who has carried a beltless pack?

My hubby has a new physical issue where he cannot wear a belt anymore or use a belted backpack. Anyone here actually ever backpack with a shoulder pack like Ray Jardine or Lynne Wheldon? If so...successful packs? Other things I should take into consideration?
Thanks!

I've done some overnights with small climbing packs. I kept to the ultralight side of the trail and was fine. I've done the same a fer times on my bike in lieu of panniers (which I don't have). You might want to look at the Patagonia Ascensionist. Strap a pad or small tent outside and your good to go. Under 17-18 lbs. is usually not too bad on the shoulders.

Yeah, before I knew any better all we Boy Scouts had packs with just shoulder straps. Not terribly pleasant, but not built to today's standards, either. Not only do the shoulder blades and clavicle take a beating, the pack bounces on downhill stretches.

A relatively light, very well fitted and properly padded pack can be okay, and a sternum strap probably helps too, and I still recommend a waist band to prevent bounce and shifting. It need not be weight-bearing.

Good luck!

I'm just the opposite--my shoulders are so pressure sensitive that I have to make sure all the weight transfers to the hip belt!

That being said, your hubby should keep his pack very light (most men can carry 20-25 lbs. in a beltless pack). In other words, he's going to have to work towards the "ultralight" category (base weight of 10 lbs or less). I agree with Rick about a sternum strap or perhaps a non-weight bearing hip belt (fastened loosely) to reduce bouncing.

You are probably going to have to look at the lighter end frameless packs from such "cottage" firms as Gossamer Gear and Mountain Laurel Designs to find packs designed with no hipbelt or with a removable hipbelt. I did a little looking and found that there seem to be fewer packs with an optional hip belt than there used to be, but there are still some around.

EDIT, LATER: Check out the ZPacks Zero, too. Another pack where you don't have to pay for a hip belt you can't use!

My first backpack trip was back in 1941 and back then, most backpacks didn't have hip belts. I carried 5 lbs (I was 6). My mother carried about 60 and my father about 75. I don't know how they did it!

I guess I'm a wimp compared to most men. I weigh 200 and am an in shape construction worker, but still would hate to carry 25 lbs. on just my shoulders. Odd, since I haul 75 lb. bundles of shingles up ladders on one shoulder and carry 90 lb. bags of Portland the same way. The climbing packs work for me, as long as they stay under what I said. If I want pain, I'll just stay in work. They are designed to carry comfortably and without sway, otherwise it would be hard to climb with them Mt. Hardware makes some nice ones, besides the excellent Patagonia I mentioned. Climbing packs sans hipbelt are easy to find and are designed that way. My wife and I did an overnight on the AT with one daypack, but we were doing an extreme ultralight test. It was OK, but I prefer more security and comfort.

I have never carried just a shoulder pack like Ray Jardine either. But....my hubbie absolutely cannot have a waistbelt...he now has a catheter tube coming right out of his stomache. He is fit to hike and the hiking would not be an issue...just the waistbelt. I was thinking maybe starting with an overnighter and someplace we don't need a bear can...I have an ursack. And maybe even just cold foods....just to get our feet wet so to speak.
My base weight is already down to 12 lbs sans food and water but including a bearikade so close to 10 without the bearikade.
If we want to keep backpacking it seems we need to really do the ultralight thing which is ok by me...just wanted feedback from those who have actually gone that route...:)
Thanks for the replies so far....

I just remembered (sorry, getting old!) that on that 1941 trip, my mom and dad used tump lines to help support their packs. As I mentioned, there were no hip belts for packs back then. Tump lines have been used for thousands of years and are still used in countries where people have to carry heavy and bulky loads.

That might be a great option for your hubby! A quck google turned up this one, complete with video. If Yvon Chouinard can use one (even after a neck injury), so can your hubby! (Also nice to see something from Patagucci that's affordable!) Per the website, using a tump line does take some practice and muscle strengthening. I'd also still work on lightening his pack.

Please let us know how this works out for your hubby!

Cool, gonna show my honey this....:)

I used a tumpline hauling saws, bars and hammers on a packframe building trails and fencing off sensitive meadows from BLM cattle leases in the Sierra decades ago. It helped, but can really give you a sore neck. You need to build up to using one, just not employ it from the get-go. Glen Roberts mentioned the GG Virga in another thread, I have beat the dickens out of a Blaze 60 and am impressed with its durability. The 26 looks like a winner, and the web belt can just be removed.Sleeping pad as a back pad in the pack. https://www.backcountryedge.com/index.php/granite-gear-virga-26.html

I use a GG Gorilla without the waistbelt. I regularly use various packs without the belt. Just my prference....