An interesting article on the impact of using hipbelts.

I work on a University campus and see 100s of different people of every different body type, size, shape, height and weight walking everyday.  Every one of them walks differently.  And most of them are wearing backpacks without a hip belt.  I cannot imagine how one might reasonably expect to generalize that movement, or how it affects/is affected by a backpack, much less come to some universally applicable conclusions or methods about what is “right” or “wrong” or “efficient” or “inefficient”.

If one wishes to make broad sweeping generalizations about how the human body carries weight while ambulating that is one’s prerogative.  However one should not be too quick to expect those willing to think for themselves to quickly accept such generalizations.

Everyone is different.  If something works well for you then absolutely do that.  But don’t expect it to work for everyone else.

Your leg muscles are the most powerful in your body by some order of magnitude. I was taught as a lad, ‘weight on the frame, frame on the hips’. (in the frame days). what that meant was, the weight is carried by your legs more than your upper body. Again, because leg muscles are the most powerful in your body.

I believe you need side to side motion or thrusting as you define it, to maintain your balance. This happens, mostly autonomically, whether you carry a load or not. Your legs and buttocks pick this up. Without a hip belt, this can get fairly extreme when rock hopping, up and over blow downs, bushwhacking and scrambling. As you say, that is one of the reasons I choose a narrow pack and one with a hip belt. Balance is important to me, so I usually only carry about 4 pounds maximum in my side pouches and about 18-19 pounds centered in my 11″ pack.

Everyone is different.  If something works well for you then absolutely do that.  But don’t expect it to work for everyone else.

Useful concept.  ;^)

JCH: On the contrary. The majority of all humans walk in an “S” shaped path. Starting at the heel the foot goes into pronation and then to the outer metatarsal, then across the forefoot pad and then up the big toe. Very few humans walk on their forefoot pads, an advantage to runners limiting the time from one foot to the other. I am not generalizing, I’m merely presenting facts.

James Marco: “I believe you need side to side motion or thrusting as you define it, to maintain your balance.” The forward and reverse trunk horizontal rotation – thrusting if you will, I believe is a necessary motion to move efficiently not a function of balance.,

S. Steele, yes, quite. I fractured my hip while running about 15 years ago and found that normal walking/maintaining balance was difficult without swaying my hips side to side. When I carry a pack, the same applies. But like a runner, I push off with my toes and forefoot making each stride a flowing rotation under my center of balance. (Though, after several drinks I’ve been known to sway in an “S” shaped stride.) This “thrusting” you are talking about is more of a smooth, 3D rotation to facilitate that.

One of the reasons I like hip belts and flexible packs is BECAUSE they move with me. They become a part of my body as I walk without involving my shoulders and spine. Like I say, about 1/3 or less of the load is actually on my shoulders, ie <10lbs. My shoulder harness is loose and puts no real weight on my shoulders/spine. They are free to twist and move however is necessary, in 99.9% of the cases. They really only pick up any load when I am climbing (blow downs for example,) or, if I stumble (usually because I am looking somewhere instead of at my footing.) Breathing is unrestricted. Any bending is compensated by normal bodily tilting (not really bending) in the direction of travel, and, my hiking staff (usually even with or behind me.) I don’t think about the pack. Otherwise, I am working at it, and, this is wrong to me.

James Marco: I generated a BPL forum titled THE INEFFICIENT BACKPACK. You may have an interest in reviewing it. I have defined seven bio-mechanical inefficiencies of the backpack and invented a pack that eliminates all seven of the inefficiencies. The pack is designed for day and an overnight usage as it currently limits volume because my many hiking years of experience and development of gear has been refined along with sufficient hiking knowledge and experience to be able to limit the capacity of the pack. The pack provides for a bivy, poncho tarp, lite parka, balaclava, gloves, food and many more items for survival, hiking, running, cycling, skiing, snow boarding, etc.. The pack allows complete freedom of motion.

Jim, you might try lifting your pack above your hips to obtain a normal hiking pace versus leaving it sit on your hips. You will gain the instant ability to move faster. It might double your current speed. I’ve proven the speed gain to others.

