Re: My back is shot from too large a pack. I want to go lite,

--- In [email protected], Mark Verber <mark@...> wrote:
> that if your specific problem s your bag, getting a pack with a good
> suspension (e.g. gets all the weight onto your hips) will be more important
> than minimizing weight. This means a pack that fits perfectly. You might
> find an off the rack pack which works well, or you might want to concern a
> custom made pack made to your exact dimensions such as McHale Packs.

Or the pack with a good suspension might actually make back pain worse. Gait is also an issue. I recently took a multi-day trip into conditions where there was snow expected, so I needed more gear than usual to insure my safety. I took my big WM down bag rather than a quilt or small bag, plus a down underlayer in addition to my usual layers. This didn't all fit into my Gossamer Gear Mariposa so I took a commercial pack (not available anymore, alas) that uses alumninum stays and a plastic backsheet to give quite good suspension. I also wore snow boots, $57 Chinese  boots from Amazon.com that are cheaper than "real" mountaineering boots, lighter, more comfortable (due to the thinner moccasin-style leather and thinner more flexible sole), but will keep your feet dry and warm just as well as the expensive boots.

Usually I have no back pain but do have knee pain on downhills, even if I'm just wearing a fanny pack with a water bottle (my typical day hike load -- you have compass, lighter, pocket knife, and duct tape, what more do you need other than a small meal?). With these boots, *no* knee pain, with or without the pack (when I got to my destination it was base camp day hikes). But with the pack, with pretty much all the weight on my hips, I started getting flashing pains on my right side, which worried me until I realized what it was -- it was back pain, not a heart attack (phew!), radiating from the bad disk that I bummed up when I was 25. (Half a lifetime ago, sigh). Seems a combination of the  gait change from the boots (vs my stiffer Chacos sandals that I usually use when hiking), weight-bearing belt pressing in just the right place and the fact that my hips, with all the weight on them, were now moving differently from my shoulders, without the weight on them, triggered the old injury to start twitching. Something that *never* happens with my Mariposa, which has pretty dubious suspension that pretty much divides the load between hips and shoulders. (Note that the total *load* that I was carrying was only about 1 pound more than usual and I've carried heavier loads in the Mariposa -- e.g., my "winter" bag gets its greater warmth from greater-quality down rather than more down and is built of lighter materials than my "fall" bag, but is bulkier due to the loftier down, thus the switch to the bigger backpack). 

I guess I'm saying that back pain is a personal thing and can be triggered by a lot of things. It may not be your load that is triggering it (though clearly lighter is better for many other reasons), it may be your gait (do you use hiking poles? Stiff boots or ligh boots or sneakers or sandals? etc.), your pack (is it set up properly? Is it pressing on an old injury?), or any number of things.  So certainly we can help you lighten your load, but that might not help your back pain. Just sayin'.