Backpack Options for Injured Shoulder: Lumbar Packs or Luxurylite Pack???

I have a defective shoulder that has caused problems my entire life and have been thru well over a dozen packs before deciding to try a mchale; wish i'd have tried him from the start.

My pack is a sarc +1 with a taller than average belt and the shoulder straps attach to the pack 1-2" above the shoulder. This arrangement with the bypass straps bring the pack in close to the body without putting weight or stress on the shoulder. It is also helpful to pack in a way to achieve a tall top heavish load as opposed to a shorter load whose center of gravity is farther from the back.

You could probably hillbilly something that would be tolerable with a store bought pack; but she will be far happier with the end result of Dan's experience.

oops, just read further. You need to be sherpa long enough to know she actually enjoys the backcountry (and you enjoy having her there). Then spend the money. Store bought packs will just create frustration for both of you.

The last complete walker (IV) had a sample (good weather) Rockies overnight using a Mountainsmith "hippack"-daypack with an earlier eras down bag and bivy, but consumables in a side pocket with a spray painted Quaker oat container. Might need to adapt the list a bit. It's an option before investing in a pack and if she does want a heavier pack (like a mchale), it could be repurposed.

I’ve got that Mountainsmith lumbar pack (picked one up when I had a bulging lumbar disk earlier this year and could put essentially no weight at the top of my spinal column). It’s well enough built, but fairly heavy for the amount of stuff it can carry.

Ultimately I settled on a 50L Mountain Madness pack from Aarn. Doesn’t look it, but the center of gravity is so perfect when properly loaded, and the suspension so good, that it doesn’t ride on my shoulders at all. Fits into the category of pricey and a bit heavy though.

I think the Mountainsmith lumbar pack + you as Sherpa would be a good way to see if she likes backpacking. Could she hang something around her neck or good shoulder like the zpacks multipack or similar for a little additional volume?

My only other idea would be a custom lumbar pack from Zimmerbuilt or see if he could make a version of the Trail Lite Bandoleer one strap pack:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=44040&startat=20

Yeah, I'd be so afraid of causing any more injury to her shoulder. Money may be better spent on getting her gear/clothes light enough so it doesn't add to your load too much (e.g. quilt, lightweight rain gear, puffy)

I have a Mountainsmith waist pack that I like and use daily. Smaller than the Lumbar Pack, but it's impressive how much I can fit in there if need be.

Is it possible to do a couple of trips with you carrying most of the weight? Or a longer trip with pack animals carrying what you can't? That way she gets a taste of the back country to see if a McHale or an expensive custom option investment makes sense.

You don't know anyone with pack goats, do you? Saw a guy on the Lost Coast trail with two one time…

I've had shoulder injuries, and corresponding surgeries, to both the left and right shoulders. Luckily, I've been able to backpack in both instances within 10 weeks of surgery. Both required bi-cep tendon reattachment which means I was in a sling for at least 6 weeks.

My experience is that the best solution for backpacking is to make sure that the weight is carried on the waist and not the shoulders. Frameless packs are OK if your weight is really low (less than 8 lbs of base weight and no more than 4 lbs of consumables). I highly recommend a framed back if you expect to carry more.

I also use trekking poles which is another consideration. As a general rule, they do not put a lot of stress on my shoulders as the arms are never lifted that high but they do put a lot or pressure on the forearms.

Per Joseph's suggestion, I also recommend that you both lighten the load and that you carry your shelter, cook kits, excess food, etc. I've done this with my wife and gotten her base weight down to 6 lbs with a very light frameless pack. Her problem is knee strain but a pack that shifts the load to the hips should have similar benefit with a really light load.

My first thoughts were the lumbar packs that zimmer does, but with one strap. With a good enough hipbelt (get him to beef it up) it should be able to take an ultralight load with little support from elsewhere. An idea is to buy an Osprey Hipbelt (Bioform or Isoform) from REI and build it to that. With a good enough hipbelt a single shoulder strap will work well, just adding enough stability/reducing bounce. Very easy for him to build in strap attachments to add a proper shoulder yoke at a later date. With a good divider inside and also say a hydration pouch close to the harness, you could pack it with good waist distribution. A simple divider, say one third of the volume away from the back, but a bit adjustable would just make it easier to put dense stuff like food and fuel close to the back. Just needs to be an internal flap of fabric.

