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Posted by Bill S on October 26, 2007 at 3:13:07 pm EDT
In reply to Adjusting Backpack correctly?? posted by Gbrian on October 26, 2007 at 7:51:47 am EDT

Adjusting it yourself is pretty straight-forward, although the "associates" at most stores (even many outdoor specialty stores) don't know how t do even the first steps. There have been several posts on Trailspace on how to do the adjustments in the past, but not remembering where they are, here are the basic steps:

1. Load your gear in the pack correctly (heavier items close to your back and high, lighter items low and farther from your back - actually this is high density and low density, since lots of small items that are individually light can add up to a small, very dense, very heavy group). If you are going to be scrambling or skiing, the heavy items go low, but still closer to your back, to keep your center of gravity close in but low.

2. Tighten all the "packaging" straps - top of the bag, cinch down the lid, tighten the straps that shrink the bag. This makes the load more compact and firm so it will stay close to your back and won't bounce around.

3. Loosen all "carrying" straps - shoulder, waist, "load lifters", sternum strap, etc (Osprey is pretty good about keeping these somewhat to a minimum, but still has an excess in my opinion).

4. Put the loaded pack on and fasten the waist strap. It should ride at the top of your pelvis (the hip bones at your sides. This way, your legs and hips carry most of the load, since they are the strongest part of your body. You should just be able to insert a finger inside the places where the belt padding contacts your hips - not too tight and not too loose. You want it to hold the load in place without cutting off circulation.

5. Tighten the shoulder straps to pull the pack against your back.

6. Fasten the sternum strap and tighten it to keep the shoulder straps from shifting outward, but not so tight to restrict breathing.

7. Tighten the load lifters to take a little of the load from directly bearing on your shoulders.

At this point, get a look at yourself sideways in a mirror. The shoulder straps should go over your shoulder then down slightly in back. They should not go straight back from the top of your shoulder or, worse yet, upwards to the attachment point. The load lifter straps should go up from the top of your shoulder at a 20-45 degree angle, not straight up and not straight back from your shoulder. This will tell you if the pack is indeed the right size.

From your shirt size, I would expect you would need a "large" pack, though you could use a "medium". Your back measurement should be from the C7 vertebrum (that's the large one at the base of your neck in back) to the top of your pelvis where the spine attaches. The 19.5 inches also indicates you could take a large, but could use a medium. There is enough individual variation that you really would have to carry a load around for a while for each one to see. My Osprey is a large, and my back measurement is close enough to yours to say "large" probably is ok.

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