[pct-l] Jardine and the Backpack Hip Belt

Tue Feb 15 07:18:27 CST 2011

Dear Sym

I will write briefly, due to my limited ability of English writing.

Generally speaking

Ultra Light backpackers only satisfy the light backpack without waist
belt, because they can easy carry their load on their shoulders, since
total pack weight is very light.  The shoulder is not strong enough
for heavy load.

Heavy Trucker need strong waist belt, because they cannot carry whole
weight by their shoulders only. I can carry heavy load with my special
backpack ( Mountainhardwear Solitude ) within 30 Kg, because the total
pack weight is supported by the hip bone.  No weight on the spines and
shoulders.

Ray Jardine's book gave strong influences on the light weight trend,
but  his book contains some pseudoscience. So the reader must consider
his opinion with precaution.

1. The importance of waist belt cannot be ignored. The waist belt
support the half or more pack weight, then the muscles of shoulder and
the spines suffer lesser damage. This tendency became prominent when
the total pack weight became heavy. Many backpack makers recognize the
importance of waist belt, then they maintain their waist belt.

2. The most of his discussion of energy expenditure lacks empirical
evidence. His unit "foot-pound" may be one of the typical
pseudoscience.  I am not specialized in this field, but I had searched
the articles and found that the energy expenditure was measured by
Oxygen consumption. The energy consumption do not increase with the
pack weight. And I also found the weight of boots has no relation to
energy consumption when we were walking about 4-5 Km/hour. Our
physical system is tuned very well for walking. Our simple expectation
frequently fails.  The boots vs shoes and weight problems are not so
important as has expected. The important thing is blister. The
footwear should be selected on the blister - free stand point.

3. I cannot agree with his opinion about the sleeping bag. I think the
most effective insulation material is down. So, I think the best way
is minimize the clothes and maximize the down sleeping bag.
Coincidentally, my opinion is the same with Glen K Van Peski. I heard
his lecture at Tokyo. He is a ultra light backpacker, I am a heavy
trucker. But the lightning technique is almost the same.

2011/2/15 Kevin <hikelite at gmail.com>:
> I own an ultra light pack, but I put it aside a few years ago in exchange for a suspension. I love my Gregory Z65. It actually transfers the weigt to my hips. No matter what I do with my GoLite, I can't get the weight off my shoulders. With the Gregory, I can pull the top adjustment straps(dunno what they are called) and the weight comes off my shoulders. It feels like the pack is sitting on the waist belt and the should straps are just balancing the weight over me. I feel some pressure against my chest, but it provides relief for my shoulders. I'm usually good for the first 10 miles or so, the I start shifting the weight back and forth between my waist and my shoulders.
>
> Of course my Z65 weighs 4 pounds. This is a lot by ultra light standards. I considered a new pack, but I'm skeptical any can carry a load as well. Leaving KM, I'll have 11 days food with me. That's 22 pounds or more. Granted, my base weight is nearly 20lbs, so YMMV.
>
> Misspellings and typos brought to you by iPhone.
>
> On Feb 14, 2011, at 8:09 PM, Sym Blanchard <symbiosis222 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I just read Ray Jardine's opinion of backpack hip belts on page 44 of his
>> book *Trail LIfe*.
>>
>> He reckons that the hip belt constrains spine motion, and therefore
>> increases one's chance of injury from falling. "Crunch!" he says.
>>
>> Last September, I had fallen while hiking the PCT, breaking my ankle and
>> shoulder.  I figured I need to get trekking poles (which I hate), ditch my
>> umbrella (which I love), and buy high top hiking shoes (which I hate).
>>
>> Now I am rethinking my strategy.  My base pack weight is about 8-1/2 pounds
>> so I can cut off my hip belt, but the weight still seems tiresome on my
>> shoulders (especially when fully loaded with food and water).
>>
>> I am thinking about working out more at the gym to build up my shoulders and
>> then carrying the pack on alternate shoulders (a la Jardine).
>>
>> Anyone else have this experience or have thoughts on this strategy?
>>
>> Thanks in Advance,
>> Symbiosis
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-- 
Sincerely
--------------- --------------------------------------
Hiro    ( Yoshihiro Murakami )
Blogs http://completewalker.blogspot.com/
Photo http://picasaweb.google.co.jp/CompleteWalker/
Backpacking since about 1980 in Japan
2009 JMT, the first America.
2010 JMT, the second America.
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