day to day inconsistent carry with my HMG 3400

[Murali C]

I did a section hike of PCT-Washington this August/September with HMG 3400 from a little North of Hart’s pass to Goat Rocks. The problem I had was that, on some days, the pack carried fantastic to the point that I thought I had forgotten to pack something. And then there were days where it was painful – having to constantly adjust the hip belt, push up the pack as it kept slipping down and some shoulder discomfort. My base weight was around 15 lbs and with 6 days of food, 1L of water, the total pack weight was around 27 lbs – which the pack should be able to handle. My packing didn’t change drastically from day to day. Kept it same as I was trying to capture the excellent carry I had on some days. I find this inconsistent carry very odd. I don’t think I have experienced this with other packs. Curiously, the days I dreaded most – the day after resupply turned out to be the best carry days. And subsequent days when the load reduces, the carry became worse. It was almost like heavier carries were better – which doesn’t make sense. But, I have heard some say that lower weight loads sometimes don’t carry well on some framed packs? I don’t know what to make of this. Appreciate any insights anybody has.

[Alex Wallace]

I can somewhat relate. I had an HMG Porter 3400 that disappeared on my back for some trips while others I was constantly adjusting and shifting it because it wasn’t comfortable. Pack weight was always about the same though, so it was hard to pin down. I just chalked it up to my own perception. I’ve since bought a new pack and no longer deal with it.

[Daryl and Daryl]

I can relate and support your experience.  I’ve been fiddling with myog packs for decades and sometimes experience the same thing.  I hear you!

Small differences in pack adjustments or loading can make big differences in how it feels.  Fit easily trumps weight of pack load.  I’ve sometimes worked harder on the way out, with a much lighter load, than on the way in.

Change for the worse usually accompanies some adjustment I’ve made to improve things……NOT (e.g position of bag on frame, frame on waist belt, addition or deletion of front bag, weight distribution within pack, etc.)

I rarely know exactly what happened to make things worse.  My solution, however, is to pay close attention to things when they feel good and return to all those adjustments right away when things feel bad.

My other strategy is to change only one thing at a time.  Trying to sort out the effects of multiple adjustments can be daunting.

Best of luck.

[SIMULACRA]

I had this effect more so when I had first purchased the pack and hadn’t adjusted the aluminum stays. Took them out, bent and adjusted until they fit the contour of my back in what I considered my “hiking stance” or position. This was a Godsend in the shoulder strap pinching and significantly held my loads better. That being said I still run into it but on a smaller scale. I chalk it up to the reorganization of things as the days go by or perception like Alex was saying.

[Rex Sanders]

Haven’t had that experience with my 2013 HMG Windrider 2400 (the 3400 just has a longer collar). I very rarely adjust the shoulder straps, even with single-trip total pack weight ranges from 14-32 pounds. Didn’t adjust the stays, either. I often loosen or unbuckle the waist belt as TPW drops below 20 pounds.

Maybe I’m lucky?

— Rex

[Murali C]

Thanks all!

Like countless others, I want to like this bag – I have the black version and love its durability and the non-mesh pockets of southwest. Since I was southbound on PCT, met lots of NOBO thru hikers some carrying the black version which looked new even after 2300 PCT miles.

Ryan Jordan has a review of the HMG 3400 Junction and he notes that he measures the L size torso length of the bag to be 19.125 inches while HMG indicates L is between 19-21. He comments that somebody with torson greater than 19.125 may not have a good carry if they chose L based on HMG’s torso recommendations. His torso size is 17.75 and he uses the L even though as per HMG, he should use the M. My torso is similarly 17.75 inches and I have the M.  Maybe there is some torso collapse of the pack and causes the carry to be uncomfortable based on how I pack – maybe I am pushing the food bag on to the frame and causing it to bend a little more and cause torso collapse. I measured the torso on the M to be around 17.75 or so based on Ryan Jordan’s method – from bottom of the shoulder strap attachment to middle of hip belt.

Maybe I should go easy when I place my food and make sure that I am not pressing too much against the stays on the back or overpack horizontally – instead pack vertically so that the stays do not bend and cause torso collapse. My food bag was kept vertically on top of the sleeping bag. Maybe I should keep it horizontally on top of the sleeping bag to not stress the vertical stays. Of course maybe I should size up as well to a Large. That is the only scientific explanation I can think of after I read Ryan Jordan’s review.

[Bob Shuff]

Windrider 2400 here. The first time I packed it the pack barreled. When I switched to using stuff sacs in the bottom, one for my quilt and one for my clothes, filling the bottom horizontally the barreling went away.

Pure speculation this has anything to do with your pack fit. I now make it a point to pack with an emphasis on horizontal structure and that works for me. The extra weight and presumably more stuff may be having a similar effect locking those vertical stays in a better position.

When I was looking for a larger pack for Philmont I considered a larger HMG, but opted for a Hanchor Marl with an extra horizontal stay.

[Nick Gatel]

I had this effect more so when I had first purchased the pack and hadn’t adjusted the aluminum stays. Took them out, bent and adjusted until they fit the contour of my back in what I considered my “hiking stance” or position.

I have ave a lot of curvature in my back. I spent a lot of time talking to Dan McHale about bending the stays… and he got somewhat frustrated with me because I wasn’t listening when fitting his demo pack. I finally did exactly what he told me and bent them to match my back.

Below is a picture of one stay from each of my McHale packs, a LBP36 and a Bump32. The former is almost 9 years old and the latter 8. Zero problems with either pack and loads often vary quite a bit depending on the trip. Also keep in mind this is a custom built pack deigned to fit my body perfectly.

 

[Murali C]

Thanks. Will try bending the frame to fit my back as well. I will not know if these solutions helped as my training hikes of 75 miles before I left for the long section hike didn’t give me any problems. They surfaced only during the 3 week hike….

[Murali C]

Update:

I finally realized that my pack likes to sit below my iliac crest where it does not slip any more. And measuring from that point to my shoulder pushes me to Large size. So I got a 3400 L and I am loving it. It fits me like a glove. My total pack weight is typically in the 24 lbs range for 5 days, 2 L of water – which will be 90% of my trips. This summer I am trying to minimize my resupplies due to COVID and am going to be doing a 9 day resupply which pushes me to 31 lbs which the HMG 3400 L carries very well.  Didn’t bend the stays.

I think my search is over for a backpack. I got one more (they have the 3400 Northrim in lighter DCF for $300 bucks) before they change something:-)

Thanks to all who helped!

 

[SIMULACRA]

Glad you found something that worked for you. Packs can be picky. I was leaning for the Tall myself because I was on the border. But had opted for the Large. This was something on my mind from the beginning as to why it didn’t ride quite perfect. Since I wasn’t able to return, the bending of the stays allowed for this minimal difference to be remedied, and quite well. To be done again, I would have purchased the Tall. Even then, nobodies back curvature is the same and these are generically bent. So I would quite likely still bend.

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