Hey Folks,

I'm a total beginner at the whole backpacking thing and I'm "training" for my first backrountry hike next month. I have an Osprey something or other, maybe 55L sized?

I'm not sure what the weight is of the loaded pack is because I don't have a scale, but I wore it loaded for the first time the other day for a one hour walk. I felt fine when I got home and put it down except for my hips where the edge of my jeans and the leather belt I was wearing had cut in to my hip bones (that jut out a lot...) leaving bruises. The next day I wore a skirt that had no need for a belt or anything but when I took the pack off I had ridges of the seams of the fabric pressed into my hips. It didn't bruise like the day before but the imprints are still here the next day!

I'm not sure what to do about this problem. When I was fitting the pack the person said that my hip-bones should be in the middle of the hip belt.

Where exactly am I supposed to wear this pack on my hips? I can also wear the hip-belt on top of my hips (I'm a girl with an hour glass figure) comfortably and support the pack weight that way as well.

Also, what do you recommend wearing under for pants/skirt while hiking? Not jeans, I've found out

Thanks!

ETA: I just wanted to add that this is my first post and that I've been reading these forums a LOT in prep for the trip! Thanks for all your help!

Also, the pack is very comfortable and it moves with me fully loaded. I "walked" some sketchy wet logs yesterday with no problem at all with the fully loaded pack on. I weigh about 130, and am about 5'8" so tall and skinny and bony. This may just be a lack of body fat problem, which happens every so often. Everything feels great except for my hip bones!