You might only have a few thousand subscribers but I’ve found them to be loyal, enthusiastic subscribers. When I talk to other backpackers in the Midwest about UA-cam channels they’d recommend, yours seems to always come up. I’m really surprised that you only have 2k subscribers. I must hike on the same trails they do, because everyone is familiar with your content.
Ya. So many people recognize me on the trail, but it's not because of my channel. They mistake me for Brad Pitt. I hate it, I get that all the time. Keep Smilin'
Love your channel! I'll be hiking my 5th AT section next week, and I've gotten a lot of great ideas from you. Thank you for all you do for the backpacking community.
Back when I had a heavy backpack, that is pretty much the way I put my pack on as well. Your points about UL packs are good as well. The pack is usually the last thing I advise people to change out, because you really need to get everything else dialed in first so it can all fit inside a sub 40 litre pack. I went for an Arctryx Bora 80 which weighed 6 lbs empty, to an Osprey Exos 48 to a Mountain Laurel Design frameless Exodus 45. That was a 15 year evolution, but I can definitely say that I don't miss the weight and all the extraneous stuff I used to bring. Now I just spend most of my time hiking, and you really only need your legs for that 😊
Ray Jardine also wrote how a light load, at some point, makes the hipbelt useless. There’s no difference in comfort between just carrying a sub x-pound load on the shoulders and carrying the same load with a hip belt, but without the hip belt you have unobstructed movement in your stride and thus it’s easier to maintain a longer stride, and put in more miles with less effort/pain. I agree with Ray 100%. I’m also fortunate that the number of pounds that I can carry on my shoulders without issue is rather high. It depends on the pack to a degree, but my old Kelty frame pack is comfortable with all the weight on my shoulders at 30 pounds, my frameless Alien Novum 40 (sadly, no longer produced) is good up to 25 pounds, and I’m hoping the Wapta (which should arrive in the next few days) will also be comfortable in the 20-25 pound range sans hipbelt.
Good points. I find myself shifting the load from shoulder to waist a lot. I would have a hard time giving up my hipbelt. But I do see a lot of hikers without them. Same with poles. I say whatever works go for it. Just takes a bit of time and experience to figure it all out. Thanks for commenting. Keep Smilin'
@@packtoter This is a very worthwhile line of inquiry. From my experience -- which is considerable but not exhaustive -- the hip belt is a functional but problematical solution. It can transfer load back and forth between the shoulders and lower body, but it requires monitoring of both terrain and level of discomfort. That can easily detract from the hiking experience. Another means for enabling the functionality at a more instinctive level is to split the carry into two discrete loads. I like a smallish hip bag (5-7L) for heavier compact items, plus a medium shoulder bag (around 30L) with vest harness or conventional straps for lighter bulkier gear. A good match will provide a shelf for easy weight transfer to and from hips and upper body. Needs more hip belt capacity for a big water carry or extra food and gear. But the modularity and comfort are something else! My first pack was a BSA Yucca number lashed to an aluminium frame, which I happily replaced with a North Face internal framed job with big detachable side pouches and a leather bottom -- bombproof. Both had capacity issues and didn't carry 45 lbs very comfortably. BTW, your presentations are clear and thorough, but perhaps such qualities are lost on viewers raised on a later version of the forest guardian Smokey "the" Bear!? Sunny Trails!
Agreed. I saved 11 oz. Going to a Durston kakwa 40, but gave up nothing as far as carrying capacity. It's all good as long as it does what you need. Thanks for commenting. Keep Smilin'
You might only have a few thousand subscribers but I’ve found them to be loyal, enthusiastic subscribers. When I talk to other backpackers in the Midwest about UA-cam channels they’d recommend, yours seems to always come up. I’m really surprised that you only have 2k subscribers. I must hike on the same trails they do, because everyone is familiar with your content.
