To determine the right size for a backpack, measure your torso from near the neck to around 4 inches above where hip bones meet. This measurement will help you select an appropriately sized external frame backpack or internal frame pack for hiking or camping trips lasting several days or more. Weekend-efficient packers using newer, less-bulky gear can keep things light on 1- to 3-night trips by using a pack in this range.
Before purchasing a backpack, measure your body to find the size of pack that is right for you. Internal frame packs fit closely to your body, so an exact torso measurement is necessary. External frame backpacks can be found at the top of your shoulders and at the base of your neck when your head is tilted forward. The Kelty Trekker 65 is an external frame backpack good for hauling heavy loads and bulky gear. It has an adjustable length torso and ventilation for fit and comfort.
When choosing an external frame backpack, check how it fits your body. Stand up straight and have your friend measure the distance between the C7 and the imaginary line between your thumbs. Use your torso to determine pack volume. There is an ASTM method for measuring pack volume, which involves filling the pack with any non-compressible object like ping pong balls. Learn how to choose a backpack based on trip length, pack capacity, fit, frame type, and features.
To measure backpack torso size, use a friend or partner and a flexible tape measure. Find the largest vertebrae at the base of your neck where your shoulders meet the base of your neck. Pull a frame towards your back and check where the knots that attach the straps to the frame are.
📹 How to Properly Fit Your Backpack for Hiking and Backpacking
Having a properly fitting backpack is a critical component of your comfort on the trail. So in this video, I’m showing you how to …
📹 How to Properly Adjust an External Frame Pack | Brian Halchak
In this video Brian Halchak shows us how to properly adjust and fit an external frame backpack. For more things Cervicide check …
I’m new to this website, this is the first time I’ve ever clicked on it and it seems to be an excellent website for beginners. I’ve been backpacking since I was 12 years old today I turn 71 and through those years I have found what this man has just taught you. It took me walking across the United States to finally figure out how to adjust a backpack. Since then I have hiked a lot on the Appalachian Trail and somewhat in the Grand Tetons and a little bit on the Pacific Crest Trail. So yeah listen to this man he makes a whole lot of sense especially if you’re doing through hikes. Thanks so much I am very glad that I found this website. I will be following this website from time to time. Thanks for the article have a great day and stay safe and keep your pack cinched! PS I usually say keep your powder dry
Sorry to be a pain, but according to a store that is very very in the know, the belt should take 80% of the weight of the pack and the center of the hip belt pad should be where the iliac crest sits, not above it but centrally located within the pad… That was a revelation to me and made a huge difference
Very nice indeed. I have just come back from a 15km overnight hike and my collarbones were a bit sore. Turns out, I have been using the shoulder straps incorrectly for many years! Big gaps on the straps. Your informative article allowed me to re-adjust the frame and bring those straps to fit snugly on my shoulders. One of those Ah-Ha moments…. Cheers from Australia!
Thank you SO MUCH for this. I’ve been hiking all summer in hot weather (Albuquerque, NM) and dealing with armpit pain. Couldn’t figure it out until I watched this article. Didn’t know that the front strap could be raised and lowered. This has made all the difference in the fit of my pack. Again, many thanks.
Thanks for a good explanatory article. If I should add something, it would be a simple thing like when you are pulling the straps, to make sure they are equal, so you don’t put strain more on to one side. On my pack, there are small straps to adjust how tight the lower part of the pack are sitting to your lower back/hips. Helpfull too. Also, try to get a pack where the shoulder width fits you, so they are not too far between, falling out over your shoulders, and not too tight digging into your neck and throat. Finally, as I walk, I tend to adjust it a little bit ever so often, and it helps me not becoming tired of one particular position. Also helps a person iwht a bit of back problems, if need be. Just my two cents. Kind regards.
Great article! I use the top straps to adjust the weight forward and backward depedning if I go uphill or downhill also. If helps me the get better balance. Now.. habe to ad that I don’t do much hiking but have been a para ranger for many years and we iften carry up to 90 kilos ( 198lb) and then that matters a lot to have a good balance but to reduce the pressure on knees and so on but also for not.. well falling depending how steep the trail is.
Thanks for the article! I always struggle with the hip belt. I’m not sure if its because I have quite pointy hips and a narrow waist, but it always wants to ride upwards. When I do manage to get it to sit over the hips, they always hurt by the end of the day where the belt has put pressure on the hipbone, even with a padded belt. Any idea what I might be doing wrong / how to fix this? The back is definitely set to the right length.
a bit confusing article on this topic. not very helpful for beginners i would say. too much jumping around, no clear focus. plus: 1. its more like 80% of the weight on your hips. 2. why are you packing 45 pounds of stuff? that sounds insane! you should carry no more than 20% of your body weight. 3. i learned that after adjusting the load lifters you release the shoulder straps again just a bit so you feel the weight sink to your hips.
