Backpack sizes....

I have a problem that I cant sort out without the help of you guys...why is it that pack manufacturers think that as your pack size or capacity gets smaller, so too does your back size !! Has no one noticed the hip belt on a 30litre-1800cu inch pack sits on the stomach, how is the weight supposed too be dispersed to the hips ? I mean even a small size pack can have a heavy enough load, I mean enough to be too heavy for just the shoulders to take over a long distance. Please help, are there any pack manufacturers out there making "smaller" packs with a decent back length. Im just over 6 foot tall, not a giant by no means....Anyone else find this ??

Yeah, I've noticed that with daypacks. I've never been able to find one that actually fits my hips and shoulders - until the Granite Gear Vapor Day. It seems to have a longer, though still fixed, torso lenght, and fits me well. The Deuter ACT Trail 32 doesn't fit too bad, but it's still a tiny bit short.

I always wondered why they couldn't be adjustable.

Are you sure you are checking the corrrect torso length? That's the number that counts, not your height. Fitting backpacks Some packs are adjustable for torso length, such as the Six Moon Designs packs.

Daypacks are a whole different ballgame, evidently. You'll just have to do a lot of trying-on!

Torso lengths aren't a problem on my backpacking packs; the fixed length torsos tend to come in a short/regular/long mix, and the adjustable ones come in a short and regular, so I've always been able to choose a model and find one that fits.

Daypacks, not so much. The only one I've found, so far, that comes in a regular and long version (but oddly, no short) is the Vapor Day - and it's a fixed torso length for each size. All the others, including all the others from Granite Gear, are single-length packs - and the "hipbelts" on all of them hit me well above the waist.

Of course, in a day pack, you normally don't need to bother with weight transfer - you're maybe carrying 10 pounds. It's those "technical" day packs, where you're carrying additional weight (climbing or rappelling gear, photo stuff, merit badge books and supplies, etc.) that a good hipbelt is more important. The Vapor Day really shone on a day hike where the granddaughters and their parents came to visit for a week, and I ended up carrying 5 quarts bottles of water, plus everyone's lunch and a filter, plus the normal dayhike stuff, because they didn't bring day packs with them.

It's large enough that, one of these hot summer days, I just might try to put a minimal overnight load into it and see how it works. (However, since it weighs the same as the Vapor Trail, that may end up being a pointless experiment that never gets done.)

Have you looked into Badlands packs? They're an ex-backpacking, now-hunting pack maker. I believe the "Monster" model has a comprehensive adjustment system.