How to Pack a Pack

Hi all,

Brand new to backpacking. Bought all the gear i need and spent some time talking to some local vendors at outdoor equip stores, but am unclear on how to pack my pack weight wise? I just did a 3 day trek to get my feet wet (of which i did alot), and tried putting heavy stuff on bottom and heavy stuff on top. Both seemed ok to me, but i don't want to hurt myself once i get doing longer trips... I read online that you should put heavy stuff ontop, but the local vendors said pack it at the bottom. Any insight, or is it all individual?

A couple of general things, first:

Are you male or female? I've read that, for a female, heavy items packed lower may work better. (Since I'm a male, all I can do is pass that nugget along; I'm not about to undergo radical surgical procedures just to see if it's true. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />)

What is the total weight of the pack you carry? Back when I carried 40 or 50 pounds for a weekend (definitely NOT "the good old days"), using an external frame pack, heavier on top was definitely more comfortable and easier to control. Now (and "THESE are the good old days") when I'm carrying about 16 or 17 pounds for that same weekend, I find it doesn't really matter where anything goes - there's just not enough "anything" to create problems.

Internal or external frame? I found that the external frame pack was more sensitive to loading than the internal. My internals seemed to work best when heavy items were above the center, but not completely in the top (say, the middle third of the pack) - but it also seemed to make a big difference whether they were close to my back or close to the outer edge; close to my back and in the middle third for the heaviest stuff, then getting lighter as you moved up, down, and out.) Again, nowadays, it doesn't seem to matter.

There's another general principle: pack the stuff you're most likely to need, and the stuff you need most often, during the day in outside pockets or on the top of the pack; it's more convenient.

When I'm using my Vapor Trail internal-frame pack, I tend to put my sleeping bag in the bottom, tent on top of that, then food and stove. Spare clothing, if any, tent poles, empty water bladder, and toilet paper goes along the outer edge of the pack; raingear goes on top of the food and stove, and the self-inflating sleeping pad (rolled, or folded into a flat, square shape) goes on top of the raingear. Water bottle, filter, and map case go in the outside pockets.

The only change I make when I use my Virga frameless pack is that the sleeping pad gets folded into fourths (once lengthwise, once widthwise) and inserted down the back of the pack, where the sleeping bag locks it into place as my "virtual" frame; I sometimes give it a couple of puffs of air to stiffen it. Tent poles sometimes move toward the center of the pack, along the pad, to act as a stay and further stiffen the pad if needed.

Mostly, just experiment. You'll find a method that blends the most comfortable carry with an acceptable degree of convenience. Hope this helps.

Personally, I try to put the heavier stuff (like my water bag and stuff) in the middle nearest my
back - this way it moves around less to "swing me around" as it does it if is on top or
near the outside of the pack and further from my centre of gravity - but try a few things
yourself and see how you are comfortable.

You shouldn't "hurt yourself" however you try it - unless you are already carrying a
really heavy load.

There is no absolute answer to your question. Whatever works for you and your pack.

Personally I like to keep my center of gravity as low as possible but that's just me.

Trial and error are your friends <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I agree with phat. Over the years I have followed the general rule of thumb that says to keep all the heavy stuff in the middle of the pack nearest your back, and that seems to work pretty well with just about any pack. As others have said you should experiment to see what works for you.

My current pack is very forgiving, and I can pack it just about any way I want to where it still remains comfortable. So the answer to your question is ultimately going to be dependant on your specific setup and experimentation.

A couple of tips. Since I get rained on a lot I like to keep all my tent related items (tent, ground sheet, poles and stakes) easily accessible so I can throw it up quick if necessary. I also like to pack as much as possible inside my pack...I can't stand stuff lashed to or hanging off the outside.

I put the heaviest stuff in the middle. I've tried the heavy stuff at the bottom and it affects my stride. Putting it at the top might tend to throw you off balance and could be dangerous. Just MHO, of course....

