How to Properly Fit a Backpack – Hiking, Mountain Climbing Tips & Guide. Right Ways to Wear a Backpack to Prevent Pain. Fitting and Positioning Your Backpack Correctly.

Paying attention to how you wear a backpack can help you prevent back and shoulder pain and truly enjoy your adventure.
Once your pack is on, make sure all of the straps are loosened all the way.

So you might want to check each strap first. Well, it’s never too late for you to start developing good backpack habits.
Waist straps help to distribute the weight load to the hips, relieving shoulder pressure.

Most of the weight should sit on your hips, so buckle the hip belt first and make sure it is snug across your hip bones.
Adjust the shoulder straps so the backpack is high on your back and the shoulder straps are comfortable on your shoulders.
Make sure to do re-adjustments on the shoulder straps so the pack is tight against your back.

Your backpack should not sway from side to side as you walk.
Buckling the sternum strap keeps the shoulder straps from drifting across your shoulders. If the straps start to rub, stuff socks under each shoulder strap.

The load lifters are the two straps that come off the top of the shoulders.Pulling them tight brings the weight of the pack closer to your body, while loosening them allows the weight to drift backwards.

Don’t overtighten the load lifters! Excess tension that feels great initially can pinch shoulder joints and create discomfort.
The more you wear the pack, the more familiar you’ll become with the fit and making micro adjustments.

Picking the right travel backpack is an important part in planning your trip.

Have a safe adventures always!
Thank you for watching!

Also posted on my blog: https://www.yodisphere.com/2018/12/how-to-properly-fit-backpack-video.html

Keep in mind that most of this applies to adventure backpacks for hiking or backpacking. Your everyday carry work or school bag may not have a lot of these features. If you need a refresher on all the terminology around the straps, check out the definitive guide on backpack anatomy.

Choosing the Right Bag — Torso Length
Before playing with all the straps of the backpack, you’ll need to make sure that the backpack is actually the right size for you.

Determine your torso length — the distance from your 7th cervical vertebra (C7) down to the top of your iliac crest along your spine. If you bend your head downward and feel the back of your neck, that bony part on your spine that sticks out a little bit around the base of your neck is where the C7 is. The iliac crest is the top of your hip bone. This is easiest to measure if you have someone helping you.
Use that torso length to choose a backpack size — 15–17 inches is an XS backpack, 16–19 is S, 18–21 is M, and 20–23 is L.
Before you purchase the backpack, it’s a good idea to stop by a store to try it out. If you go to outdoor stores like REI, they have sand bags that you use when trying on a backpack to see what it would feel like under the weight of a full load.

Once you have a backpack that is the right torso size, you can then adjust it to your body further with the straps.

Many trekking backpacks, like the Deuter ACT Lite series, have adjustable torso lengths. These still have limited range, so it’s still possible for a backpack with an adjustable torso to not fit your body size. Making sure the torso fits is vital to having an enjoyable hiking experience as the adjustable straps will not be enough to compensate for an ill-fitted backpack.

Adjusting the Backpack for Your Body
Once you have the right pack, you’ll need to know how to properly adjust all those straps to optimize comfort and support. You should do this every time you put the backpack on after you’ve modified the strap lengths. For example, if you were out camping in the backcountry and you loosened the straps when you took the bag off, you’ll need to readjust them in this order when you put your bag back on. If you didn’t change any of the straps and just plopped the bag off, you should be good to go, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt to readjust.
If you’re just testing out a backpack and adjusting the straps, the backpack should be weighted down to properly simulate how it would feel in the field. Start with all the straps fairly loose and go through these steps in order:
Put the backpack on — You don’t need to tighten the shoulder straps perfectly yet; just loosely wear the bag.