Mountainsmith Daylight Lumbar pack?

[gram]

http://www.rei.com/product/812552/mountainsmith-daylight-waistpack

Having had 2 surgeries on a lumbar disc, I'm looking for a new pack. The folks at REI suggested carrying more weight on the hips rather than the shoulders to avoid compression on the spine. Asked my PT about this and she had no clue!

I have never used a lumbar pack. Anyone have experience with this one?

Would a regular backpack with a really good hip/waist belt work just as well? Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[DSettahr]

I use this: http://www.rei.com/product/829858/mountainsmith-day-tls-waistpack

I also got the shoulder straps (sold separately). I'm not sure that the model you're looking at will work with the shoulder straps. I know that you're trying to put more weight on your hips, but the shoulder straps make a huge difference when hiking.

I generally use the lumbar pack as a day pack on overnight trips, since it's easy to strap to my overnight pack. Sometimes, if I've got a lot of gear, I'll wear the lumbar pack in front, and my overnight pack on my back.

I've been pretty happy with it- Mountainsmith packs seem to be pretty durable.