I pack for conveneience first, and then weight distribution. So the stuff I will want during the day goes on top (food bag for lunch & snacks, wind shell, warm pullover), and below that the breakfast/dinner food bag, clothes bag, then stove/pot, and sleeping bag at the bottom. If using a bear canister, that is the top, with jackets stuffed around it where I can get at them. Personally I don't find there's much difference where in the pack the weight is, except for the extreme situation where the pack is very tall and you have something heavy at the top so that it is substantially above your shoulders. That tends to throw me off balance, so I avoid that, but once it gets down to shoulder level it doesn't feel much different to ma anywhere below that.

I go with Pauls method - convenience first. Nothing really weighs enough anymore to worry about weight distribution, especially just backpacking vs climbing or off trail where balance may matter. Put soft stuff by your back, then pack according to need - SBag, pillow etc on bottom, then extra gear, then rain gear, or anything I may need during the day - water filter, etc. Tent is always strapped to outside so it can be set up in any weather without having to open the pack to the elements.

Top pocket gets anything that would get lost in main pack - oh and I pretty much only use a stuff sack for my tent, not for my other gear.
Jim

The issue is not top to bottom weight as much as near-back to farther out from your back (or center of gravity). Your body has a center of gravity. It is different for everyone. The more the center of gravity of your pack is in line with your body's center of gravity the more balanced you remain. If you place weight behind your center of gravity you have to lean forward to keep from falling over. If you have to lean forward a lot, you will be straining your back. Also, the farther out from the center of gravity, the more "lever arm", hence feels heavier.

The stability factor also is dependant on how far up or down from your center of gravity the pack's center of gravity. Hence, a high load, even when over your center of gravity is less stable IF it starts to pitch forward or backward. Walking on a trail, this is usually not a problem - in fact high weight carries quite comfortably on a trail. If you go off-trail and have to stoop over, then you have problems. A reason to use compression sacks is that it makes your clothing and sleeping bag smaller hence it can get closer to your center of gravity. Another trick is to put your sleeping pad (light but bulky) inside the pack on the back side. Then put heavy stuff, like food, in more rectangular sacks (I like the Eagle Creek "boxes") near your back. Hanging shoes off the back of a pack is not a good idea. Not only do they pull you back, they dangle and swing. A water bottle is better in a side pocket than in a back pocket.

Backpackers usually do better with packs that have a slim front-to-back profile and wider side-to-side profile. Side pockets carry stuff better than a back pocket. (Climbers, on the other hand have to have a slim side-to-side profile to keep their arm manuverability, hence you will see climbing-specific packs that are very narrow side-to-side and quite tall).

With light weights (less than a quarter of your body weight) you probably will not notice a great deal of difference. But if you have to carry half your body weight, you will really notice the difference. As a small woman, how I distribute the weight in my pack makes a huge difference!

External frame packs in general are better for very heavy loads (on a trail) becase they have a curved extesion bar that allows you to put the load nearly above your head.

I am actually going to do a step-by-step post on packing a pack (with photos). I will post it in the beginner's section here.

Here are a few ways NOT to pack your pack. The fellow in the photo below (photo credits - backpacker magazine -- not that they approve of the packs but it appeared in one of their submitted articles) is being pulled severly back by a poorly distributed weight in his pack. He needs to cinch up the load lifters, get the bear cannister up top and get all the dangling stuff inside the pack.



The group in the photo below (also from backpacker magazine) are going to loose half their gear! Or get it all wet when it rains! If you cannot get your gear inside, either reduce the gear or get a larger pack.



The photo below is of a trip I took a few years back. It was a 12-day trip that also included climbing gear. I used my old Kelty pack and everything was inside and protected from weather. The top bag lashed to the extender bar is the climbing gear (heavy). The big green bag on the bottom has my sleeping bag, foam pad, the tent fly and a rain parka (for easy access). My main packbag is covered with a waterproof pack cover. The food and clothing are inside - food next to my back and clothing on the far-back side. Not that my pack is perfect, but certainly more comfortable to carry and more weather-protected than the two photos above.

Bingo!

A picture truly is worth a thousand words. Very well done, Wandering Daisy.

Thanks alot for everyones feedback/insight! I've been reading alot of the other threads here too, and now realize that i need to shed some weight which i figure will help more than anything. I appreciate everyones advice!! We're heading out again this weekend for trip number 2!!