not fit properly in most scenarios.

did you read the first post? it said she is a skinny person without much "padding" aka extra tissue in the hip area.

i can tell you that i've had bruising with 30lbs from my old backpack that had crappy thick padding that didn't budge. even on my longest 6-7 day hike it didn't go away. I moved to thin belts and never looked back.

definitely should not accept 5 days of bruising, irritation, chaffing or whatever.

[stranger]

did you read the first post? it said she is a skinny person without much "padding" aka extra tissue in the hip area.

i can tell you that i've had bruising with 30lbs from my old backpack that had crappy thick padding that didn't budge. even on my longest 6-7 day hike it didn't go away. I moved to thin belts and never looked back.

definitely should not accept 5 days of bruising, irritation, chaffing or whatever.

Yes I did read the original post...and I said 'very likely for women or overweight men'. I did not say this only affected women or overweight men, I said it was likely...that's all. And if 'she' has a problem with the belt, I can almost guarantee it's the 'cut' of the belt, it's not the padding. If the cut is wrong, a hipbelt that is 4 inches wide might only be making contact over 1 inch or less, which would beat you up pretty bad. You reinforce my point, thinner belts are more pliable, and move better with different body shapes and therefore cause less friction or pressure.

You can have the opinion that one should not accept 5 days of any form of irritation, however to me that's the same as saying one should be able to walk 15 miles a day for 5 days with no foot irritation...not very practical now is it? For some sure, for most, hike 75-80 miles in 5 days and your feet are going to be irritated. Packs are the same in this manner 'for some' people.

A thinner belt has worked 'for you', doesn't mean it will work for her.

[jakedatc]

" A thinner belt has worked 'for you', doesn't mean it will work for her. "

by thinner i mean less padding. not width wise. so if a thick belt is not working then thinner is a good suggestion i think. and since you are saying more pliable i don't think we are disagreeing.

exos 58 belt with mesh and ~1/2" padding. my exos 34 is even more minimal with the same mesh but no padding.

[stranger]

Yes we agree, thin meaning less padding, otherwise we would be talking about width...

My point is, if the belt is cut wrong...if the shape of the belt is not mathmatically correct, it will be a problem for most women. Men on average have a natural hip 'cant' (angle) of about 12-14 degrees, and men represent 80% of pack users, therefore unless the pack is designed for women, the hipbelt will be geared more toward the male species, a 12-14 degree canted belt.

Women's hips on the other hand, range from about 16-20 degrees on average...even a very pliable belt will not flex from 12 degrees to 18, it might flex from 12 to 15, but simply having a thin belt with good flex will not always solve this problem.

What usually happens in this scenario is the all the pressure is applied to the front point of the hips, far away from where the belt connects to the pack, and the spot where our hips protrude the most...on a think woman, with a ill fitting belt, regardless of thickness...will likely have to deal with some irritation on this area due to the weight being concentrated in such a small area.

I think we do agree as well.