Separated shoulder and heavy packs.

PapaBear

FNG
Joined
Aug 7, 2022
Messages
12
Midwest flat lander that is getting ready for his first western hunt. I have a seperated shoulder from past shenanigans so my left collarbone sticks up quite a bit. My experience from wearing a regular backpack for my work laptop or my overalls is that the straps will fall off my shoulder or they will start to irritate my collar bone if i hold them in place.

Does anyone else have experience with this and have any strategies to make a heavy pack more comfortable?
 
Joined
Dec 7, 2014
Messages
595
Do you have your pack yet? I’d try on as many as I could, which is pretty much the first recommendation for any pack. I honestly don’t know that it will be as much of an issue as you think.

I would think a Backpack with a hip belt will resolve alot of this issue, which pretty much every hunting bag will have. If you fit the pack well and it has good load lifters you could pretty much completely offload the affected shoulder while still placing weight on the other if you’d like. A sternum strap is also going to keep the shoulder straps from sliding off like they would on a school backpack. A large pack will also have more padded/stiffer shoulder straps so they won’t be as floppy and prone to sliding off.
 
Joined
Apr 5, 2013
Messages
509
Location
Pine, CO
Do you have your pack yet? I’d try on as many as I could, which is pretty much the first recommendation for any pack. I honestly don’t know that it will be as much of an issue as you think.

I would think a Backpack with a hip belt will resolve alot of this issue, which pretty much every hunting bag will have. If you fit the pack well and it has good load lifters you could pretty much completely offload the affected shoulder while still placing weight on the other if you’d like. A sternum strap is also going to keep the shoulder straps from sliding off like they would on a school backpack. A large pack will also have more padded/stiffer shoulder straps so they won’t be as floppy and prone to sliding off.
Spot on. I have a 3rd degree AC separation in my left shoulder, that happened roughly 20 years ago, never had surgery for it on a very good Orthos recommendation. I've done a ton of heavy pack carry out's since then. It does get sore sometimes, but using the load lifters and hip belt to adjust how it carries can be very helpful. Just need to know when its getting to the point its about to start hurting, then adjust your pack on the fly to take the pressure off. Might also add an extra bit of padding on that side with some neoprene or a section cut out of a Ridgerest or something similar.
 
OP
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PapaBear

FNG
Joined
Aug 7, 2022
Messages
12
Do you have your pack yet? I’d try on as many as I could, which is pretty much the first recommendation for any pack. I honestly don’t know that it will be as much of an issue as you think.

I would think a Backpack with a hip belt will resolve alot of this issue, which pretty much every hunting bag will have. If you fit the pack well and it has good load lifters you could pretty much completely offload the affected shoulder while still placing weight on the other if you’d like. A sternum strap is also going to keep the shoulder straps from sliding off like they would on a school backpack. A large pack will also have more padded/stiffer shoulder straps so they won’t be as floppy and prone to sliding off.
No pack yet. If we get tags we wont be going until Nov '23. Thanks for the feedback.
 

MattB

WKR
Joined
Sep 29, 2012
Messages
5,415
Same thing here, find a pack that has a good hip belt and that is designed to shift most of the weight from the shoulder to the hips. I used Kifaru prior to my injury and their frame/suspension continues to serve me well. To each their own, but I think they have the best hip belt in the business. Still hurts some on occasion, but much less ince properly adjusted (shoulder straps/load lifters/sternum strap).
 
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