Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board backpack/hipbelt question

Here's another one but a bit different. Being a Kern County resident and considering that I do the majority of my hiking here, I've come across the following problem. On many of my hikes I end up having to carry a heavy dense load since I'm usually taking 5-8 liters and yes drinking most of it during warm conditions. Almost all of Kern County is very dry and there aren't any lakes or consistent creeks in the Kern county mountains. 5-6 liters would be typical for an 8 hour hike and 7-8 liters for the hikes that are longer. In my opinion most day packs don't have adequate hipbelts to comfortably support a load like that for long hikes. I have an REI Talus 35 liter pack that is a good size but after a long hike my hip bones are a bit sore. The other pack I use is a Osprey Exposure 50 which is a 50 liter capacity. The Osprey has a great hipbelt and suspension so it's extremely comfortable with the heavy loads but because it is so much larger it can be a little awkward while going through thick brush or during class 3 climbs. Are there any 30-40 liter capacity packs out there with a comfortable and large sized hipbelt? Obviously some of the newer ultra light packs with a tiny fabric hipbelt won't cut the mustard. I'm not concerned about getting a real light pack but it has to be comfortable. I've heard good things about the Granite Gear Precipice and the ArcTeryx Needle 35. I welcome any recommendations.

Rafael...

I have a Camelback Peak Bagger, and it has a substantial belt.

But unfortunately, I don't carry big loads in it, so I keep the belt clipped backwards around the back, so I can't tell you how well it works.

The smaller packs from Osprey still have excellent support. I use the Switch36 when skiing. I allows excellent mobility. It also has an neoprine insulated sleve leading into the shoulder strap to protect the hose and mouthpiece from a water reservoir from freezing. There are smaller sizes such as the Switch26 and other pack series like the Talon with smaller sized packs:
http://www.ospreypacks.com/Packs/

Dale B. Dalrymple
http://dbdimages.com

I am familiar with the suport problem of some hipbelts, I have been using my Jansport backpack until I started noticing the pack wanting to slide up and down my back. I found that the problem was that the hipbelt was sewed to the pack with little pack support. My alternative was the Osprey Aether 70 which I haven't tried yet but,I chose this model because the hipbelt is one molded piece all around the pack. I also looked at some Gregory packs which also have a great support system but, they seemed to weigh a couple of Pounds more than most packs. I agree that most lightweights do not have a great suport system for heavy loads.

i purchased the thick hip pads from gregory. they are the ones used on the denali model. they will slide over the thin waistbelts on most backpacks making them more comfortable. then they come off for lighter loads. best of both worlds

5, 6, or 7 liters to me seems absolutely unfathomable to carry! Considering a "liter" of water weighs right around 2 pounds, plus the container that holds the water, you're talking about nearly 12-15 pounds of water/containers on your back! (My average daypack weighs right around ten pounds). Anyway, I would suggest looking at a pack that at least has some kind of metal frame, which will disperse the load a little bit more. I wouldn't focus so much on the hipbelt if the rest of the pack has a good frame that disperses weight. I think the Mountainsmith Chimera got good reviews for carrying heavy weight. You might want to check out other climbing/alpine packs, which tend to be nimble, but will have the ability to carry weight.

If you're seriously drinking that much water, I would try and down a liter before I hike and save at least 2 pounds off your back! Are you hiking in the desert or what????

Good luck!

Gusto

I use an Osprey Stratos 24 for my dayhikes of Whitney, Gorgonio, Half Dome, and Cactus to Clouds (San Jacinto). I have carried up to five quarts, along with snacks and clothing. The hipbelt on this smaller Osprey is just as good as their larger-sized day packs, and I am very happy with it.

Michael T.

Thanks for the information folks. Keep it coming. The more the better.
Gusto,
Yes indeed, many of my hikes are in the desert because that is my first love. However even the hikes in the Kern County mountains are dry since there is usually no water source every couple of miles like in the high Sierra. I also take plenty of water to be on the safe side in case I was to get injured I would have a little extra rather than just enough for the hike itself. One of my hiking companions is our family pet, an 80 pound german shepperd-lab mix. I also carry his water since I haven't bought a dog pack yet. On the times that my daughters or wife join me on a hike I carry their water and whaterver else they bring to make the experience more pleasant for them. In other words, I'm the family porter. Both my packs have an internal frames which does help tremendously, but like I said on the smaller pack, the hipbelt just isn't adequate for a load like that for any time more than a few hours. A couple of years ago I learned the hard way on Owens peak to have enough water at all times. Although I took enough water for the hike, I cached some of it along the PCT to save weight for the last part of the climb, I underestimated the heat that day and also the thick brush and nature of the climb so to make a long story short I ended up with a liter and a half to last me thorough some of the toughest 4 hours of hiking I have done yet. When I finally got back to the water that I had Cached, it seemed that no amount could quench my thirst. When I finally peed about 3-4 hours later, it came out looking like Newcastle. This was the only time that I thought I might be in serious trouble out here.

Rafael...

Rafael,

Your dilemma is not so different from what ski mountaineers face when choosing a pack.

I often need to carry skis (which are heavy) on my back, even for day tours, but on the descent, I want the pack to be small enough to disappear.

I've found that choosing framed daypacks is the best of a few imperfect solutions. I'm fond of Black Diamond's Speed 30 pack. Also take a look at BD's new Quantum pack. In the 45 liter version, it might be light enough for your needs, and the new suspension and padding is very impressive.

I would emphasize choosing a pack with a quality frame to be sure you're getting the weight spread out over the hip belt properly.

To some extent, if that doesn't work, you may just have to live with a little bruising, unless you go with the larger packs--and their superior load carrying ability.

Have you thought about taking the hipbelt off of a big pack (Dana is my favorite load hauler) and (somehow) mating it to a smaller pack? The most comfortable hipbelts I've found are packs much bigger than you need for a day hike. The other option is to just carry a much bigger pack than you really need, which would add an extra few pounds of pack weight.