shoulder strap fitting – where is the weight borne?

this is about the best fit that I can get

The weight should be carried on your hips, with the shoulder straps there to stabilise the load. If the straps are pulling on your chest, you may be packing your pack incorrectly (too much weight up high or hanging off the back)?

I've loaded the pack according to instructions, with heavy weight against my back and light stuff on the bottom and outside.

Most of the weight is being carried on the hips, but since the pack's loaded to bursting and weighs 18.5kg, you inevitably feel it on the upper body. I'm just over 168cm (66inches) tall and not heavily built.

Using the next capacity pack up (70+10L) might not concentrate so much weight against my back, but wouldn't that just distribute it away from my centre of gravity and so aggravate the problem?

I had the pack fitted in store. Of the two store helps I've seen subsequently, one thought the fit was ok, the other said the kink under the shoulder straps was a bad fit and thought I should change it.

I dunno. That's how I wear my pack because I don't want ANY weight on my shoulders. But if it's uncomfortable then it is a) the wrong size (as judged by how it feels, not by what someone else says); b) Not loaded correctly, or c) the wrong style of pack for you. Keep in mind that at 18.5 kg, there aren't any packs I know of that are gonna feel totally comfy! Does it make any difference if you release the load-lifter straps to drop more weight onto your shoulders?

I would say either you have the load lifters cranked a bit too much, the pack has stays that need to be bent to conform to your body, or you need longer shoulder straps.

That's a 40 lb. pack for us US folks–awfully heavy in these days of lightweight gear! Consider studying this site a while and lightening up a bit.

If you can't (maybe you're sherpa-ing for kids? If so, good for you!), then maybe you need a more robust pack suited for carrying heavier loads, and definitely better-fitted.

Good luck!

thanks for all the advice!

for what it's worth, here's a comparison between the quantum (top) and a macpac pack (bottom). The quantum isn't fully loaded, the macpac is.

That's a separate daypack strapped onto the macpac one, which i'll be bringing along in either case.

I'm going on a 4 month holiday with a bit of hiking thrown in. I've gone as light as possible on clothes and footwear, the remaining weight is electronics and books which I'd rather bring if I can get the pack to fit comfortably.

i actually think your torso length is wrong, and you need to be the next size up. most packs should have a slight gap at the top/back of the shoulder

The MacPac fits the way it should. The attachment point of the shoulder harness to the main bag should be 1-2" below the top of your shoulders, curving over the shoulders with contact all the way through. The top picture indicates that that pack has a too small torso size for you and you should either size up or adjust the shoulder straps to create torso length, assuming your shoulder harness is adjustable. Also, the load lifters are too tight in the first picture creating a 'peaked' effect on the shoulder straps and pulling the shoulder straps hard against your chest.

40 pounds is not too much for the length of time you will be on the trail. Some here that do a couple day trips forget that many do much longer forays into the backcountry.

thanks, I'll move the attachment point between the loadlifters and shoulderstraps on the Deuter to the same position they're located on the macpac. That should solve the problem while letting me keep a 45 degree angle for the loadlifters, so i can use them to shift weight.

I was told that your chest should bear the weight on your upper body, and that shoulderstraps are supposed to run as straight and parallel as possible. That's why they're drawn tight and in towards the chest on the top picture. But that puts too much pressure at one point, letting the shoulderstraps out from the chest a bit feels like it distributes the weight better across the whole strap.