What's better fitment than Stone Glacier

[nphunter]

Hope the SO works, I had issues with my SG with a lot of weight. Packed out a bull with it and couldn’t get rid of it fast enough. Love the bag frames with daypack or camping weight but heavy loads the belt was horrible. Switched back to my Kifaru and then bought an ark and packed out a couple bulls with it and like it much better. Still prefer my duplex to the ark but I’ve had it for years and it’s probably just a matter of breaking in the ark.

 

[wh0cansay]

The hip belt and shoulder harness are the critical elements as far as I can tell.

Hip belt is very important, harness not so much, as it's really only there to stabilize the load, which should be resting (almost) entirely on your pelvic area. Unless your pack isn't fitted properly, padding on a harness is pointless and just adds bulk.

Hip belt + correctly fitted stays are the most crucial elements for efficient load transfer.

 

[Dos Perros]

@WyoWild you've got no load lifting going on in that picture. Too much of the load is resting on your shoulders. You want to see the load lifter straps going at an angle up to the top of your pack, somewhere around 45 degrees probably ideal for flat ground walking.

 

[WyoWild]

@WyoWild you've got no load lifting going on in that picture. Too much of the load is resting on your shoulders. You want to see the load lifter straps going at an angle up to the top of your pack, somewhere around 45 degrees probably ideal for flat ground walking.

Yeah I have since added the 2" frame extensions to address that. Even then they are not as high as some brands but seems to work well for me.

 

[307]

Hip belt is very important, harness not so much, as it's really only there to stabilize the load, which should be resting (almost) entirely on your pelvic area. Unless your pack isn't fitted properly, padding on a harness is pointless and just adds bulk.

Hip belt + correctly fitted stays are the most crucial elements for efficient load transfer.

I don’t think shape of the stays play much of a role. They function to stabilize the bag vertically regardless of shape and anchor to the hip belt. So long as they’re vertically rigid enough and long enough, shape adds little to their function.

 

[Dos Perros]

I don’t think shape of the stays play much of a role. They function to stabilize the bag vertically regardless of shape and anchor to the hip belt. So long as they’re vertically rigid enough and long enough, shape adds little to their function.

A stay that follows the curve up your ass and into your lumbar is going to spread the load among a larger area and be more comfortable. At least for the dudes with some ass. If you're a pancake agree it doesn't do much. But that's why God invented the squat rack.

 

[307]

The lumbar portion of the stay does the same job whether straight or curved. It's only point of contact load bearing is at the hip belt. It's not going to distribute weight in the lumbar spine when it has no meaningful contact in that region.

 

[westrnwild]

I'm testing the xcurve now against the packs I have K3, MR and Ark. The SG to me just fits to narrow in my shoulders. I'm broad chested. Not sure what your build is but that does have alot to do with it. Like narrow boots vs wide boots. But now with packs you got how it rides on your hips, frame height, curve of your back...list goes on. I feel like I like a few packs but there is always something. Like others said you got a try them all sadly. And trying them means throw some weight in them and do several training hikes. For example in the shop I thought the waist belt on the SG was too small and flimsy. The belt has been great for me the shoulder straps are built for much smaller framed guys. I can cant them all I want but exo and Kifaru just work better.

 

[Dos Perros]

The lumbar portion of the stay does the same job whether straight or curved. It's only point of contact load bearing is at the hip belt. It's not going to distribute weight in the lumbar spine when it has no meaningful contact in that region.

For the visual learners.

 

[307]

Nice picture. Good for marketing but doesn’t change physics.

 

[Dos Perros]

Nice picture. Good for marketing but doesn’t change physics.

Alright, lets talk physics.

 

[307]

Ok.

Explain how curvature in the stay changes weight distribution of the pack being worn by an upright human.

In a properly worn pack, the stays are only firmly connected to the human to provide vertical support at one point, the hip belt connection. This connection is the same with either straight or curved stays. The stays do not touch in a meaningful way for weight distribution in the lumbar lordosis, therefore curvature of the stays do not affect the load distribution of the pack.

