When I started backpacking, I wore the belt in the wrong place (too low) and wondered why it hurt so bad...If you start off with the belt around your hips and then crank the strap tight, it just compresses your skin inward against your bones and it hurts!

Instead cinch your hip belt gently around your waist (thin part) and then allow it to settle downward on the slightly wider top of your hips. You might have to shrug your shoulders up while you first tighten the belt.

Ideally the belt will be slightly narrower at the top and wider at the bottom, forming a slight cup that goes snugly over the hips. (Some belts have tiny adjustments to help create this shape. Others are designed to automatically create this shape.)

Hope this helps!

-j