TIL I was carrying my pack straps wrong for 8 years

I was on day 3 of the JMT near Muir Trail Ranch last summer, shoulders killing me as usual. A guy maybe 70 years old walks up and asks if my hip belt was doing all the work. I said sure, yeah, whatever. He had me loosen the shoulder straps and tighten the hip belt so the weight sat on my hips not my shoulders. Felt completely weird at first but after 10 minutes my shoulders stopped aching. All those years I thought the shoulder straps were supposed to carry most of the load. Anyone else learn a basic gear trick way later than they should have?

2 comments

2 Comments

taylorlewis20d ago

Read that same trick on the PCT subreddit after years of the same pain.

paule5320d ago

Yeah but did you actually try it or just read about it? @taylorlewis I feel like half the tricks on those subs sound great on paper but fall apart on the trail. I spent two seasons trying that "just use a thinner sleeping pad" advice and ended up freezing my ass off in the Sierra. What was the actual trick that finally worked for you, like a specific step or product?