Backpack Hip Belt causing Abrasions

[Hiking with Kat]

In need of advice and help. I'm a fairly small and narrow wasted person, I notice when I carry my backpack on a long trip I get a really bad burn on the points of my hips from the backpack belt. Obviously this tends to get worse the longer the hike.

I've noticed this with both the Gregory Palisade and Osprey Atmos packs that I use. I normally crank the hip belt as tight as I can get and leave very little weight on my shoulders as possible.

Last week did a 33 mile AT section hike in 3 days with the Gregory and about 35lb, at the end the skin was almost worn off my hips, any advice on what type of padding or adjustment to make before next months section hike?

 

[DougPaul]

In need of advice and help. I'm a fairly small and narrow wasted person, I notice when I carry my backpack on a long trip I get a really bad burn on the points of my hips from the backpack belt. Obviously this tends to get worse the longer the hike.

I've noticed this with both the Gregory Palisade and Osprey Atmos packs that I use. I normally crank the hip belt as tight as I can get and leave very little weight on my shoulders as possible.

Last week did a 33 mile AT section hike in 3 days with the Gregory and about 35lb, at the end the skin was almost worn off my hips, any advice on what type of padding or adjustment to make before next months section hike?

You might try loosening the hipbelt and sharing the weight between your hips and shoulders.

It might have something to do with whatever clothing you have between the belt and your skin--for instance, are there any seams? Perhaps the type of fabric is a factor--the skin on your hips likely gets moist and soft.

You could try tape or moleskin on your hips.

FWIW, hipbelts don't work on me--they always slide down, no matter how tight they are. (If it is really tight, my thighs go numb. And the belt still slides.) As a result, I have to (and can) carry the weight on my shoulders.

The real load carriers (such has porters in the Himalayas) use tumplines (a broad flat strap over their upper foreheads). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tumpline

Bottom line, you may have to experiment. While putting as much of the weight as possible on your hips (the current "religion") may work for some people, it may not work for others. Also, consider shifting the weight--on your hips part of the time, on your shoulders part of the time (which would allow your hips to dry out), and/or shared.

Doug

 

[MadRiver]

I’ve noticed if my hip belt is too low my hips hurt. I try to make certain the buckle to the hip belt is directly over my navel. Try raising the hip belt a little higher on your hips and see if that helps.

 

[Stash]

I've got a similar problem (no hips) and find it helpful to to watch the clothing I wear. Long tail shirt tucked in so it's below where the pack belt lands helps provide a little more padding. Making sure the front-most belt loops are as close as possible to the button or snap in the front of the pants keeps your waist band a bit smoother and more comfortable.

Although I understand distributing the weight, as a smallish person I find that putting more weight on my shoulders usually causes a bit of shoulder pain so I just make sure to keep the pack belt cranked tightly and let the hips do the work.

 

[--M.]

A lot of this also has to do with sizing the pack, the length of your spine, and where the pack naturally sits on your body. If the relationship between the shoulder strap junction and the hip-belt junction don't accurately match your own dimensions, it won't feel right.

 

[sardog1]

Backpacks need to fit as well as boots. Several manufacturers have packs designed for women. Some will also sell more than a single size of waist belt.

Find a shop that knows how to fit backpacks and stocks a good variety of models in several brands. Try them loaded with weight in the store and see if you can tell which does not cause the same problem, while feeling "fairly" comfortable to carry.

The store personnel should not care how long it takes to get a good fit. If they get antsy, take your business elsewhere. And in turn, please don't use their expertise to then buy a pack online. It gives you bad karma, and it used to give me heartburn after spending the time helping.

 

[Hiking with Kat]

Backpacks need to fit as well as boots. Several manufacturers have packs designed for women. Some will also sell more than a single size of waist belt.

Find a shop that knows how to fit backpacks and stocks a good variety of models in several brands. Try them loaded with weight in the store and see if you can tell which does not cause the same problem, while feeling "fairly" comfortable to carry.

The store personnel should not care how long it takes to get a good fit. If they get antsy, take your business elsewhere. And in turn, please don't use their expertise to then buy a pack online. It gives you bad karma, and it used to give me heartburn after spending the time helping.

Unfortunately (or fortunately) both packs are real comfortable on me both in the store and on the trail. The only issue I have is with the abrasion. Possibly they don't fit 100% correctly, but wasn't anything I noticed in the store.

I also like to get as much of the weight on my hips as I can. At one time I had an overall fitness test and I was around 100 percentile for legs and abs, but only around 10th percentile of my age group for arms. Yes I do work on this, but but only got me from below the scale to the 10th percentile :|

 

[bikehikeskifish]

Perhaps you could try BodyGlide - it helps prevent chafing in those moist, salty, rubbing areas

Tim

 

[Kevin Rooney]

...I also like to get as much of the weight on my hips as I can. |

You've mentioned this twice. I think most of the problem is based in the weight distribution. Others more experienced in fitting can jump in here but I think the suggested weight distribution is something list 60/40.

