Hi all,

I am having some trouble fitting my new backpack. It's a deuter actlite 65+10. For those unfamiliar with the pack it uses something they call 'variquick' system to position the shoulder harness for variable torso lengths. You can basically unhook the harness and move it up or down depending on your torso length.

I've been following this guide: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQLI7vqmG48

I've measured my torso length and adjusted the shoulder harness for my height and tried several different settings on either side. Not matter what I do, when I buckle the hip strap the shoulder straps arc off my shoulders.

All the fitting guides say there should be no gaps from shoulder blade to collar bone in a correct fit, but I simply cannot get rid of the gap towards the back of my shoulders down to the shoulder blade when the hip belt is buckled. (My pack is filled with most of my gear to get the correct weight as well). There is no gapping when the belt is unbuckled, but I have tried moving the shoulder harness up and down, loosen/tighten the shoulder straps, adjusting the hip belt, but nothing is working to get rid of the gap when the belt is buckled.

Is a little gapping ok, am I missing some straps I should be adjusting or is the pack just not going to fit me correctly?

My torso from C7 vertebrae to iliac crest is 19 inches and the variquick system is supposed to accommodate torso from 17 to 21 inches. I feel like I Should be able to get a good fit with this pack but something isn't working. Any advice would be appreciated, I really like the pack but I may have to return it if I can't get a good fit.

I've used this pack, and I currently have and use the ACT Zero 60+10 (same suspension, but it fits me a tiny bit better, and I like the pack bag feature set better.)

From the video, it looks like your 19 inch torso should mean that the Variquick pad attaches so that 3 loops are left exposed (just like the video.)

Your problem may be the load lifters. The attachment point on the shoulder strap is adjustable. You want it just forward of the top of your shoulders when the straps lie properly. If it's too far forward or back, the straps won't lie correctly (and you'll probably feel a pressure point around your collarbone.) When that attachment point is in the right place, the pressure point disappears and the straps lie properly when the load lifters are tensioned.

Also, be sure you're tightening the shoulder straps after you fasten the hipbelt. I've found that if I tighten them, then pull the shoulder strap a bit forward, so it makes contact all along my back and shoulders like it should, I may have to tighten it a bit more to hold that fit. The proper position for the buckle where the webbing and padding meet should be directly down from, and a few inches below, your armpit.

Without actually seeing you and the pack, I can't be sure if this is any help or not, so good luck.

Thanks for the tips. The proper positioning information is really helpful.

I will try adjusting the load lifters when I get home. This may be part of the problem. I did notice when I got the pack the attachment point was at the lowest most point (just above the velcro strap for a bladder tube). I moved them around a bit but wasn't sure exactly where they should be.

I did notice pressure around the collar bone area as well, so much that it felt uncomfortable just wearing the pack for a few minutes, so you could be on to something.

The Shoulder strap buckles were another thing I wasn't sure of and I think I have cranked them way too tight in an effort to pull the gap down.

It took me most of a morning to get my ACT Zero really dialed in. I started with an empty pack (I know, that's not how you're supposed to do it) and the load lifter and stabilizer straps (on the hipbelt) loosened.

This let me put the hipbelt where it went, and nestle the frame along the contours of my back, so I could adjust the torso length just right. The "How to Fit a Pack" download on the Deuter site was helpful - when I got that right, the frame curved along my back, and the Variquick adjustment did end up between my shoulder blades, just like they said it would. (It should just lay there, not feel like someone's pushing a fist into your back, even with the shoulder straps tightened fairly tight.)

I then snugged down the shoulder straps so the straps wrapped around like they should, with no gaps. The buckles ended up under my armpits, just like they should, and again, the straps didn't have to be cranked tight. I then adjusted the height of the sternum strap and buckled it.

At that point, with the pack still empty, I made a note of where the load lifter attachment point SHOULD be - and noticed that the actual point was a couple of inches further down my chest, like yours - at the lowest point. I took the pack off and adjusted the attachment points on both shoulders to the same spot, tried everything on again, and lightly tensioned the load lifters - and repeated a second time to get it as near the correct point as I could. At that point, it made a nice, proper 45-degree angle from the shoulder strap to the pack.

