Barto,

Not a dumb question at all.

My "technique" is to:

1. Grab the shoulder straps, pack belt facing me.

2.Hoist the pack onto my right thigh at the highest point as I extend my left leg straight out to the side and bend my right knee. (I dunno why it's always the right thigh I use - habit, I guess.)

3.I slip my right arm into the right shoulder strap as I rotate into the harness, BENDING OVER a bit to more easily get my pack slid up over my back.

4. Reach my left hand down & into the left shoulder harness & stand up..

5. With the pack now on my back I hunch my shoulders high as I buckle the waist belt. This gets the pack high enough to get the belt on the top of my hip bones (iliac crest) where it should be.

6. Tighten the waist belt, relax the shoulders & adjust the rest of the shoulder harness & sternum strap as you walk.

After a long while I loosen the waist belt & cinch up the shoulder harness to give my hips a rest. Then later reverse this adjustment to give my shoulders and back a rest.

LONG DOWNHILLS: Loosen the lift straps on top of your shoulders. (This permits the pack top to lean backwards, balancing the weight better.) Hipbelt MUST be tight for this to work.

STEEP UPHILLS: Tighten everything - the lift straps, sternum strap, shoulder straps, waist belt &, on rough terrain or scrambling up AND down, the hip belt's side tensioner straps (most newer packs have them) can be tightened to lessen side sway of the pack.

Eric
P.S. This sounds complicated but will soon become second nature as you gain experience. And if you notice one shoulder strap hangs longer than the other but everything still feels balanced remember, your body may not be as symmetrical as ya think. Just adjust for comfort and "unlax Doc", as Bugs Bunny would say.
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"There are no comfortable backpacks. Some are just less uncomfortable than others."