I occasionally experience friction issues with heavy packs but it's usually because the stays need adjustment in combination with wearing certain brands of synthetic first layers.

 

[Becca M]

I know what you're talking about - even female-specific packs are difficult to fit.... I would think that duct tape would help. I would probably try that and/or moleskin before your hike. I'm past the point of abrasion, personally. I now have fat bumps on my hip points AND I have them on my collar bones (from the shoulder straps). They swell/turn red after a long hike and often hurt to touch.

 

[Billy V]

.

Last week did a 33 mile AT section hike in 3 days with the Gregory and about 35lb, at the end the skin was almost worn off my hips, any advice on what type of padding or adjustment to make before next months section hike?

I must be missing something here... yes I do miss things once in a while ... my wife say I miss a lot but that is another story.

You only carry 35 lbs and you are trying to carry all of it on your hips. You are a small person. My wife and I are small people too. My wife is 5' tall and she tightens her pack on her hips so it doesn't move but not TOO tight. She has similar strength problem as you but she still tries to balance the pack weight between her sholders and her hips. Trying to carry the weight totally on your hips is , as you have found out , not correct. It is not the strength of your arms that you need to carry the pack but the straps need to be over your sholders. If your straps are sliding down on to your arms then your pack in not adjusted properly.

My wife has small sholders as I assume, oh boy I used that dreaded word assume, you do too. So she uses the strap across her chest to hold the sholder straps together so they do not fall down on to her arms.

I hope this info helps. Good Luck.

 

[BF]

33 miles in three days

33 miles in three days…Maybe you hiked too many miles too quickly too early in the season. It’s the beginning of the season. Your skin is soft, you’re sweating, and the belt is rubbing on your hips. You could be creating hot spots that are not getting enough time to heal. The scenario is not any different than what causes blisters in a pair of hiking boots. Try slowing down, take more breaks, remove your pack during breaks and let the air at the hot spots. You need to toughen the skin where the pack rests on your hips. Carry a small tube of Neosporin (1/2 oz.). Periodically rub some over the areas that get hot. This will help. Over a long hike, such as three days, the Neosporin will act as a pain relief, an antibiotic, and as a lubricant.

 

[kaseri]

This could be a simple fit issue or you're just not conditioned for the added weight and distance. Not only does the pack have to fit your torso length but the hip belt should fit properly as well. Most pack makers don't make packs with removable belts so you're not able to swap belts for the proper size. I've seen literally hundreds of hikers over the years with improperly fit packs. Most people never have an issue until they start carrying more weight or trips get longer. I would find a pack fitter who knows what they are doing. Many times this means going to somewhere other than your run of the mill EMS/REI types stores.

 

[Maddy]

I always liked this video put out by NOLS.
They have a good one on boots to.

http://vimeo.com/1360499

 

[Hiking with Kat]

I know what you're talking about - even female-specific packs are difficult to fit.... I would think that duct tape would help. I would probably try that and/or moleskin before your hike. I'm past the point of abrasion, personally. I now have fat bumps on my hip points AND I have them on my collar bones (from the shoulder straps). They swell/turn red after a long hike and often hurt to touch.

Well you seem to have exactly the same issue. Not really surprising as my daughter complains about the same problem, but since she normally doesn't go as far as I went this past weekend it hasn't been a real big problem.

Not exactly what you are suggesting with duct tape, but I'll definitely experiment with some form of mole skin or pad next time.

Also thanks for the NOLS video, this looks exactly how my pack was fit and also how I normally have it adjusted. So I'm not sure there is a lot to gain there, but worth following up on.

In generally thanks for everyone's advice, if I find something that works really well I'll reply later.

 

[Hiking with Kat]

Did another 3 day AT section hike over the weekend. I used a large gauze bandage on each hip, tucked just under the elastic on my underwear. Seemed to provide enough padding to solve the problem.

 

[kaseri]

Good to hear things are working out. However I would look for a pack which offers a more robust hip belt than your current pack since it seems like a padding issue.

 

[naturegirl]

I am on the small side as well and have found that the Osprey packs work best as some of them have an extra small hip belt. The Xenon 70 is great for larger loads and very padded at the hip. The Aura also works well for me.

 

[Little Rickie]

I adjust my pack on and off during the hike. Sometimes on my hips and sometimes on my shoulders. I take it off or unbuckle it for breaks. I think it helps spread the stress and restores circulation. Try wearing your pack for a short time occasionally when you exercise between trips and things may toughen up some.

 

[Trail Boss]

Take a walk down the humidifier aisle of you local Home Depot or Lowes. Look for humidifier evaporator pads because they are made of (extremely) open-cell foam. They are fairly cheap and washable (of course). I found one that is a 10" diameter cylinder, 12" tall, and made of 1" thick yellow foam. I cut the cylinder into two rectangular halves.

I've used half an evaporator pad between my back and pack. It helps to increase air flow and provides additional padding. The same principle might work on your hip belt. You can use rubber bands to attach the foam to the hip belt.