Where Exactly Should a Hip Belt Rest

[Lowell k]

I am wondering what the ideal placement of a hip belt is. All of my belts seem to rest on my buttocks and about 1/3 of the way down on my pelvis. I have seen some pictures showing the belt should be in this location, and others showing it should be higher. They seem closer to position B than A (McHale picture reference), and when I adjust the torso length so that they are closer to A the belt constricts my stomach but rides better on my hips.

 

[John S.]

The hip belt should rest around “B”.

[Jerry Adams]

This has always been confusing to me.  If you can find a position that’s comfortable, then go with that.  Try different places.

https://sectionhiker.com/backpack-hip-belt-fit-guide/

“You can usually find the front of your hip bones, by running a finger down the front of your body, between your collar bone and shoulders (narrower on men, often a bit wider on women). The front edge of your hip bones will be located above the middle of your thighs, approximately 2 inches lower than your belly button.

When fitting a hip belt, you want the padded wings to cover your front hip bones completely.”

I think that’s what I do.  My bulging belly is just above the hip belt.  It kind of rolls over and rests on the hip belt.

[David D]

It depends on body type

I can’t carry much weight on my shoulders due to an old motorcycle crash, and my preference carrying most all the load on the hips is with the iliac crest in the middle of the belt.  This is inline with Osprey’s and Gregory’s recommendations

[Lowell k]

I have been trying to get the middle of the belt around B but it doesn’t stay there unless I tighten the hip belt to an uncomfortable position. I think the issue also has something to do with the torso length not being micro-adjustible (HMG pack, Flex-capacitor pack) and maybe the padding being too much.

[DWR D]

“My bulging belly is just above the hip belt. It kind of rolls over and rests on the hip belt.”

Jerry… I believe the medical term for that is “Dunlaps Disease”… er… that’s when your belly dun laps over your belt… :)))

[Todd T]

I agree it should go around B if possible, but anyone with a bit of a man paunch will necessarily wear it lower.  So yes, it can depend on body type.

[DWR D]

If you have a significant belly and no-show hips, it is a problem… which seems to require tightening the hip belt very tight to minimize it slipping down over your hips and thus putting weight on your shoulders. What helped for me was an ‘arched’ or cantilever pack… like zPacks where you can ‘arch’ the carbon fiber stays… or Osprey with the external pre-arched external wire frame… this cantilever shape serves to take some of the stress off your hips and put that on the small of your back. Also like the zPacks belt, two belt straps help to kinda shape the belt to ‘cup’ the top of your hip bones… At least, that’s the way it works for me and I don’t have to hurt my hips so much by extreme belt tightening…

But every body is different… like boots, fit is everything in a pack…

[Bob Shuff]

I’ve struggled with hip pain and fatigue when backpacking. I talked to a guy that used to run a great shop in Mt Laguna, right off the PCT. He was fitting me for an HMG Windrider. I had a L torso pack on and he said I had my belt too low, but also said that wasn’t uncommon since my belly was in the way of where a skinnier person would position it.  I got that pack and it felt comfortable at the time, but I still wonder if this low position is the source of the fatigue as the miles and hours add up.

[David Hartley]

I think most manufacturer’s fit guides are based on position B – but like many – I also have a bit of a belly that seems to interfere with that. If I try and start at position B the buckle wants to slip just below my belly, and as I hike the hip belt sides gradually slip closer to position A. Even when I was at my skinniest I found that tightening the belt enough to stay at position B was uncomfortable. It’s a constant battle – made worse by the fact that the gossamer gear packs I use (and otherwise like) have kind of weak hip belts. I have largely given up on trying to maintain position B at this point. I buy packs with a long enough torso so they are not hanging on my shoulders if they slip down a bit and try and keep the belt just tight enough so the pack doesn’t slip down so far it is riding on my butt.

