How I lift and put-on a heavy pack

This would be a great post for our sister-site: backpackingheavy.com.  ;-)

I’ve had it so heavy I sat down, got into the harness, rolled to my knees and stood up. That was hauling meal home after a hunt though.

When I was much younger (Uni days) I once had a pack weighing >70 lb for multi-week trip.
(Big machete, full set of rock climbing gear, etc. Exploration stuff.)
There was no way I could swing it onto my back the way Langdon suggested: just not possible. I had to use Luke’s method: sit down against pack, get into straps, and then be pulled up by my friends. It worked ‘OK’. Once on my feet, no problem.
But not today!

Cheers

And then there are very large > 100L portage packs for use in Boundary Waters and similar. With fresh food, adult beverages and a heavy camp kit, these are definitely a 2 person lift before plodding a mile or 2 between water bodies.

I routinely pull long winter trips w/o food resupply so my packs are always in the 90 lb range.  I can’t put it on with the shoulder straps so instead I sit down and step 1 tighten shoulder straps and step 2 lift up onto my right ankle and step 3 heave the load upright in standing position.  It’s all about core muscles and balance.

Thank goodness I’ve never had to do that, nor will I! Sounds like an injury waiting to happen, especially for us older hikers. But if you must, take care!

I think I’ve used Tipi’s technique too. It’s good to know the tricks. I remember my first backpack trip as a teenager. Some girl was hobbling out with no backpack after an injury. Her group had her gear. I doubt anyone person had much (larger group) but if a partner got hurt you could quickly end up with a heavy pack.

With a big pack the trick is get it on, then don’t trip or tip over. This is where trekking poles are awesome.

The trick with a heavy pack is not to carry one. There are no proper lifting techniques. Stand perfectly straight and too much weight will still compress your spine and the discs in your back will grind together. Big and strong. It doesn’t matter.

If the trick is to not carry a heavy pack then you’ve set yourself up to do limited trips of short duration or long trips with frequent in-town food resupplies.  Some of us want to stay out for 3 weeks with one food load and full winter gear ergo we carry some weight.  Remember Tully Henke?  He carried a 95 lb pack for a 40 day trip—
https://backpackinglight.com/packing-light-95-pounds-russia-no-resupply-tully-henke/

Assuming a good frame I don’t get the argument that your spine would compress in a meaningful way. I’ve had roughly 125 pounds in a pack and it was all on my hips. My legs were sore but my back was fine. Terran are you referring to just the lift?

Spinal compression happens as we age no matter what you do. Why risk hastening or exacerbating it? That said, I haven’t looked up studies on whether heavy back loads do so. I just know I feel 100% better with less weight, no matter the pack selection.

If you’ve trained up and maintained consistently, lifting heavy loads is good for your body (including your spine) . Spinal discs can lose height as we age, but that’s not due to over-compression (says a random-internet-physio-stranger)….but I wouldn’t enjoy carrying those loads any distance 🙂. I think the most I walked with in my mad youth was 62lbs – and had to use Luke’s method to get my pack on. The only good thing about it was the floating feeling when I took it off.

Cheers

The only good thing about it was the floating feeling when I took it off.
YES!
I had forgotten that.
Thank you for reminding me.

Cheers

I was hoping this advice would start with a fancy contraption to hoist with a pulley, and end with “….straight on to the back of some poor fool who isn’t you.”

You can strengthen your back. Some folks are very strong. If you’re struggling to get up after donning a pack, you’re probably not one of them.

For packs up to around 50-55 lbs, I can pick up the pack from the ground and onto my shoulders if I keep one fluid motion up onto the right shoulder by putting right hand onto the right shoulder strap and helping with the left hand on the central lifting handle between my shoulder straps.

I occasionally carry a lot of water for desert trips, resulting in a pack of around 60-65 lbs. The best trick to putting this on is to load it on a rock or a table or tailgate such that it’s already elevated. For rests, look for a rock or log that allows you to sit at a comfortable height with the pack on, preferably with the option of leaning back into the pack and even taking off the shoulder straps for a while and taking a nap.

If I have to pick up the pack from ground elevation, I have to resort to sitting down, putting on the pack, rolling over onto my knees, lift up onto one knee then both, with the aid of a walking staff or nearby rock or bush.

For a heavy or light pack I always seek to put 97%+ of the weight on my hips, which requires a good frame and a not-too-wide waistbelt with real structure, not just some fabric with foam inside.

My other secret to carrying a heavy pack is to be VERY careful about breaking yourself in at the beginning of the trip. For me that consists of initially taking sit-down breaks every 5-10 minutes or so, often with a short nap, then increasing times gradually. Frequent sit-downs allows you to take the load off your hips, decompress the muscles and let them get accustomed to it. If I don’t do this I’ll have severe pain and cramps in my hip flexors etc.

I don’t get the negativity.

I try to carry as light as possible, that’s why I hang around here. But sometimes my lightweight mindset just makes my pack lighter than it otherwise could have been, but still not light.
Backpacking with my kids in the early days I carried everything for 3 persons. I used my 135L Norrøna Para Ranger stuffed to the brim.
Getting it on and off, definitely was a project in and of itself. Good technique was crucial.

There’s also all the heavy loads you don’t plan for.
I’ve carried my injured English setter (dog) down from the mountains after a hunt.
I’ve carried someone else’s gear when they’ve been injured or exhausted. It happens.
Knowing good ways to put on a heavy backpack doesn’t hurt anyone, even if one prefers- and  mostly carry much lighter packs.

Good point, Haakon. Different weight needs for different folks. One I’ll add is that if you want your horizons to open up to explore a lot of wonderful, dry desert country, you’ll have to carry water. A lot of it.

Haakon, your posts reminds me of a 9 day trip I did in Upper Bald River wilderness when my backpacking dog had a stroke and I had to carry him out—a 50 lb dog with my usual heavy pack.  He made it out and lived another full year.

Kelty suggests having your partner help you…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfg3gXEfxTo

Not negative. Factual. There may be circumstances leading to a heavy load. There are some folks with backs stringer than mine. I guess putting a pack on any way you can is a method

Promoting it on an ultralight sight just seems a little silly.

Kelty suggests having your partner help you…

Wow, they really went all-in on April Fools.

There are varying levels of heavy. Some heavy, you put on while upright, some heavy requires different scrunching techniques, some require you to put it on on the ground and get on your feet .. and then really really heavy , requires you to find a place to put it , to then shoulder it .

This was not ment just for a heavy pack,  the point I was  trying to make was just a good way to lift and put on your backpacks.

M Langdon.