In between pack sizes?

edited

Yeah, I'd love to try some on, and I'm right in the middle of some good dealers. Only 5 hours to DFW, 5 hours to San Antonio, 5 hours to Santa Fe, or 5 hours to Ruidoso. I'll probably end up guessing. I'd love to see some profile pics of people wearing the right size, and wrong size of the same packs.

I keep hoping Will will pop in here with some wisdom from his actual use.

Go with the bigger option.

When I was trying on GG Vapor Trails, I tried on small and medium torso models – I have an 18.5" torso. GG's smalls cap out at 18", and regulars go from 18 to 21". I went with a regular, although it was close. I do not like to have my shoulder straps cup my shoulders and arc down too much. I also like to keep the vast majority of the weight on my hips and the VT's beefy hipbelt allows me keep do that.

The end result is the pack sits on my hips and the shoulder straps are just there to keep the pack from falling off my back – there is little weight on my shoulders with normal loads. However, when the weight goes up (toward 30 lbs.), more weight is put on my shoulders.

http://granitegear.com/products/backpacks/ultralight/vaportrail.html

nm

When I'm in between pack sizes, I typically will bid c'est la vie to the brand I'm looking at whose sizes aren't working out, and start looking at a different brand of pack. One manufacturer's medium rarely has the same fit as another manufacturer's medium.

Joe-

I've been fitting packs professionally for many years. Ultimately, the answer to your question is "it depends." It really does all depend on the individual. That said, I have found that it is typically best to go with the smaller size.

A too-large pack will result in a pack that doesn't ride as stable and that will give you less flexibility in load-carrying. If you cinch down the load-lifters, the straps can lose too much contact with your shoulders. A too-small pack will result in shoulder straps not fitting comfortably. To get the best performance out of the pack you want 1.5-2 inches of wrap from the top of your shoulder down. If you only get, say, 0.5 inch of wrap the pack usually won't carry quite as well.

All that said, these are generalities. Some manufacturers tend to run small, others large. For the Talon, a size S/M should fit up to a 19" torso; with the top of my iliac crest in the top third of the hipbelt, my 18" torso has about 1" of wrap. The shoulder harness could be extended a couple inches higher to easily fit a longer torso. The M/L frame harness comes off right at the top of my shoulders. It could also come down to the different curvatures; if your back has a longer more gentle curve to it, the long could fit better overall. I think the biggest problem I tend to see in packfitting is that people tend to wear their packs too low on their hips, which results in less efficient weight transfer amongst other things.

I say all this just to give more background info. If I suggest you go with the smaller size, it probably won't fit :P. But that's probably what I'd do…

Brad,
Thanks for the review on pack fit. It's been a long time since I've done that drill and a refresher is good.

You mentioned wearing a pack "to low".

Brian at ULA notes that the Conduit is designed as a Waist belted system, and the pack will ride higher than a Hip belted larger pack, and users need to mentally adjust to that concept.

I prefer to distribute pack weight 80/20 hips to shoulders, and have always placed the center of a padded hipbelt over my illac crest, then check shoulder strap wrap. Is this the good, bad, or indifferent?

Insights appreciated.

A few months ago I was looking at the Osprey Aether 60. I'm at 20", which would indicate a large or medium frame per their sizing chart. The salesman stated usually when on the cusp of 2 different sizes, it's best to go with the smaller size and just adjust the inner frame. Apparently the curve of my back and shoulder size also made a difference in comfort and it sitting more securely on my shoulders. I found the medium sized frame more comfortable in a fully loaded pack.

I have a 20.5" torso which looks to be in no man's land for the Catalyst/Circuit/Ohm sizing (Med 18-20" and Lg 21-23"). Looks like the consensus is that their packs run a little small, but was wondering if anyone with a similar torso length has experience with these ULA packs.

I realize I could probably order both and try them out myself, but thought I'd ask first. Thanks.

Brad… I'm the same torso measurement and have been using a M/L (20-22") Conduit for almost two years now. It seems to be nearly perfectly sized for our torso length. It's been my experience that if in doubt, go larger. Not having the hip belt low enough can get really tiring on the shoulders.

Thanks John. I'm trying to decide between the Conduit and Ohm. Like you said, the Conduit sizing is a no brainer for us. But for the Ohm, there is no size for between 20-21". Your advice is probably wise – if given the choice, I'd rather have the pack weight more on my hips then on my shoulders.