[Jerry Adams]

my belly isn’t that bad, no concavity

if your body gets wider below the center of the hip belt, then it will tend to stay in place rather than shift down

[Matthew / BPL]

I have a belly. I wear by hip belt lower than “normal”. I have found that I prefer a softer, padded hipbelt that is around 3” tall rather than a more structured, taller hipbelt. 1.5” seatbelt type belts (older GG Kumo) are wonderful too.

The Atom+ hipbelt is wonderful for me. I like the padded wings on MLD packs too. I don’t care for the structured approach that ULA uses.

Carrying a lighter load helps too 🙂

[Bill Budney]

I have been increasingly drawn to SeekOutside’s thinking about backpack construction. Their advice is to wear the belt as you like it; just be sure that the frame is tall enough that the load lifters work when the frame has settled onto your hips after walking for a while.

I love their ability to make the frame longer in the field depending on whether you’re packing lunch or some big game (that you are judiciously culling for the Fish and Wildlife Service). It seems more realistic to me than the typical advice from most pack makers. (Also makes the pack easier to loan, swap, give away, or sell.)

[Sam Farrington]

Lowell K,

The fanlike bone, one of which you mark at ‘B’, and is the same on the other side, is what most people think of as the hips.  But as your diagram shows, the legs join the hips at a lower point.  The crest at ‘B’ is called the Iliac crest, and the musculature is quite indented above it, so it is natural to call it a ‘hip,’  so I will too.  It certainly can provide a place to rest the hip belt for many; but not everyone agrees.

A thread was posted last year in which the author felt his MYOG pack rested on the sacral area, which is centered just below the spinal cord.  Am not sure this is the best place to rest most of pack weight, compared with the Iliac crests.  And to place pack weight over the sacral area, it would tend to slide downward, and pull the hipbelt against the tummy, especially for those without well developed musculature.

After much pondering, I decided that the best place to place pack weight was evenly above the crests.  So taking some ideas from the late Jack Stephenson at Warmlite, packs were designed that rested the pack weight as evenly as possible around the torso just above the crests.  To accomplish this sidearms were made that eliminated the front buckles, and could be tightened to just the right point to spread the belt pressure over as much of the muscle mass as possible.

The design eliminated all slipping at the back, and made my long backpacks far more enjoyable, especially in earlier years when packs and gear were much heavier. Side-arm packs were often found in shops years ago; however, none of the designs seemed to effectively keep the center of pack gravity close to the back, with the ability to tighten the belts on the fly to the most comfortable grip.  With lighter packs nowadays, this may not be as important; but packs used to be much heavier, and something had to be done.  Now I still enjoy these packs, and am working on an even lighter one.  Here are a few of the older, heavier ones:

Note the suspended mesh backbands that protect the spine and were also a big help.

[Lowell k]

Would a full wrap belt slip less? I wore a Hill People Gear pack a long time ago and I don’t recall the slipping being an issue, but I also had a smaller belly.

 

[Lowell k]

[Matthew / BPL]

As a short guy with a belly, I doubt I could inhale deeply with that much hipbelt. I’m jealous of people who can wear a tall belt like that and still inhale.

[Lowell k]

What if there was a second strap running from the shoulder strap to the front of the hip belt? Meaning, existing shoulder straps attach to the back of a hip belt and a second one would attach to the front. Kind of like suspenders for pants.

[DWR D]

Ok… master of the obvious here… but can’t help pointing out the elephant in the room here…  Rather than all these complicated and expensive pack/belt solutions (most of which add more weight)… how about just getting rid of the belly????  And that would save a bunch of weight that ya don’t have to carry… Okay… I’m a terrible guy for bringing it up, eh?  But healthier and packing less weight…

[Axel J]

I happen to be somewhat slim for my age but I assume we are talking body types here. Weight loss is a different story, running a wide spectrum of reasons why its not so easy to lose inches in the waist area.