I could be missing something. Show me.

If the claim is about comfort, that’s a different conversation. Comfort is ambiguous and highly influenced by personal preference, which has far too many variables to be a meaningful debate.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

I came from heavy aluminum frames for hunting and lightweight osprey and the like for backpacking.

My first “hunting” backpack was a Kifaru and it worked fine. Hauled out many animals with it. But I was always adjusting things way more often than I’d like even with 30-40 lb lighter loads. I swear Kifaru is made for guys under 6’ tall and with big butts haha.

I switched to a stone glacier pack 4 years ago after talking with Kurt and then getting fitted by him in Montana. Night and day from my old pack.

 

[plebe]

For the visual learners.

It rarely co-aligns like that because of the big lumbar pads companies are using.

 

[wh0cansay]

I don’t think shape of the stays play much of a role. They function to stabilize the bag vertically regardless of shape and anchor to the hip belt. So long as they’re vertically rigid enough and long enough, shape adds little to their function.

This is patently wrong. Properly shaped stays settle the pack in your lumbar area, close to your center of gravity. You can not get efficient load transfer to your pelvic area otherwise.

Thick lumbar pads compound the problem, like plebe mentioned, as they put the load further away from your center of gravity, causing slippage.

 

[307]

This is patently wrong. Properly shaped stays settle the pack in your lumbar area, close to your center of gravity. You can not get efficient load transfer to your pelvic area otherwise.

Thick lumbar pads compound the problem, like plebe mentioned, as they put the load further away from your center of gravity, causing slippage.

How do they “settle the pack in your lumbar area”? What does that even mean in terms of load distribution? Any framed pack will have vertical support in two places, tension upward from the shoulder harness and compression upward through the rigid elements of the frame resting upon the hip belt. This happens with either shape of stay. There is no difference in vertical support.

Does anyone think that the lumbar section has sufficient friction against the soft tissues to provide meaningful vertical support in an upright position?

Obviously, the hip belt and lumbar pad will adopt the angle of the sacrum/pelvis.

There may be some minute difference in center of mass with a different shape but I’d bet it’s quite insignificant considering how the heaviest weight in the bag should be well above the lumbar region.

 

[sndmn11]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone! As much as I thought, it really is like a pair of shoes... each one fits each person differently. Being as my main concern is keeping everything lightweight, I went ahead and ordered the Seek Outside Goshawk 6300 with a Merlin daypack. Logic here is that the SO with Merlin is still lighter than the Exo Mtn Gear K4 5000. Plus, I can drop the SO frame at camp and then proceed to day hike with the Merlin.

I'll post a quick review/comparison when it arrives in 2-3 weeks. Now, I'm going to head over to the classifieds and list this SG pack shortly.

Did you order the 2" and 4" extensions? If not, hit @RyanSeek43 up and get those added. The extensions will allow you to figure out the lift that fits your body best.

 

[plebe]

With the big lumbar pads, curved stays give the pad a slight angle. With the boxy rectangular ones, it’s possible this reduces pressure on an edge, or it could produce pressure, depending on body type and belt position (some prefer to wear their belt not how I would ever do it).

At the top, there’s an opportunity for curved stays to extend weight forward of the plane of the back. Still, with the big lumbar pads, they are trying to put the bag in a mostly vertical position, no matter the stay shape.

The ergonomics of curved back pads around the upper back could potentially be a thing, but rarely is that realized to any real measure.

 

[plebe]

Did you order the 2" and 4" extensions? If not, hit @RyanSeek43 up and get those added. The extensions will allow you to figure out the lift that fits your body best.

I tried with and without the lumbar pad as well. Another consideration perhaps.

 

[307]

The ergonomics of curved back pads around the upper back could potentially be a thing, but rarely is that realized to any real measure.

Yeah, have to leave some room for head/neck movement. The same idea applies to a lesser degree in the lumbar spine, which limits how much of that lordosis space can be occupied by the pack.