Stone Glacier X-Curve Wrecking Shoulders

[ElkSlayer701]

Good morning.
I’ve searched all over and never found a good answer and I’m hoping someone has had this issue.

I run a SG solo 3600 x-curve frame, the pack seems to fit great and it is comfortable until I throw substantial weight in the pack (40-50lbs).

I followed there fittings video, called, and adjusted the pack countless times. I can not get the pack to ride comfortably on my shoulders. Recently did a 4 mile pack in with roughly 55lbs with all my gear in the pack and by the time we got to where we set camp my shoulders were spent.

Has anyone had issues regarding the shoulder strap comfort on these packs?
I’m beginning to think moving to a different brand may be my only solution.

 

[DrBeetleKill]

Good morning, I run an x-curve pack and had to adjust a little differently than the instructional videos. I could never get the fit to feel correct by lining up the strap mark with my shoulder. It took several attempts to finally get a comfortable fit. I had to make mine ride up higher than the SG suggestions. I always have to pull tight the load lifters. I have noticed that an off balance pack weight will put more pressure on just one shoulder. For example, the I carry my rifle on the right side and my left shoulder will tighten up depending on the total pack weight. I have used several different packs and the main shoulder issue has always been pack weight that is heavy towards the bottom or what seems like it is pulling the pack back and away from the shoulders. I have a buddy that runs an x-curve as well and his pack weight was about the same as you and his shoulders locked up for a couple of days. I think his is mainly from improper fitting.

 

[Jordan Budd]

I would try to lengthen your shoulder straps a little bit. One way you could test it is, with the pack on with weight, snug the shoulder straps where they feel comfortable, adjust your load lifters to comfort then pop a little bit of tension out of the shoulder straps and add more tension on your load lifters. To me it seems like your shoulder straps could be too short. Another thing could be the frame shape itself.. I use the Krux and love it. They told me 80% of people fit in the Krux.

 

[Roughneck]

I had tried several of the top packs when I was considering switching from my Outdoorsman packs. I tried the XCurve cause I have a fairly curved back but I ended up picking up several used packs from all the top manufacturers. I got both the Xcurve and Krux, at first I hated the Krux and at the time lived not too far from Stone Glacier so they helped me fit them. I still had to do some tweaking with the shoulder strap length and the placement of the pad on the belt, had to move it higher into the pocket of my back. Anyhow before work every morning I did 5 mile hike with 60lbs, it was basically just a 1.25 mile loop that had good elevation gain and loss. Every loop I swapped packs and did that for about 2 weeks. I ended up preferring the Kifaru Ark frame & SG Krux once understanding how to fit them to me. But every pack I had to lengthen the shoulder straps from what was recommended. I never could get the Exo K3 to work right for me but ended up swapping packs around then picked up a K4, that pack ended up being my pick for fit & bag function. The SG was too minimalist for me and I never liked any of the Kifaru bags I tried. I did run a Kifaru Ark and SG Krux both with Exo K3 bags for awhile which were great setups for me and would have kept those if I didn’t end up trading my SG 5900 for a K4. They are all great packs but minor adjustments with fit can make a huge difference in feel.

 

[nphunter]

Good morning.
I’ve searched all over and never found a good answer and I’m hoping someone has had this issue.

I run a SG solo 3600 x-curve frame, the pack seems to fit great and it is comfortable until I throw substantial weight in the pack (40-50lbs).

I followed there fittings video, called, and adjusted the pack countless times. I can not get the pack to ride comfortably on my shoulders. Recently did a 4 mile pack in with roughly 55lbs with all my gear in the pack and by the time we got to where we set camp my shoulders were spent.

Has anyone had issues regarding the shoulder strap comfort on these packs?
I’m beginning to think moving to a different brand may be my only solution.

It sounds to me like you're having belt fitment issues. The shoulder straps really shouldn't bear much weight, regardless of load. I actually sold my SG due to the poor design of the belt tensioning straps. With a Kifaru or Exo I could literally hurt myself with how tight you can crank the belt, with the SG I had to pull twice as tight as I needed it and it would slightly back off. Packed a bull out 7 miles of packing meat last year and cleaned it up and sold it the next day. I loved the SG for everything else and it was great with just a backpacking load, I would buy another in a heartbeat if they would fix their belt.