Time to load the pack, making sure to keep light stuff, like rain gear and clothes, against the outside (away from your back) of the pack, and food and stove (heavy stuff) against the frame, and moderately high. I put the loaded pack back on, tightened and tensioned everything - and noted a very small gap (a 1" triangular distortion) in the shoulder strap, just behind my shoulder. At that point, I also felt the pressure point, which seemed to be at almost the same spot as the attachment point of the load lifter. I tweaked the location of the attachment point (twice, as I recall) and tried again. The straps now lay like they should, except for maybe 1/2" - and that almost looked like it was where the shoulder straps were creased from shipping, so I'm thinking it will go away after a few miles on the trail. The pressure point was all but gone, and playing with both the tension and position of the sternum strap, and the tension of the load lifter, fixed that. (I can't remember - I may have even repacked once, to move the heavy stuff either up or down just a bit, to fine-tune the fit.)

It was well worth it - this is the most comfortable pack fit I've had since my old Dana Design Terraplane (which cost $400 and weighed 7 pounds, 15 years ago, so it d@#* well better have fit.) Nothing hurts, nothing pinches, it has plenty of room without being too big, it can handle 10 more pounds than I ever intend to put in it, and I like the color. It doesn't get any better than that.

Keep plugging away.

My 10-year-old grandson has a Deuter Fox 30 pack. It took me several hours to get the thing adjusted right for him, with lots of trial and error! Once it was adjusted properly, it was well worth the trouble. He carried 15 lbs. in it very comfortably.

EDIT: The little booklet on adjusting that came with the pack was really helpful! There was a lot of angst involved and at first I thought it just wasn't going to fit! There are a lot of adjustments on Deuter packs!

Be sure to adjust it with a full load inside, packed properly (heaviest stuff close to the back--your back--and the center of gravity a couple of inches above your body's). You can do the gross adjustments with an empty pack, but for fine-tuning, you need to load it with what you're actually carrying.

Ok guys thanks so much for your help. I did get the backpack at an REI garage sale, so it didn't come with the tags (including the dueter fitting guide). I do think I Finally managed to get a good fit after following the advice I found on here.

Getting the attachment point correctly set on the load lifters really helped and getting the buckler on the shoulder straps under my armpit seems to give me a nice fit. I still have a problem where not all of the strap width is tight against my shoulders. Its not gaps like before, but more like the straps are angled up. So if you look at me straight on, the inner parts of the straps make contact but the outer parts do not. Kind of like they are angled up and out away from my head. This doesn't seem to be a huge deal however since there are no gaps if you look at me sideways, the straps are making full contact around my shoulder, its just not *all* of the strap width making contact. I'll probably be giving it a trial run on a night hike this week, so that will be the true test.

Thanks again for the help!

Have you checked the Deuter USA website? All the info you need should be there. Congrats on scoring the pack, by the way!

Some pictures of how the loaded pack looks on you might help us, too!

Glad you got the fit worked out.

As far as not all the width making contact - how tightly, and how high, do you fasten the sternum strap? If you're pulling it fairly tight, and it's up toward you collar bone, that might cause the straps to warp like you're describing. Try lowering the strap, and just barely snugging it. (It should go about shoulder-pit high, and your normal breathing shouldn't be causing the elastic to stretch and relax.

It could also be that the straps are simply warped from storage, and will mold back into shape after a few miles of hiking under a load.

However, it could be your build - are your shoulders a bit narrow? If so, the standard shoulder straps may be too wide for you. If you don't "walk in" the fit, you may want to order a pair of the SL shoulder straps. (You can buy them separately; I bought a pair for a friend's daughter when I gave her my ACT Lite - I think it was at Moosejaw.)

When I was trying to decide whether to buy my ACT Lite (which I had before my current ACT Zero), I had trouble with the shoulder straps being almost too wide for my shoulders. I actually tried on an ACT Lite SL pack, and the shoulder straps still fit, but were almost too narrow. Then the clerk moved the sternum strap, and the regular straps worked OK - not as perfectly as they do on my ACT Zero, though.

Good luck getting that final tweak made. It's worth it.

I had to take a small file and sharpen up the teeth on the buckles of the load-lifter straps, they didn't want to grab too well. But that is a great pack!

Which one did you have - ACT Lite or ACT Zero? I haven't had any problems with the buckles holding. Yet.

It's the 2008 model ACT Lite. No problems with the pack other than those 2 buckles. I think the teeth just weren't formed crisply. It happens <shrug>.