OK, last week for four days I backpacked the Grand Canyon from the North Rim’s North Kaibab Trail down to the Colorado River and up the Bright Angel trail. I did it with an Osprey EXOS 58 pack, which is the most comfortable pack I’ve ever used and that includes my old Dana Designs Terraplane. I carried 28 lbs. at the start on the North Rim.

With “moderately large herniated L-4 and L-5 discs” I use a pack one size larger than standard to be sure the shoulder straps bore as little weight as possible. And it works or else I would have had some nasty siatic pain running down my legs from compressed discs at the L-4 & L-5 area.

Keeping weight OFF the spinal column and shoulder girdle and ON the large hip bones transfers weight to the legs properly in terms of comfort and health (compressing spinal discs is not healthy).

Why did backpackers snd others needing to carry loads over 20 lbs. turn in droves to the Kelty pack frame in the ’60s? Because it was <span style=”text-decoration: underline;”>comfortable,</span> due in large part to the padded hip belt..   

And I mean far more comfortable than even the tubular framed surplus 10th Mountain Division “Bergans” type rucksacks. They had a frame but NO hip belt made to accept a load. (Don’t ask about my Boy Scout experience using this torture device.)

ADJUSTABILITY:

A pack harness & back pad need to be adjustable, not only to the hiker’s physique but adjustable during the hike. Ex.-> Backpacking down the North Kaibab trail for two days meant I slacked off my lift straps (located above the shoulder straps) and let my pack lean back a bit. This gave me better balance and my sternum strap, also loosened a bit, kept sway to a minimum.

Then on steeper uphills the last two days I pulled my pack closer to my back by tightening the lift straps – again for batter balance as well as better control against lateral swaying.

Eric Blumensaadt: There is no question that a hip belt is a practical solution for loads greater than 20 or so pounds. The hip belt additionally reduces swaying of thrusting loads as you move.

My purpose was to make you and others aware that when the pack sits at your hips it eliminates your ability to move at a natural pace which is faster when the pack is above the hips. Additionally, unless your heaviest item(s) are not located centrally in your pack you can expect more thrusting of your pack which consumes your energy and adds fatigue as you expend energy returning the pack load back to an unfulfilled return to the neutral position

The hip belt solves two problems but is associated with a long pack located at the hips that reduces freedom of motion and your potential speed if you give two damns about it. Six other elements of the backpack as well reduce freedom of motion that limits your potential speed and generates fatigue. I have focused on elements of hiking that I call “friction” – elements regarding how we move over what type terrain, what we wear and what we carry that reduces potential speed, endurance and comfort. I have found the backpack to be the major “friction” generator.

My Dear Mr. Steele,

I agree with you about most hip-belted back packs consuming some energy from the pack working “against” the hiker and that is why some pack makers have made their hip belts with a central pivot point.

This permits the pack to remain fairly vertical while the hips rise and fall and twist fore and aft in the walking gait. It’s this “rising and falling” (of the iliac crests) and the “twisting fore and aft” that must be adequately accommodated to reduce using needless energy fighting the pack.

Maybe some university can be engaged by the military (much deeper pockets than, say, TNF or Osprey) to put big bucks into this kinesthetic research problem of adequate load bearing that accommodates both gait-induced pelvic movement and various body builds. We can only burn candles and pray.

Over ten years ago I started on a long section of the AT with a Go -lite Breeze -no hip belt. I had a couple of stumbles and without a hip belt the backpack goes over your head taking most of you with it; therefore I had a light hip belt added in town one time. On the AT the most I carried was about 35lb total weight after a five day resupply so my base weight would be around 20lb

I now use an Zpacks ArcBlast and am very happy with the frame set up and a hip belt. I like pockets on a hip belt. My base weight is now around 12lb.I also have ULA Circuit which is good but I prefer the ArcBlast.

Stuart: It would appear from your description that a sternum strap wasn’t included in your Go -lite Breeze backpack which would have prevented the pack from going over your head. A hip belt is of value when your pack thrusts left and right as you move at a reasonable pace and your pack weighs over 20 or so pounds to transfer weight to your hips. My interest as a BPL member is carrying loads less than 20 pounds with a pack designed to essentially eliminate the need for a hip belt.  My pack and loading design reduces thrusting.