packing a pack

I've always done it like you do. I think there is supposed to be a difference in the way you pack an internal and an external frame though.

The center of gravity of the pack should be just above your own and as close to your back as possible. That way the pack is far less liable to pull you off balance.

If you're female, your center of gravity is in your hips. If you're male, it's a bit higher, probably close to the waist. This will affect the best location for the heaviest stuff in your pack.

I (female) put my sleeping bag on the bottom. Next comes the food (the heaviest item at the start of the trip), next to my back. Of course, as the food disappears, it gets harder and harder to find the heaviest item to get it next to my back and just above the sleeping bag. Before the trip is over, the "heaviest" is a whole collection of smaller items.

I like having my tent in one of the outside side pockets so I can set it up in the rain without having to open the pack. If I didn't have outside pockets (not that I would ever get a pack without them), I'd have my tent on top just so it would be accessible.

You were right, he was wrong.

Lightest on bottom

Heaviest near the top close to the spine.

You NON backpacking husband would need to hike hunched forward if he packed in his style.

A picture says a thousand words:

Click here for more info.

This is a handout I have been giving out to beginning backpackers since 1987. These methods are for the old standard external and internal packs. The idea is, as has been noted above, is to get the center of gravity of the backpack as close as possible to your body's center of gravity. With modern framless packs and, to a great extent, internal frame packs in general, the stuff you put in the pack becomes part of the "structure".

That said, my LuxuryLight (external frame) pack rides better with the heavy stuff on the bottom.

Pack loading handout

i've tried the "official" approach a lot & i agree with dennis – while putting heavier stuff closer to the back definitely seems to be best and makes the most logical sense, i also find that having heavier stuff a bit lower than the "official" guidelines seems to feel more comfortable and balanced. specifically – i feel too much pull on my shoulders if i load the heavy stuff above the midline.

I'm like Dennis and Cary, I use a pack with a very sturdy frame though, the Granite Gear Nimbus Ozone. I like my bearikade weekender horizontally placed at the bottom, with the sleeping bag and clothing above that, and items needed during the day above that but heaviest part towards the side facing the back. All the food I need prior to supper is in a ziplock bag outside of the bear cannister so there is zero need to get inside the bear cannister once I hit the trail.

I have always packed like you do. Lighter items on the bottom with heavy items on top.

If you pack the heavy items on the bottom, your center of gravity will be low and behind you which causes you to use your upper back and stomach muscles to stabalize your upper body since you're pack will literally be trying to pull you backwards. If you put the heavy items on the top, your center of gravity will be above your head and your pack will not be trying to pull you backwards and towards the ground. Also, you will use less muscles to stabalize yourself.

I pack my sleeping back at the bottom, tent poles along my spine, my tent and sleeping pad along both sides of my tent poles, my cookset on top of my sleeping pad, and my food on top of my tent.

Haha, seems I posted my reply too soon without actually reading any of the other posts…. Looks like I'm just repeating what everyone else has already said.. sorry! ;-)

I'm with Ben on this one. Packing the heaviest stuff(food in my case) at the top of my internal frame pack just does not cut it, especially when off trail-too much lateral instability-nor does it feel balanced when on trail. In the middle, close to the spine is where I've ended up after trying the other alternatives. PYOP, I guess.

Can any of you guys give recommendations on how to pack an Osprey Atmos 50? The aluminum frame creates a void where the heavy items should be located, based on the illustrations from above.

Seems like it would be helpful to know what kind of pack and how much weight to answer the beginning questions in this thread. The second post was off to a good start. I would think that putting much weight up high, in say a frameless pack, would help it to collapse and shrink onto the shoulders, whereas down lower over the sleeping bag it would tend to do so less. In an internal frame it would matter less. Also, packing things high in a shoulder high internal is not the same as packing high in an internal that reaches higher up, like to the back of the head or taller.

I don't know anything about the pack but… look at the shape of the items you wish to carry and bend, fold, (mutilate) or stuff the items to fit the available space. When I went from an external frame, 1966 Trailwise, pack to the internal frame, 1989 Mountainsmith Elite, pack I had to learn from scratch how to pack the new pack. There wasn't alot of good information on packing in those days. It took most of a year, and 6 or 7 trips to work out the system that evolved into the one in the diagrams posted above.

Experiment. You know the result you want to achieve: a comfortable carry, with easy access to items you'll need the most.

http://www.ospreypacks.com/PackTech/HowtoPackYourPack/

That being said, I had the women's version of that pack and I deeply disliked it. The weight was nowhere even close to my back no matter how I packed it, and there was always a painful amount of weight on my shoulders.

I've seen the official recommendations and am aware of all the above recommendations but the aluminum frame seems to prevent the ideal packing. Seems like putting the most dense items on top is the easiest but not ideal. Considering the responses, sounds like this pack is not used much by any of you.

I believe my wife has that pack, or one very similar. Yes, the shape of the frame prevents keeping the heavy items close the back. She tells me she likes keeping heavy items low so the weight is carried by her hips. She gets back pain if the weight is packed high.

I've always carried weight low – canister, followed by compressed sleeping bag & clothes, then the rest on top, with a pair of canteens on the low mesh pouches. I do a lot of off-trail hiking and a top heavy pack can make it dangerous to climb, especially if I'm clinging to a steep surface or tilting sideways.

I use the Atmos 50 as my main pack.

The frame Does make it difficult to pack, however it isn't nearly as traumatic as some make it sound. All I have to do is put my hydration bladder (3L) inside the mesh portion to shift the weight properly. After that, I pack it like I would any other pack: sleeping bag on the bottom and etc.

The frame does invade the interior space and may not allow for a bear canister… but on the other hand, I've found it VERY comfortable up to 30 lbs and hardly ever have a sweaty pack (even after hiking up 2,000 ft elevation gain). It's a good design… perhaps the EXOS is an improvement though.

I have been using an atmos 50 as my main pack for a while now, i have no problem with it except when i bring my winter sleeping bag ( 1200g including 800g of 800+ goose down)
then its a pain to get the sleeping bag in itand even more to get it out.
but once its done i can stack up to a week of food and the rest of my gear.

i have tried puting my 2l bladder in the mesh part but then there is some pression on my back i cannot bear so now i just put it at the top of my bag ( due to a car accident my back is in very bad shape thats why i use an atmos 50 that apply no pressure on it.

I use the Atmos 35 occassionally and like it. I put a garbage sack in the bottom and stuff the sleeping bag and dry clothes in it to fill the unusual shape at the bottom of the pack. You get much more into it this way. I find putting the food (heaviest stuff) on top works because the pack actually bends back into you near the top. Water goes outside on the side. It rides like a dream this way but this is not your typical pack design.

The Osprey Exos 46 comes in about 7 ounces heavier than I had hoped for, initially reported to be about 30 ounces.