Bypass straps aka McHale are a good option if you decide to go full pack, but I'd be hesitant to go down the pack route because I think you are going to have to try a LOT more packs before you find one that works for her.

Well, I would try loading her up with no more than ten pounds of clothing/bedding and carry everything yourself. A hipbelt will take most of the ten pounds on her waist.

I do this as a routine with each of my daughters and wife. Only solo do I get my base weight down to <10 pounds. A 2.5pound tarp and tent insert will give you both sleeping space. Actually it weighs about 42oz including stakes and guylines. A fair setup against weather and bugs. Food is a different story, you still need about 3 pounds per day out. I usually bring a saw for firewood and a WG stove. But I can get out with about 20 pounds pack weight with my partner carrying her gear at about 10 pounds for 2-3 nights.

Two thoughts –

An Aarn pack has front pockets and balances weight on the hips like a finely tuned machine.

Then there is the Dixon roller pack. It's at least worth googling and giggling – but it might be the ticket.

OK. PT opinion here.

First of all, a simple (or even complicated) rotator cuff tear should have NO bearing whatsoever on the shoulder straps of a backpack. The rotator cuff is responsible for seating your arm in the socket…that's awfully far away from where shoulder straps even reside. She will not injure her shoulder any further even carrying full loads on her shoulders.

(a quick aside – the VAST majority of rotator cuff tears have absolutely no need to be surgically repaired. unless she wants to make money as a baseball pitcher or tennis pro, a good PT is all she needs to fix the shoulder. 100% of us over the age of 40 have rotator cuff tears…. so if shoulder straps are actually causing her problems, she needs a better diagnostician to figure out what HURTS, not necessarily that she has a rotator cuff tear. Analogy: your car is running really poorly, so you take a photo of it sitting in the parking lot (which is the same as getting an MRI, by the way) and give that picture to your mechanic. Your mechanic says – hey! you have a dent in the passenger side door! We need to replace that! – the point being yes, you may have a huge dent in the door – but it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with why the car is running so bad)

Secondly, one way to keep weight from providing any downward pressure on the shoulder girdle is to use a pack that has a slightly too-long torso. This way the hip belt has no choice but to carry all the weight, and the straps themselves simply prevent the pack from tipping backwards.

Good luck!

Once again, the love of the BPL community comes through!

Really appreciate the advice and different options to consider that I did not know about.

Yes, I am definitely going to the Sherpa for my girl friend.

I want to do everything that I can to try to make this a great experience for her.

She is a strong hiker, mentally tough, and loves the outdoors….but has not had an opportunity to get exposed on the "how to" of backpacking to get educated.

Her frustration is that her rotator cuff and very limited mobility in her shoulder is holding her back from doing what she wants to do.

We have just done a car camping trip this past weekend where we slept in a tarptent, used canister/alcohol/esbit stoves that I have, cooked a meal using my MSR Titan Kettle, showing her different sleeping pads, quilt vs. sleeping bag, etc. (She has a much better idea of what sort of crazy person I am…weighing gear down to the half ounce).

Basically, having her use the same gear I take backpacking for myself.

My base weight is around 9-10.5 lbs with camera.

My girl friend hates the idea that I should carry anything for her and is begrudgingly realizing that with her injured shoulder that she cannot carry much.

However, she is INSISTING that she do what she can to carry her weight on the trip.

At this point, any pressure on her shoulder is not going to work…though, the idea of a one strap pack that could be slung over her good shoulder is a great idea that I had not even thought of.

Given that this is all new to her, we are going to avoid spending big bucks on gear until she knows that backpacking is something she wants to do more of in the future.

I have plenty of UL gear, as I am sure many of you gear porn addicts do. :)

So she shouldn't have to spend money on much other than her own clothing and some sort of volume pack that keeps weight off of her shoulder.

The Luxurylite pack would seem idea, but hard to spend that sort of money when her injury may only be "short term" (praying for the PT to do the job).

At one of the prior GGG's in California, I had a chance to see a Luxurylite up close.

The woman (DK) chose the pack because she cannot carry any weight on her shoulder because of a pain issue and the Luxurylite transfers all of the weight to a hipbelt with nothing on the shoulders. Very unique UL piece of gear that seems like a modernized throwback to an older time.

Appreciate the insight that the PT might do the trick and that surgery is not always the only solution.

Will look more at the suggestions that you have all generously made.

