internal frame on day pack/overnight pack

A

andrew7978

Joined
Mar 19, 2007
Messages
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Guys, I am looking for a pack for mostly day hikes and a weekend overnight trips. I would hike anywhere from 3-10 miles a day. I was wondering how important it is to have an internal frame. Cause the pack I was looking at (the north face quasar) does not have the internal frame.
 
I think that most daypacks are under 2000ci in size and they really don't require an internal/external frame. None of my packs have a frame and the largest is almost 30liters in size and it carries just fine without the frame.
 
Definitely not necessary, but it may add a wee bit of stability and comfort. Probably wouldn't even be noticeable except on fairly rough terrain.
 
Depends on the weight not the volume. Anything over 20 lbs I need stays or a stiff frame sheat. Frames/stays keep the load stabilized and transfers the weight to the hipbelt not the shoulders.

Skam
 
I agree with skammer. I have a shoulder injury and find a heavy daypack a problem and need to shift the weight to my hips and for this you really need some sort of frame for the best result. I use a Kelty Redwing 3100 and find it works well as a daypack and for overnight trips. Of course if you are only carrying lunch or just lugging the pack between the car and the office it doesn't matter much but for hours of walking with a reasonable load, shifting the load to the hips makes a big difference for me.
 
Yeah, that makes sense. Is there a way to balance how much the waist carries, with what the shoulders carry? Lower back problems have had me keeping loads lite and letting the shoulders carry most of the burden.
 
Longbow - with the right pack there is a lot of flexibility about where you put the load. You can keep the hipbelt loose and carry the total load on the shoulders. With a good pack and tight belt, you can shift at least 70% of the load to the hips. In most cases this will move the weight to below the source of back problems.
 
30 pounds is the high end for frameless packs and that usually means packing them so your sleeping pad forms a column to aid weight transfer. 20 pounds is more like it for most frameless packs.

Some packs use a plastic sheet, others aluminum stays, and some more exotic stuff like fiberglass wands (Dana). It's all a game of getting the weight off your shoulders and onto your hips.

Lightening your load really solves the problem. If you are carrying 50 pounds, something in your body is going to take the beating-- your knees, ankles, feet-- and it takes just as much sweat to haul, regardless of the load transfer.

The question is: why would you want to carry more than that anyway?
 
2manyknives said:
Longbow - with the right pack there is a lot of flexibility about where you put the load. You can keep the hipbelt loose and carry the total load on the shoulders. With a good pack and tight belt, you can shift at least 70% of the load to the hips. In most cases this will move the weight to below the source of back problems.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info.
 
think ultralite, is what a lot of people are doing nowadays. unless you're on an expedition.

try finding a pack with good waist belt with "wings" at the hip (ok, I know this sounds like a sanitary pad commercial). tighten it up and you will see a lot of the weight naturally falls to the hips.

I don't think you should be carry more than 20lbs in a daypack anyway, unless you're a student, lol!
 
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