Pack Weight Distribution?

[apkleinschmidt]

Has anyone noticed a significant difference with pack comfort based on how you orient heavy and lightweight items in your pack? I'm relatively green when it comes to spike camping with 25-45 lb packs.

I'd speculate that heavy items towards the bottom is more comfortable? Any suggestions on how to situate your tent, sleeping bag, clothes, food, cooking gear, water filter, electronics, etc. inside of your pack for optimal balance and comfort?

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[toadmeister]

Just got back from a 2 week Scout backpacking trip at Philmont, NM. Thought about this a bit while there and tried a few different ways of distributing the load.

Some people like the center of mass higher (upper back) but I liked it lower in the lumbar area. Perhaps because I’m a taller guy at 6’4” and am already top heavy?



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[AK Troutbum]

Has anyone noticed a significant difference with pack comfort based on how you orient heavy and lightweight items in your pack? I'm relatively green when it comes to spike camping with 25-45 lb packs.

I'd speculate that heavy items towards the bottom is more comfortable? Any suggestions on how to situate your tent, sleeping bag, clothes, food, cooking gear, water filter, electronics, etc. inside of your pack for optimal balance and comfort?

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How you pack your bag will greatly affect your comfort level while hiking and the general rule of thumb is, bulky/lighter wt. items on the bottom, then gradually pack heavier items as you pack up towards the top of the bag. Your heavier items should be up around your shoulders, and also try and keep the heavier items as close to your spine as possible.




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[TBHasler]

Suggest looking into YouTube videos on this topic- there are a bunch. Some good ones I remember are from gohunt, exo, and kifaru.
Good luck

 

[wesGiddingshunt]

I always put my sleeping bag on bottom. Then my heaviest items on top of that (food). Depending on how much I have to pack I put my tent in vertically in that spot, but put it on bottom of my pack sometimes too. cook/kill kit type items on the sides of that. From there I just fill anything else in. I put my puffy near the top so I can put it on right away when I’m done hiking.

 

[Treeline]

Yep, what they said.
I put the heaviest items between my shoulder blades and the ultra light sleeping bag and pad always on the bottom.

 

[apkleinschmidt]

Appreciate the info fellas. I was definitely doing it wrong. I'll have to try some of your recommended configurations and see if I can get it fine tuned before hitting the hills.

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[Whiskey_Fish]

These dudes literally wrote the book on it. Good article. https://blog.nols.edu/2018/05/23/how-to-pack-your-backpack


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[apkleinschmidt]

These dudes literally wrote the book on it. Good article. https://blog.nols.edu/2018/05/23/how-to-pack-your-backpack


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Good stuff. Thanks

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