Not sure about the counter balancing packs…makes sense, but only as long as there is no pressure put on her shoulders.

Costwise, the Lumbarpack might be the way to go.

She can carry her essentials that are very light weight to free up space in my pack for the bulky stuff like sleeping bag/quilt, evil bear canister, and food.

Keep the suggestions coming and call me Sherpa boy and the luckiest man on earth as I found a real, live human female who wants to go backpacking with me!!!!

Tony

She sounds like she has a great attitude. Lucky you!

A framed pack that has the shoulder straps attached 1-2" above the top of the shoulder will transfer the weight to the hip belt. That should work fine.

The lumbar pack may be a good option if everything fits. I did that once with my wife when she couldn't carry much weight. A lumbar pack made from a hip belt for a full pack with a "framed" bag attached to the belt might make a great large lumbar pack. If you're into MYOG stuff.

In any case, good luck Sherpa boy. ;^)

Hey Tony,

With my SMD Flight 40, I can easily adjust the shoulder straps to not have any weight on my shoulders.

The hipblet fits so well and rigidity is pretty good.

With a Fusion, you get an even more rigid spine that I'm sure would do the trick for her.

Katherine, Larry, and Aaron,

Thanks for the encouragement and advice.

I am feeling pretty lucky and optimistic about sharing adventures with her.

Larry, I am not much of a MYOG, but knowing that framed packs can keep the weight off of her shoulder is something to keep in mind.

The Luxurylite back would be the ultimate solution if her shoulder does not get better as it has a beefy hip belt that basically has a hook for attaching the frame to the belt that carries all of the weight of the pack.

Aaron….I know that you have done some extensive reviews of the Flight and that it is so snug against the body and adjustable would be something to consider for her to keep the weight off of her shoulders.

Appreciate everyone's advice.

Tony

I tore my right rotator cuff rock climbing about 15 years ago. It can take quite a while without surgery for the problem to go away, as it did with me, especially when you're forced to use it while injured.

It brought my rock climbing to a complete halt for about 7 years which really sucked.

It didn't affect my backpacking too much (even in the ARMY Infantry) after the first year, but she'll need to be careful not to strain it while backpacking.

I solved the problem for myself in the ARMY by mounting a civilian backpack waist belt onto the external frame of my ruck sack. It was well padded, so it could take more of the weight of the load onto my hips. I also kept the shoulder strap (injured shoulder) very loose, and ALWAYS used the sternum strap to compensate.

Doing this will put more weight and stress on her non injured shoulder, and she may need a little more frequent breaks. Also, ALWAYS help her to put on and take off the pack. But it can be done. Just keep her pack weight to a minimum. I'd aim for 60% of what she could handle without the injury.

I'd also suggest going with a pack that has the narrowest distance between the shoulder straps that you can get away with. That will ensure that the strap doesn't push or jerk against the cuff region.

You're a lucky man. I've never dated a woman who would go backpacking with me. They weren't interested in going or in understanding why we all love it.

Hope this helps, and good luck. Keep us informed.

Tony,
Just now seeing this old post. I had this injury and was able, after PT sessions and continuing the exercises on my own, to backpack. Agree with Jennifer that good PT sessions can help a lot. Only problem I had was putting my injured rotator cuff arm back through the shoulder strap-help is needed for awhile.
I'm also 5 feet and have several packs size Small she might like to try on loan. PM me or find me in the phone book in Berk. Let's get her ready for the next GGG for sure!

Jane

Jane,

Thanks for comments and offer.

(Always puts a smile on my face about how wonderful BPL people can be).

Yes, the PT that she has been doing for the past few weeks or a month has really helped her with improving her mobility, which lessens the pain.

With any luck, by next year she can borrow my Jam2 pack and avoid spending money on a specialized pack.

Regarding the 2015 Gathering of Gear Geeks (GGG), it is doubtful that it will happen.

Ken is burnt out on organizing it after all of these years.

He really put a ton of effort into organizing them, often starting 6 months in advance.

So I don't blame him at all for wanting to take a break.

Others have been great in helping Ken out, but unless someone take the lead on this, not sure it is going to happen.

I had considered trying to step in to try to fill Ken's shoes, but with my divorce set to be finalized in November and the adjustments that I will be making in my life to take care of my daughter 50% of the time, I think that it would be foolish for me to try to take on organizing the GGG.

Anyway, always good to hear from you.

Tony