Backpack question: shoulder straps + waist straps

[gmanedit]

Thanks, Akilae. I'll check them out.

Judging by the shoes people walk around in, I think they are cut off from a lot of bodily feeling. How else can they not realize they're in pain?

I wish I had the courage to go out in public carrying things on my head. That looks like the best way, ergonomically (although I wonder what happens to the cervical spine with age).

[Shiva]

Hello all:

Thanks to everyone who posted thoughtfully to this thread; and I know we have talked about it before. Here are my concerns still:

1. Akilae: yes: you are right. For 2000 + cu inches we need an internal framepack. And for ALL carrying that requires serious load bearing for extended periods of time, nothing beats a properly designed framepack with a lot of adjustments.

I should have made something clearer: I am NOT talking about touring or hiking or even carrying clothes. I do not know if you have all been following the consistent stories around how young adults and some teenagers these days are all developing backpain, shoulder pain, and other problems thanks to the fact that most of us are now carrying increased loads on an every day basis.

I did do this test across a variety of people at the University where i work: the average student backpack weighs 22lbs--thanks to laptop; chargers; books; papers; lunch; and all the other assorted paraphernalia that all of us seem to carry.
I find that I carry quite a bit on a daily basis: thanks to laptop; other electronic stuff; books; papers; workout clothes etc.,

This was most certainly NOT true a decade ago. there is now significant research to show that we are carrying heavier loads on a daily basis and our bags are simply not designed to carry that kind of weight. So all we have in the market are SERIOUS backpacks with internal frames and such which are overkill for daily use and large, or we have bookpacks which are well designed but simply are not great for daily carrying of large loads for extended periods of time.

I think the TB bags are fantastic; so don't get me wrong. However, I still feel that having the waist strap a little wider or slightly padded (I am thinking mesh with neoprene or something) will allow me to shift weights between shoulder and waist. Yes: I do know that it is not just weight distribution at point of carry: and it is important to PACK the weight efficiently. So thanks to those who posted on how to have the heavy items to the center of the pack rather than the bottom (one of those counter intuitive things, I think!)....

I would like to hear from Tom or Darcy on this....cos I think TB could change how our youngsters are carrying their daily load.

Thanks much