Thread: Back pain - pack straps

Evening all - did about 9hrs wandering on the hill yesterday. Awoke today with a tremendous amount of pain where the straps on my pack sit over my shoulders.
Super light load in a day pack.
Never had this before, although this is a lighter day pack that I don't as frequently use.
Any ideas? Just badly fitting?
I've carried 4x the load over longer distances, with no dramas.

Thats really weird that a light pack will do that. I suppose the larger packs are designed to better distribute the weight on your body, especially with properly shaped thick padded straps and a solid frame. If the straps are thin they will cause a lot more pressure on the shoulders where they sit.

Large packs should put most of the weight on your hips, small packs without a hipbelt put the weight on your shoulders. Having the straps too tight can pull backwards on the shoulders causing discomfort, rather than the weight hanging downwards on the shoulders in a more natural position

Buy a better pack.

Osprey don't look very stealthy but for the money they are one of the few companies that design pack suspension correctly which you can buy off the shelf.

I have the same problem due to an old shoulder injury sometimes the weight of a slung rifle added to that of a day pack will set it off. I've found that using a chest pack / big binos harness balances the strain on my shoulder. It may look funny but it works and important things like chocolate and ammunition are right under your nose.

Originally Posted by Cigar

Large packs should put most of the weight on your hips, small packs without a hipbelt put the weight on your shoulders. Having the straps too tight can pull backwards on the shoulders causing discomfort, rather than the weight hanging downwards on the shoulders in a more natural position

Agree, weight should be on hips, not shoulders. Not a problem with a decent waist band on a properly fitting larger pack. With small/light daypacks, it's not an issue either. The problem comes with those in-between size packs (40L) which can take a lot of weight, but don't have a good waist band, or a waist band that is too high to sit properly on the hips.

I suggest alternating the load to your armpits every now and then by walking on your hands.

Originally Posted by 7mmwsm

A video would help us understand what you are recommending Gibo.

Just watch Jiff here, he moves from feet to hands really well.

Twist in the strap or a wrinkle in the padding? Have a large Macpac cascade that I used on my last tramping trip, no issues till day 4 and the padding kept slipping exposing a plastic buckle that tried drilling into my shoulderblade

Originally Posted by 7mmwsm

Yeah alright, but can he carry a pack?

Super light load in a day pack.

Originally Posted by 7mmwsm

Yeah alright, but can he carry a pack?

Doesnt need to, has a nice warm coat and a set of teeth if anything needs cutting

Thanks for the replies guys. I think a few of the points combined will be the issue.
The waist belt section is extremely average, and not padded. And upon reflection on the 2 trips I was doing more climbing than I usually do so had the rifle across the pack also.
I've pulled the trigger on a Bushbuck Slayer as a replacement.
Thanks - I appreciate the opinions.