[pct-l] counterbalancing with water-Yeehaw!

[Craig Stanton]

A local company called Aarn makes body-packs that spread the weight  
front and back. I was a bit worried about taking an untested and  
complicated pack over to America and not being able to get it back to  
the manufacturer quickly if something went wrong. What i did was buy  
the front-packs and attached them to my rock-solid MacPac. They hung  
from my hipbelt and had a metal stay down the back that meant all the  
weight was on the hips and where they clipped to the shoulder straps  
was only for keeping them upright. Having water, snacks and maps in  
front of me was brilliant and I credit that system with helping me go  
the whole way despite a base-weight over 30lbs.

~Craig

On 28/01/2008, at 10:44 AM, Patrick Beggan wrote:

> Heh, interesting story.
>
> Seems it would make more sense to get the water off your shoulders  
> and back entirely. If you start counterbalancing your pack in the  
> front it's going to start shifting weight off your hips, where the  
> hipbelt puts it (and where weight is more comfortably carried) and  
> putting it on the fulcrum, which would be your shoulders. Seems  
> like a recipe for shoulder pain.
>
> The best idea would probably be to have the bottles at your waist,  
> either with a belt or some other way of securing them. The closer  
> you can get all that weight to your center of gravity, the more  
> comfortable you will be. That's why you see those army surplus  
> canteens have that curve on the inside edge, they're meant to rest  
> against your hips from the LCE.
>
>
>
>
> On Jan 27, 2008, at 4:35 PM, katherine becksvoort wrote:
>
>> I had a suggestion from a fellow fast thru hiking friend of mine,  
>> back in the day before I ever really considered thru hiking for  
>> real...who suggested a different way of carrying water. He is now  
>> a triple crowner.
>>
>> When I decided to thru hike the AT, that memory stuck in my mind  
>> and I tried it out. I got two mini bungee cords, took off the  
>> hooks, and attached them tightly to the front of my shoulder  
>> straps, just above where the sternum strap attaches to the straps.  
>> (For some, it's kinda near where that little loop is for your  
>> platypus tube). (I wear my sternum strap above my boobs, not below  
>> as I"ve seen some women do, which looks very uncomfortable.) I  
>> made sure the length of the bungee cord was cut to fit the groove  
>> perfectly on the exact water bottle I was using, which was the  
>> smaller gatorade bottles you can buy at a 7-11 or whatever. I  
>> attached it by threading it thru the loop in the shoulder strap,  
>> and tieing it in a small, tight, simple square knot. YOu may use  
>> the knot of your choice.
>>
>> I could carry water on the front of my body, via the shoulder  
>> straps and the tight bungee cords...and they would just pop into  
>> place around the groove perfectly after each refill or drink.  
>> Tight enough that they held in place and didn't jiggle at all when  
>> I hiked....actually very comfortable. Between the two gatorade  
>> bottles, I carried nearly 32 ounces of water. I never tried to  
>> carry anything bigger cause it was the AT....didn't need to. Tons  
>> of water.
>>
>> It looked kinda funny, but lots of folks commented that it was  
>> brilliant as they hadn't seen it before. I have never seen anyone  
>> else use this system.
>>
>> The only negative was the off handed remarks I got by construction  
>> crew workers in trail towns, or some fellow hikers..."Nice jugs!"
>>
>> MoonPie
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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