Hip belt should hug the hip, not sit above. 80% at least of the weight. Mine hold 90+%. Shoulder straps are there to prevent it from falling backwards or shifting from left to right. I have them angled like the top straps so the ventilation is max. My shoulder straps often move around. No sweat there. When walking down hill, release the top straps so the pack moves backwards. Uphill, pull it in close.
Good review! Love the simplistic approach. However if you’re not well versed in anatomy then neither is your typical viewer or user! So for “Step 1” in the very 1st min of your article, it would be better to either provide a specific reference or better yet a schematic or diagram or link to show us exactly how/where to measure the torso. Otherwise an inch or two off may imply a totally different size.
Your a lifesaver ! I’m about to go on a 17 mile hike in the Appalachians with my son. He’s the (hiker) and ex military. My backpack is cheap & I knew that it needed hip support. I’ve been training with 45 lbs with all the weight on my shoulders, ( it was killing my neck & my arms go numb ( no blood flow) . I can’t thank you enough. U Our hike is 6 days away & I’m gonna tweak my backpack. 🙏🙏🙏😌 you would be a great hiking instructor !!🌎✌
weight doesn’t bother me. I don’t carry weight with my spine. Hips only. Which means my legs are doing all the work. You put weight on your spine, sure your back and spine are carrying a lot of the weight. However much you put on your shoulders-spine. It doesn’t take any of the weight off your legs. So why burden your spine !!!! Your shoulder straps are just for stabilization. If you put 50% on shoulders and 50% on hips you have simply turned your pack into a back brace !!! Unless your in great shape your back is going to hurt. Don’t do this.
I was taught by an army guy that the top strap bringing the pack closer to your back should be loosen up to create a gap between your back and the backpack. This way the weight will go into your hips that can easily take the weight. Having the sucker hugging your backbone all day will fuck up your back. Going uphill it should be tighten up so you don’t have to bend forwards a bit. Also having the pack as high as possible works for me. I like the belt buckles to sit atop my hipbones, this way they give additional support. Any thoughts, guys?
I like your website it is very informative. with the chest straps you may want to add that Backpack straps typically rest on an area of the shoulders where they may compress the axillary vein which causes abnormally high blood pressure inside the veins and a subsequent decrease of blood flow in the shoulders and arms the chest straps / Sturnam straps pull the shoulder straps back away from the vein very important when carrying heavy loads.
Get rid of that Mystery Ranch and get an Osprey. I’ve used many different packs on short and long hikes. Osprey are hands down the Cadillac of backpacks especially if you get the heat molded hip belt. I currently run the Xenith 88 and 40lbs in it feels like 30lbs. Love the Adidas Terrex shirt. Adidas all the way!!!!! Great information bud!!!!
Great article!! Just a quick question. After a day of hiking about 12 miles, I have extremly sore sometimes brusied collar bones, in your opinion what would you say I am doing wrong. I feel like I have it fitted correctly at the hips.. perhaps I am adjusting the shoulder straps incorrectly. What’s would you suggest?
Is there anyway I can make my backpack still comfortable? I had recently purchased a backpack online which is unfortunately bigger than my size and the torso length is non adjustable. There’s a slight gap between my shoulders and the strap on the outer side. Is there anything I can do to make my backpack still useful and comfortable?
Evan though I did pick up one good piece, I really have to disagree with the way you’ve got your pack adjusted. I’ve been pack fitting for about 10 years . The reason for the gap in the strap was due to the position of Q load lifter strap. Where its attached to to th e shoulder stap is adjustable and should be at the top of the shoulder or a bit in front. You have it behind the shoulder and that causing the gap. Also look at curve of the should strap. That curve should start just above the pectoral muscles or breasts. Then the sternum strap wouldn’t have to be as low
my bits to the discussion. I am going to thru-hike PCT in 2024. Having certain experience from pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, I know how any tiny detail can decide whether you succeed or not… Walking to Santiago I noticed, that I can destroy within a month tough cordura bag, which accidentally rubbed against my bag. I calculated than, that during 780km I did one milion movements by my hands back and forth when walking. So…? So I purchased Deuter Aircontact X 70+15, my pilgrimage Deuter has just 40l, too small. I try to adjust this monster already week, to be 100%happy. My shoulders are not perfectly symetrical, so to fit shoulder straps perfectly was a challenge. Until I noticed, that shoulder straps are attached to the bag by carabines with choice to select between two attachment points. Closer or little bit far from the body axis. Guess what, the bag fitted me 100% only when I chose asymetrical attachment of shoulder straps. One closer to the body axis, one more far… By the way, I haven’t found any manual to this very complex bag. Pay BIG attention to the bag adjustment. Walking to Santiago, I found so many bizzar cases, people not knowing at all, how to adjust bag, people walking to Pyrenea mountains with plastic bags in each hand, a girl with telescopic walking poles, not knowing,that she can expand collapsed poles… Your website can be live saver for those, who got impression from web that anybody can thru-hike to Santiago or even PCT… It is possible, but being less prepared, more obstacles on the road and higher mental endurance to overcome them.