[AK Granola]

This question made me laugh, because years ago I went into REI and got “fitted” for a pack by a guy who had done a lot less backpacking than I had. He firmly believed that the pack hipbelt should go right at my belly button. I pointed out that my hip bones were a good three inches lower, and he insisted that my hips were right next to my belly button and not where I thought they were. I wasn’t going to drop trou right there in the store to prove my point. But I told him my anatomy was significantly different than his! What a hoot. And then didn’t buy a pack that day.

Anyway I generally have the hip belt right at the top of my iliac crest, but I often readjust both the hip belt, shoulder straps and chest strap throughout each day of my hike, to give ease to various points – back, lower back, hips, shoulders, whatever. Keeping your pack in the same place for 10 hours of hiking a day is like sitting in your office chair – you need a break, you need to change your position, to prevent aches and pains. At least I do. So while it mostly rides in the same place, at a given time it might be above or below. Works for me.

[David Hartley]

As far as just getting rid of the belly – its not like I have a giant beer gut or am not fit and healthy (other than a decrepit lower back, but that’s a different discussion). Its sort of a family body shape characteristic – skinny dudes with a small belly. Like I said – even when I am at my skinniest it is still there to some extent. I suspect it is a combination of the belly AND the shape of my hip bones that just don’t let the hip belt grab well overlapping the top of the iliac crest.

The only pack that I could maintain that higher position with was a Kelty external frame pack many years ago that had a massive hip belt, but even then I had to pull it tight enough that it made my hips sore. Occasionally I have looked for a replacement hip belt with more structure or the double webbing straps that would fit the Gossamer Gear packs and never really found anything suitable.

And no doubt pack weight contributes – on trips when I can keep the total weight to less than 25 lbs its much better. But on longer trips (6-7 nights) the food weight can push things closer to 30 lbs, which starts to overwhelm the GG hip belts.

[Matthew / BPL]

Warning: rambling response…

I had a belly when I 20 years old, vegan, and worked as a bike messenger in NYC 20 hours per week. I got a lot of cardio back then.

I had a belly a few years ago when I was able to hike 25–30 miles/week. (my current work situation cuts into hiking time these days). Not vegan any more but I do eat carefully and intentionally. My physician feels good about my food choices.

I’ve never been hugely overweight. I am carrying a few more pounds right now then when I messenegered or was able to hike more. My BMI was under 26 at my last physical a month ago.

People have different body types. Much to my frustration this appears to be my body type. So yes, I have non-standard preferences for my hipbelt location.

Please let’s not turn this into a debate about whether all people can get rid of their 100% of their belly. Instead, let’s presume that our members are physically active and that different body types exist.

[Lowell k]

What about belt pad thickness? For me, the thinner HMG belt slips less than my thicker Mystery Ranch and Flex Capacitor belts. I think the thinner belt conforms to my pelvic bones anatomy vs. a thicker padded belt that requires me to cinch down a lot to get a tight fit. And, I think this tight fit feels more like a squeeze than it should.

What about double straps? It seems like these divide the belt into two areas of constriction; the upper part and lower part. My single belts allow for constriction mid-belt. In this set up doesn’t it mean that the parts above and below the mid-belt constricted area are not contributing as much to the purpose of the belt?

What about belt strap width? A belt strap (not the padded part) that is 1.5 inches wide might not perform as well as one that is 3.5 inches wide?

[Bob Shuff]

I re-read the OP posts and finally watched the video, which was very helpful.

As another HMG fan, and one fitted by a person I thought knew what he was doing, I will say their packs don’t have the micro adjustments available with load lifters, interchangeable belts (I almost ordered that option) or torso length adjustments. Even so, their packs have been some of the most comfortable I have used on the trail, until I felt this hip numbness on my last few treks. I don’t know if my body was changed to cause that issue, but proper positioning and not over tightening is a concern for me even more now. I would think most people’s bodys change with age, weight and levels of exercise, but I always thought the bone structure was mostly set in early adulthood, and would set the fit of a pack.

I don’t know the OPs situation beyond what’s written, but I really appreciate this post and I’m still following closely to learn and apply this to my circumstances.

[Author]

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