Getting Properly Fitted for Your Pack

A pack that's the right size for the trip still won't feel right if it's the wrong size for you. Pack sizing isn't based on your height or your t-shirt size — it's based on your torso length, and getting that measurement right is the difference between a pack that disappears on your back and one you're fighting with by mile three.

Measure your torso, not your height. Two people who are both 5'10" can have completely different torso lengths. Find your C7 vertebra — tilt your head forward and feel for the bony bump at the base of your neck, that's C7. Then find the top of your hip bones (the iliac crest), roughly level with your belly button. Measure the distance between the two, following the curve of your spine. That number, usually somewhere between 16 and 21 inches, is your torso length, and it's what pack manufacturers actually size against — not overall height.

The hip belt should carry most of the load, not your shoulders. A properly fitted hip belt sits directly on top of your hip bones, not above them on your waist and not below them sagging onto your hips. Done right, the belt should carry roughly 80% of the pack's weight, which is exactly why hip belt fit matters more than almost anything else in the whole setup.

Shoulder straps wrap, they don't dig. With the hip belt set first, the shoulder straps should wrap over your shoulders with no gap at the top and no pressure points digging in. The load lifter straps — the small straps running from the top of the shoulder strap up to the pack body — should sit at roughly a 45-degree angle, pulling the pack's weight in toward your back rather than down on your shoulders.

The sternum strap is the last adjustment, not the first. Once the hip belt and shoulder straps are dialed in, the sternum strap clips across your chest to keep the shoulder straps from sliding outward. It should sit a couple inches below your collarbone — snug enough to help, loose enough to breathe.

Load it before you trust it. A pack can feel great empty and completely different at 30 pounds. Whenever possible, load a pack with real weight and walk around for a few minutes before deciding it fits — that's the only way to know if the hip belt digs in, if the frame flexes wrong, or if it actually rides the way it did in the store.