L5-S1 laminectomy done 30 years back: HOW TO CHOOSE A BACKPACK?

For anyone with back issues, it’s well worth checking out the Aarn Bodypacks. The company is based in NZ but they have agents in the US and Europe.

They use an innovative front-pocket concept to balance the load so your centre-of-gravity isn’t affected by the forward lean inevitable with conventional packs. This means that all the weight is channeled to your hips – the shoulders don’t need to take any significant weight at all.

The concept was developed in conjunction with a reputed ergonomics lab, and for non-trivial loads it offers striking advantages in terms of balance, fatigue, pain and injury. It’s also very convenient to have everything you need for the day within easy reach in your front pockets.

Some of their models have form-fitting frames the hug the back, but others have stays that you could shape to suit. I would contact them for advice.

I’m a great fan – I’ve walked for weeks on end with cold-weather loads without a single ache or pain. You’ll see objections here from people who haven’t given them a fair trial – eg you can’t see your feet, they are too warm etc. None of these are true, provided you get them properly dialled in and persist long enough to overcome the initial unfamiliarity.

I had a L4/L5 microdiscectomy a few years ago that came with A LOT of sensitivity to the area of the original injury and surgery location.  Packs with stays pushing in that zone aren’t comfortable at all for me.

I’d take a hard look at the ULA Circuit (I bent the stay on mine away from my spine a little in the lower section), ULA Ohm, Durston Kakwa, and maybe the Osprey Exos.  I don’t have experience with the Exos post surgery, but I’ll bet the trampoline back is pretty comfy.

The Kakwa was a nice pack, but I found the hipbelt a little too small and the frame to be squeaky while walking.  Also, I didn’t care for the yoke shoulder harness as much as traditional pack straps.  It is stupid light and carries weight very well.  The frame does a good job of being close to but not on your spine.

ULA’s packs fit pretty wonderfully, I think their hipbelts are about the best there is.

@Geoff Caplan & @Jason, thank you for your valuable inputs. I will explore the options suggested. It is wonderful to have people with similar conditions sharing their insights. Thanks.

I had a herniation at L5-S1 in 2015.  Since then I’ve used a LuxuryLite frame with a single big pack bag attached (modified from a backpack with the shoulder straps cut off).  Absolutely zero weight on my shoulders, it all falls on the hips.

http://www.luxurylite.com/index.html

Siddhartha,

Eons ago, I fell out of love with hip belts, mostly because of the pressure on the tummy and shoulders; so took a design from the late Jack Stephenson, owner of Warmlite, which at last check was still in business, but had moved to Colorado from NH.

The only solution I could find was to use sidearms connected to the lower sides of the pack frame, such that all of the weight from the hip belt rested on the hips with no contact against the spine.  In Jack’s design, the hipbelt was divided into two pieces, one on each side:

And the vertical tube behind the spine was removed, leaving only a horizontal tube.  The two belt attachments were separated on the horizontal tube so nothing would touch the spine when the forward ends of the sidearms were cinched snugly, and did not touch the hipbelt, allowing it to rotate freely.  In that way, the sidearms did not have to be locked, and the hipbelt was held snug over the hips by a cinching arrangement.  At first I used Jansport pack frames because they worked and offered parts for the sidearms.  The result completely changed my backpacking  for the better.

More recently, I took a fall coming off a ladder while repairing the roof, and my feet got tangled in the ladder, leading to a burst compression fracture at the L-2 vertebra.  But after many months of rest and physical therapy, was able to walk without pain, and in less than a year was backpacking again.  Kudos to Dr. Abdu at NH’s Hitchcock Clinic.

However, the pack frame was redesigned to an hourglass shape that kept the center of gravity forward so the chest straps would not pull backward away from the back when the pack was loaded.  Also, a suspended mesh full back band was attached to the hourglass frame to add comfort and protection for the spine.

More recently, with the help of Roger Caffin’s skill bending Easton,  .340″ outer diam. alloy tubing, the 5/8″ diam. Jansport  tubing was replaced with the much lighter Easton, cutting the empty pack weight by over half.  But that remains a work in progress that has been delayed by a tent project.

You might want to contact Warmlite in Colorado and obtain a catalog.  They sold me some parts a few years ago, but don’t know if they are still making packs, or if their current design fully protects the spine.  Note that the original models did not move the center of gravity sufficiently forward.  I followed a hiker wearing a Jackpack uphill to crest the Continental Divide, and could see the center of gravity was too far back and pulling him backward.  The solution to this was shaping the hourglass frame to keep the weight forward.

If you have luck with the other designs mentioned in this thread, please post the results here.  Thanks.

Sid,

1st, congrats on the upcoming retirement! I hope to be in the same spot when I hit 60.

If you don’t mind why or what caused the surgery when you where 30?

Only reason for asking is I have some bulging discs and back issues. I’m avoiding any type of back surgery bc everyone I know that has had any type of back surgery is worse off after the fact then before, if anything maybe slightly better or the same. So I’m just generally curious.

“I had a herniation at L5-S1 in 2015.  Since then I’ve used a LuxuryLite frame with a single big pack bag attached ”

This is almost exactly what I do. The LL hip belt is extremely comfortable, and the frame holds the pack lightly on and in places off the back to allow for air circulation. As DK says, weight is entirely off the shoulders and spine and onto the hips. In  other words, the leg muscles carry the weight. And the legs are by far the most powerful muscles in the body.

As an added benefit, the flange on the bottom of the LL frame holds a horizontal bear canister perfectly. Like DK, I use a large frameless big pack strapped onto the LL frame (it’s simple  and works well..) The bear canister fits inside the pack on the bottom. then the pack rests on the bottom flange.

I have mild scoliosis in my very lower back. I need to keep the weight of my pack off of my spine, for sure.

I found the original soft canisters to move too much to work. I’ve simply strapped a (now) ancient Mariposa frameless sack to the LL frame, using the shoulder straps as attachment. Easy peasy, no shifting around. the whole thing comes in around 2  1/2 pounds, including the hefty and luxurious hip belt.