Ya. So many people recognize me on the trail, but it's not because of my channel. They mistake me for Brad Pitt. I hate it, I get that all the time. Keep Smilin'
Thanks for your service and the great tip.
Love your channel! I'll be hiking my 5th AT section next week, and I've gotten a lot of great ideas from you. Thank you for all you do for the backpacking community.
Thank you. I'm having a great time doing this. Keeps me outa trouble. Keep Smilin'
Back when I had a heavy backpack, that is pretty much the way I put my pack on as well. Your points about UL packs are good as well. The pack is usually the last thing I advise people to change out, because you really need to get everything else dialed in first so it can all fit inside a sub 40 litre pack. I went for an Arctryx Bora 80 which weighed 6 lbs empty, to an Osprey Exos 48 to a Mountain Laurel Design frameless Exodus 45. That was a 15 year evolution, but I can definitely say that I don't miss the weight and all the extraneous stuff I used to bring. Now I just spend most of my time hiking, and you really only need your legs for that 😊
Couldn't agree more. As long as my legs keep working, I'm good. Keep Smilin'
Semper Fi, they're still teaching that exact method today.
Are they still calling recruits "Slimy Pukes" lol. Keep Smilin'
@@packtoter”Maggot” in my day
That’s absolutely fab! Been doing this a while myself and that never occurred to me! I’ll try that later!
Nick from England..
I'm pretty light and have little to nothng hanging off pack. Will try and use this method. Thanks!
Try it, you'll like it. It might take a bit of getting used to like anything else. Keep Smilin'
Ray Jardine also wrote how a light load, at some point, makes the hipbelt useless. There’s no difference in comfort between just carrying a sub x-pound load on the shoulders and carrying the same load with a hip belt, but without the hip belt you have unobstructed movement in your stride and thus it’s easier to maintain a longer stride, and put in more miles with less effort/pain.
I agree with Ray 100%.
I’m also fortunate that the number of pounds that I can carry on my shoulders without issue is rather high. It depends on the pack to a degree, but my old Kelty frame pack is comfortable with all the weight on my shoulders at 30 pounds, my frameless Alien Novum 40 (sadly, no longer produced) is good up to 25 pounds, and I’m hoping the Wapta (which should arrive in the next few days) will also be comfortable in the 20-25 pound range sans hipbelt.
Good points. I find myself shifting the load from shoulder to waist a lot. I would have a hard time giving up my hipbelt. But I do see a lot of hikers without them. Same with poles. I say whatever works go for it. Just takes a bit of time and experience to figure it all out. Thanks for commenting. Keep Smilin'
@@packtoter This is a very worthwhile line of inquiry. From my experience -- which is considerable but not exhaustive -- the hip belt is a functional but problematical solution. It can transfer load back and forth between the shoulders and lower body, but it requires monitoring of both terrain and level of discomfort. That can easily detract from the hiking experience.
Another means for enabling the functionality at a more instinctive level is to split the carry into two discrete loads. I like a smallish hip bag (5-7L) for heavier compact items, plus a medium shoulder bag (around 30L) with vest harness or conventional straps for lighter bulkier gear. A good match will provide a shelf for easy weight transfer to and from hips and upper body. Needs more hip belt capacity for a big water carry or extra food and gear. But the modularity and comfort are something else!
My first pack was a BSA Yucca number lashed to an aluminium frame, which I happily replaced with a North Face internal framed job with big detachable side pouches and a leather bottom -- bombproof. Both had capacity issues and didn't carry 45 lbs very comfortably.
BTW, your presentations are clear and thorough, but perhaps such qualities are lost on viewers raised on a later version of the forest guardian Smokey "the" Bear!? Sunny Trails!
saving a few oz on pack weight itself never made sense to me...I want my pack to be very capable of actually supporting the load.
Agreed. I saved 11 oz. Going to a Durston kakwa 40, but gave up nothing as far as carrying capacity. It's all good as long as it does what you need. Thanks for commenting. Keep Smilin'