I like to push my limits so have been hiking up rocky trails with between 80-100lbs on my back. It’s hard on the shoulders and i keep rubbing the skin off the base of my lumbar. The special forces guys often do 120+ lbs at a jog so I’m wondering if there’s a trick to avoiding this? Maybe it’s just because I’m skinny and don’t have much natural padding? Great article by the way, thanks.
Can you give me your guidance? I am a slender, small framed 5’5 woman with narrow sloping shoulders and my collarbone and the top bone of my rib cage are easily seen. I have been fitted several times (mostly for Osprey packs & a few Gregory) and for every pack I wear (about 35-38L), I feel pressure on the front of both shoulder straps, right below my collarbone. It is actually painful and I have tried everything… adjusting the size, the waist belt, all of the straps you have shown with a professional. I’m wondering if it is due to the fact that the Osprey pack has a different design (forgot what it’s called) and my frame doesn’t work with that. I don’t sweat a lot so I’m fine with the pack being closer to my back if that’s what I need. Can you recommend what other brands may work for me? I have already spent 6 hours at REI trying on packs so I want to try to do research at home before heading back again. This doesn’t happen at all on my Osprey 20L but of course that is much lighter and I only put water & food in it. Thank you!
9:40 That chest strap is important for large backpacks with bulky, heavy loads. Good fitment helps with preventing side to side shifting and keeping the backpack centered. For example when traversing over very uneven trails and side stepping over large rocks with a heavy pack. This is where the chest strap fitment becomes very helpful.
Good packing and pack positioning makes worlds of difference, My last outing I had a macpac torlesse 50 as my basepack, two 40l packs strapped to that (one each side that sit just above my shoulder height once fitted) and the sleepmats vertically at the rear, This was over a molle vest with two doublepouches at the front, six single pouches working to the back and two pathfinder bottlepouches directly at the rear, (those have a strap set up to the drag strap at the shoulder and back down for stability). Most of my ‘useful’ kit lives in the molle, the packs just contain tent/S.bags and clothing so despite looking like a Falklands Para it’s actually not that heavy and folks with daypacks were calling rest stops long before I needed one. Great article and I hope it encourages folks to examine their loadout routines/plans and improve where they can 😀
Supporters of internal frame packs are just people who have never had to take a shitload of food and water on a long hike, i.e. the AP and PCT types who have a food store and water source every 40-50 miles or so… I’m from Australia, and I generally need to take up to a week worth of water with me, so that’s a minimum of 14kg (30lbs) of weight just in water, as well as 4kg (9lbs) of freeze-dried food, that’s right, I carry almost 40lbs just in food and water because Australia isn’t like North America with all its rivers and lakes and streams and creeks and edible flora everywhere, it’s a dry, dead hellscape crawling with spiders, snakes, venomous biting insects and even 6-foot tall Velociraptor-like birds (the Cassowary) that can disembowel you… As such, an external frame pack is the only kind of pack that can haul the amount of stuff you need to bushwhack through the Australian outback over a long period…
I just got the TIDEWE Hunter backpack 5500 cu. Seems nice but my load lifters are not at a 45 degree, I have them cranked down but they are almost straight, horizontal, Zero degrees from my shoulder to the frame. I can adjust the extendable part of the frame but that does not help the location of the load lifters. I noticed the bottom of the frame bumps my butt left and right. I am 6’3″, 210 lbs, I would like the risers higher so I have more of an angle from the top of my shoulder to the riser connection, if that makes sense. I have the risers pulled all the way in, I am trying to get this closer to my back. I am tryng to get the waist/kidney strap higher. I just had a test 3.5 mile hike with 45 lbs loaded in it but still trying to find how to adjust better.