Value of substantial suspension

"A lot of people use the vapor trail or even the nimbus ozone for that reason. it is a simple lightweight pack paired with a heavier duty frame and harness."

That was my thought, it's already being done. I am one of those that prefer a more robust suspension. 5 lbs is too heavy for a belt-less pack for me. So, I have a vapor trail. ;)

"For a 20lbs load you only need decently padded shoulder straps, a fairly minimal hipbelt and maybe a simple UL frame if that's your preference."

Everyone is different. There is NO WAY I can carry 20 lbs with a minimal hipbelt. 10 lbs, maybe, for a short distance. Even with only 10 lbs I would not want a minimal hipbelt. I can't even carry 5 lbs comfortably without a hipbelt. I'd rather loose a few lbs of body weight that give up a good suspension in my pack. ;)

Okay, I just realized this is a very old thread…

"There is no such thing as a comfortable pack. Some packs are merely less uncomfortable than others."

Jeffs Eleven,

Nice looking hipbelt. Wonder what it weighs,
and how it buckles. Does webbing go over it, or is there something else not shown in the picture?

Thanks.

Good call on adding a real hip belt. I used an REI women's Flash 52 this summer. I tried it with the stock hip belt, but decided I needed more support and then swapped to a thicker padded GG Ultralight belt. Did a hard 4 day cross-Kodiak-Island trek. Decided the GG belt wasn't quite enough. Swapped the GG for an old and seriously stout Dana Design belt and did another crushing 4 day cross-Kodiak-Island trek. Life was pretty good.

My coastal Alaska backcountry solo base weight is 18 pounds.

I'm all for a true suspension. The weight–I figure it to be about 10-12 oz.–is worth it for me because I find that I like to do a lot of other things besides simply hike: fishing, for example. That, and I usually end up carrying all the shared gear because I'm either with my wife or a heavy-packing friend. Either way, the extra pound or three is worth it for the company and the improved carry.

For fast and really light summer trips, when I know the weather and the conditions, I'm looking at sewing up a decent frameless pack. But for all else, I really like my HMG Porter, and I wouldn't trade the suspension for anything.

Hey Samuel,

IDK what it weighs… REI doesn't have that spec. I'll take it into work and weigh it alone and with the whole pack. It'd be interesting to know for me too.

As for the buckles, my pack has the plain 1" webbing hipbelt and side release buckle. I just slide the Gregory hipbelt over the webbing and use the buckles on the pack's hipbelt.

Its meant for the Gregory suspension that has the hard plastic wings- the padded part (the part that I bought) has vertical webbing pieces that slides over the plastic wings to hold it in place. I just slid that over my webbing. ( I feel like I'm doing a terrible job of explaining this)

If I leave my hipbelt unbuckled the Gregory things can slide right off.

I'll weigh it and take some pics to post tomorrow.

So the gregory 3d hipbelt weighs 8oz total for both sides with the pockets cut off. Bringing my total empty pack weight to 2.05lbs. Including pack, frame, 2sections of zlite in there for back padding, ohm pockets and gregory hipbelt. I believe its like 40-45 liters including the big pocket and ohm pockets.

Measured on my store's digital postal scale.

Pics will be posted when i get home this afternoon. (Assuming i don't get inthralled by football and forget to take pics. :)

Thanks, Jeffs Eleven. Don't need pix, I get it.
I can cut off the belt pockets to lower the weight a bit.
A little pricey (unlike bargain bins where I usually rummage for MYOG parts), but would probably be worth it, to get the weight over the hipbone crests you mentioned.
And I can see how attachments could be made for an other than Gregory pack.
Appreciate the info – very helpful.

Yeah they have a little crease in them that hangs on the top of your hips. Very comfortable. Yes COMFORTABLE, Eric! ;)

Glad you dont need pics cause I friggin left my pack at work lol

They can travel around a bit but once you get em set and tighten the belt they stay put.

I have a Camelbak "Commander" 2,800 cu. in. hunting pack that I also use for backcountry skiing due to its features, several of which are my own mods.

This pack came with a cloth "waistbelt" and a plastic framesheet. Both were useless for transferring loads to my hips.

1. Removed the cloth waistbelt and put an REI Ridgeline padded hipbelt which I slid in behind the pack's lumbar pad. Fits like it was made for it.

2. Left the framesheet in and bolted on an upsidedown "U" shaped aluminum frame I made from 1" wide barstock. The frame resides in the zippered hydration bladder compartment but bolts thru the plastic framsheet. I pre-curved the vertical stays to fit my back.

3. Did a few other mods like sewing on 1/2" webbing and QR buckles to the pack bottom to hold a mattress, etc.

4. Added aftermarket zippered side pockets for more volume. They are held on by the two original QR buckled compression straps on each side so are easily removable.

And yes, it is more "comfortable" than it was by a quantum amount. Now I can carry 45 – 50 lb. loads (if I have to) in RELATIVE comfort.

its all relative, baby