Id like to take a poll…

With my ultralight pack, none of this matters. I'd say that my hipbelt rides high. If I use it.

With my traditional gear (90+ pounds sometimes!) ideally I set it on a neutral level with the hipbelt hugging my hips bones. It's heat molded and that's how it "should" work. But it slides down. This is due to the heavy load and my lack of hips. Not due to the pack fitting poorly. I'm fine with it riding low.

I answer this way as I had a hard time understanding your wording. And I don't have my packs packed.

If I understand your question correctly, it would ride slightly lower.

Then again, I always loosen the shoulder straps when I take my pack off, as I find them hard to slip out of if I leave them tightly adjusted. I never really loosen the load lifters or hip stabilizers to take the pack off, but will sometimes fiddle with them while hiking.

Most often my gut will slide the belt low. Like Lady Pam, I don't adjust anything to take my pack off and my belt gets fondled a bit during the hike.

Jack

Mine always rides high.

With a lightweight backpack, there is no need for any of this.

1. Take a scissor and cut off the sternum strap

2. Then cut off the hip belt.

3. Put your back pack on.

That's a little bit of an exageration, but I try never to use the sternum strap or the hip belt. I use the hip belt ONLY if I have a bear spray holster.

I use the sternum strap ONLY to keep the shoulder straps from migrating off my shoulders. I keep both VERY loose.

Well, I agree with ditching the sternum strap, but as for the hipbelt, I carry ALL my weight on my hips, and carry it low. The shoulder straps are there just to keep the pack close into my back, not to carry the load. Then again, I carry a LuxuryLite and this is how it is designed to be carried (doesn't even come with a sternum strap, but shoulder strap width is infinitely adjustable so it doesn't slide off shoulders).

"#1 Put hipbelt around waist, lock, tighten."

???

Have I been doing this wrong the whole time? I always put the pack on my shoulders before I buckle the hipbelt. I've never really thought about it a lot, it just seems like a natural motion.

As long as it fits, I think it just depends on what makes you comfortable. You can always decide you can live w/o the hipbelt and sternum strap and pocketknife them off somewhere along the trail.

I wear my hipbelt kind of loosely fitting on my hips and usually buckle my sternum strap. I don't think all the weight is on my hips this way, but most of it. I suppose it depends on different packs.

"Have I been doing this wrong the whole time? I always put the pack on my shoulders before I buckle the hipbelt. I've never really thought about it a lot, it just seems like a natural motion."

Ha Ha Ha…No you goonie…Ha Ha Ha…your completely doing it right…Ha Ha Ha. What I meant to say (totally my fault) was you slide your arm though the loose shoulder straps then put the hipbelt on and click it into place and tighten. Only then do you tighten and adjust the shoulder straps. So no you totally have it right and it was just bad explaining on my part ;p Jesus though…that would be kind of ackward and out of motion if you put the hipbelt on and tighten it only to put your arms through the shoulder straps afterwards. You'd look like you were doing some kind of circus act lol

:) I'm a bit challenged at times. I've seen people with REALLY heavy packs set their pack on logs and back up to it. If you need somebody to lift it up and put it on your back, that's just ridiculous.

Like Lynn, I like to have most of my weight on my hips. I put the pack on my shoulders, raise my shoulders up a bit so the pack raises a bit, tighten the waste belt and then relax my shoulders. If the weight is low enough (and compact enough) I can basically wiggle my shoulders in circles. If not, then I tighten it a bit so that it doesn't bang back and forth on my shoulders (which is worse than having a bit of weight on my shoulders).

LuxuryLite Procedure:

1. Put on hip-belt and tighten. (I keep the front of the belt right on top of my navel.)

2. Hoist pack and place shoulder straps over my shoulders.

3. Lift pack frame and set bottom cross-bar in "Hook".

4. Start walking.

LuxuryLite Pack Frame and "Hook" belt photo from LuxuryLite website.

LuxuryLite Luke on the trail.

They give me the creeps! LuxuryLite Chupacabra!

> Where does the buckle end up wrapping around?

Below where it was.

My shoulder straps generally control how close my pack is to my body. My hip belt supports most of the pack weight by gripping the top side of my iliac crest.

I don't loosen anything when I unload – just unclip. My load-up procedure:
1) Shoulder straps on.
2) Loosen pack top strap adjustment a little; loosen pack bottom strap adjustment a little; loosen hip belt.
3) Lean forward about 30 degrees, hike pack up a bit, clip hip belt and tighten.
4) Stand-up check shoulder straps which are still properly adjusted.
5) Tighten pack top strap adjustment if necessary; tighten pack bottom strap adjustment if necessary.
6) Lock sternum strap which is still properly adjusted.

I am LW, not UL.

acronym8/5/2009 4:16 PM

Mike noted….

"With a lightweight backpack, there is no need for any of this.

1. Take a scissor and cut off the sternum strap
2. Then cut off the hip belt.
3. Put your back pack on."

This is no exageration for me…here is what this looks like with a golite Jam2. Notice both the sternum strap and hip belt are gone.

With an ultralight load the hip belt and sternum strap aren't really much value for me.

Jamie