Bushwalk Australia

I have done 5 walks with my new backpack now and have noticed a few things. I am a new bush camper so am still learning the ropes. My backpack is a Black Wolf 65L McKinley.

For my first walk, I loaded the backpack with about 12Kg - just as a test and did about 20km. No problems at all. Backpack comfortable and basically just forgot about it.

Second and third walks - about 15 kg. Not good - sore neck and could not get the pack sitting right on the hips. Played with the back adjustment (making smaller). Thought it might be load position issues.

Forth and fifth walks - 16+kg. Very hard. Pack kept riding down over the hips. Paid a bit more attention this time and noticed that if I pulled the shoulder straps down (thus taking more load on the shoulders) I could hold the pack up enough to feel comfortable. But the shoulder straps kept working loose and the pack kept slipping down over the hips. I found myself shrugging the pack up and then tightening the shoulder straps every 5-10 minutes.

These two straps are the ones attached to the shoulder pads and are to the left and right of the body and run down to the waist area. They pull the shoulder pads in tight.

My first concern is that these straps keep working loose. There is a fair bit of weight in the pack, but I feel they should not work loose. My other thought is that I am doing something wrong. I am taking a lot of weight on the shoulders when perhaps I should not be?

Another concern is that the pack does not like sitting on my hips for some reason. I am a pretty portly fellow, but my hips are a pretty standard size. The Black Wolf has some pretty good padding on the waist belt and it all looks good. But perhaps this padding is too thick and not allowing a good grip on the hips? I keep tightening the waist belt, and I can get it very tight, but it does not seem to be enough to support the weight of the pack for long.

I have done the walk around the store with weights in various backpacks. I don't think that would have shown up this sort of problem. First of all, no store has yet been able to put 15+kg in the pack. Then you are just walking around a store with no real effort involved. When I first put the pack on and adjust everything, it is all ok and comfortable. But after I do some climbing (usually) it all goes to pot. Perhaps the shifting weight of the backpack works the straps loose or something.

Anyway, I am hoping the more experienced members of this forum will laugh at my naivety and can suggest the obvious solution! Ta.

Sounds like the back length is too long. Is it adjustable?

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Strider wrote:Sounds like the back length is too long. Is it adjustable?

Yes, I have been adjusting it down bit by bit. Will try a bit more.

Some of the cheaper brands of buckle do slip, especially with some styles of webbing. Whilst it is not an issue with side compression straps etc, it is very annoying on shoulder straps. The best ones have a deeper profile, and have teeth on them. Unfortunately, I suspect you may need to replace the buckles - Paddy Pallin normally sells them.

As to the waist band, it depends on design. The better designs have a vertical "curve" designed into them to sit on your "hips" (iliac crests), which prevents them slipping down. A waist belt with no curve will tend to slip down off the top of your iliac crests.

A

Some good points andrewa. I checked the Black Wolf, and it does seem to have inward tilting waist straps. It is a pretty good looking pack, in fact. Does not seem as cheap as the price (around $200) would indicate.

The buckles are sewn in - cannot see anyway of replacing them. Again, they seem pretty robust and good quality, but hard to tell visually. They certainly do not slip if I just tug on them.

I will keep adjusting the back height adjustment down as that seems a good suggestion.

Check the load lifters as well. Generally, short straps on pack, close to where shoulder straps join pack frame etc. These will pull the top of the pack in towards your shoulders. They can slip during a walk and will result in the weight pulling back on your shoulders (making neck and shoulders ache) rather than riding down on the hips.

Be mindful that overtightening load lifters will also put excessive strain on the shoulders. The trick is to have them snugged up just past the point at which they are loose.

S2S make field replaceable buckles if you do decide to replace these.

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Kneighbour, the other remedy I once used was to sew another bit of 1" webbing onto the strap which attaches the lower section of the shoulder strap to the pack, so that there was double thickness webbing going through the buckle. This increases the friction. You may not even need to sew it - it could just be run through the buckle.

A

Strider wrote:Be mindful that overtightening load lifters will also put excessive strain on the shoulders. The trick is to have them snugged up just past the point at which they are loose.

S2S make field replaceable buckles if you do decide to replace these.

I have checked the load lifters - they seem ok. I have seen the videos where you are meant to pull them in until the shoulder straps start to come away from the shoulders. I tend to pull them in as far as possible as I cannot see them when I am wearing the pack. They don't seem to become loose.

Pardon my ignorance - who is S2S? Edit - worked it out Sea To Summit....thanks

andrewa wrote:Kneighbour, the other remedy I once used was to sew another bit of 1" webbing onto the strap which attaches the lower section of the shoulder strap to the pack, so that there was double thickness webbing going through the buckle. This increases the friction. You may not even need to sew it - it could just be run through the buckle.

A

Brilliant idea. Will certainly see if I can attempt this.

You guys are great - I was worried that my problems were caused by my general ignorance (which still might be the case). But it seems that my issues are somewhat common and that makes me feel a lot better.

Another trick with loose buckles/ slippery webbing is to apply some diluted silicon to the webbing; although that is a short term fix and needs to be applied again after a while

Also consider how you are packing your pack, you may find that as your load increases that you may need to place some of the heavy items up top or further down in the pack. This is all trial and error and is as much about your biomechanics as it is about the pack. You will find guides online that advocate a specific way to pack a pack but I have found that as my load goes up toward 20kg, I need to place heavier items in different places.


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andrewa wrote:Kneighbour, the other remedy I once used was to sew another bit of 1" webbing onto the strap which attaches the lower section of the shoulder strap to the pack, so that there was double thickness webbing going through the buckle. This increases the friction. You may not even need to sew it - it could just be run through the buckle.

I'd sew the webbing, as if it's loose it could slip out. I've sewn extra webbing and it works. A domestic machine will do the job, but you need a lot of table for the pack to flap around. Another solution is a second buckle, not sure what they are called. These have three bars of plastic with the middle one usually offset. If there's enough strap, put a buckle in and back thread it, locking the strap. Surgery to remove the buckle is a last resort.

Triglides are the buckles you mean, I think.