Glenn

Rodger all!!!

I've packed the same way you, OM, and Bill have described, following the standard wisdom that put heaviest stuff near my shoulder blades.

The reason I got back when I asked (Scouting magazine did route my question to Mr. Jacobsen, who provided a courteous answer) was that load plan was designed to facilitate ease in getting at what you'd need first when you arrived at the campsite.

I still remember watching a lady struggle with two 1.5L waterbottles in the waterbottle pockets of an internal frame pack <<<shudder>>> but I wanted to see if there was a reason for packing this low (as a rule, not to fix being top heavy in the brush) that I was missing.