Proper Use of Load Lifters

[BoilerBowHunter]

I’ve been looking through old threads as well as the rest of the internet trying to find some material on the proper use of load lifters. I’m striking out.

How tight is too tight? I’ve talked to some who have said that you just barely want tension in them in order to keep the load stabilized/vertical. I’ve seen at least one video that says to tighten them until the strap begins to pull off your shoulder.

If you have multiple attachments like on a Kifaru frame, do you always leave it the same or do you adjust them based on weight/the situation?

Seems like there is a lack of information out there on this, and of the little I have found some of it seems contradictory. Maybe it’s just personal preference?

Hoping to get some insight from the wise Rokslide community. Have at it! Personal experience and links to reference material all welcomed.

 

[croben]

It’s situationally dependent for me. I connect my load lifters higher as the weight gets heavier, especially when packing out an animal with an odd shaped load. If I’m doing a training hike or a bunch of box step-ups using only a weight plate, I usually leave them lower. As far as how tight, I start out with them loose. I tighten them down until I don’t feel the pack wanting to fall away from me or feeling sloppy anymore. The more time you spend with your pack on your back, the better you get to know it and how you like it to feel.

 

[Ron.C]

For me, really depends on how much load I am carrying. I like them a bit looser with less load and tigher with more load.

As far as where I position the load lifters on my shoulder straps, was trial and error (more so then the tension) and I let the fit/feel/comfort determine where they should be and how tight. Like croben stated above:

"the more time you spend with your pack on your back, the better you get to know it and how you like it to feel."

 

[BBob]

There are times when you hit easy terrain and you want to give your shoulders a break so you loosen the load lifters and sometimes the shoulder straps leaving all the weight on your hips. The opposite happens if you've hit some tough technical terrain, you'll crank them down hard so the pack is locked onto your back. There's times when you want to give you hips a break and you'll snug up the shoulder straps and the load lifters tight so you can lift the pack up with your shoulders taking weight off your hips. Learn your pack and how things work and adjust away. My pack straps rarely stay set at in any one position all the time, they may have a sweet spot they spend more time in but I'll move them around for the above reasons.

 

[shootnrun]

As others have stated, it's generally situational dependent. And more time in your pack will help as long as you understand how the system works. I think you can do the classic fit of hip belt, shoulder straps, then load lifters til you get the fit you want. But I tend to play with mine a lot, especially when I'm packing stupid weight a long ways. Allows me to shift the load to all hips, all shoulders or a blend depending on what is feeling the most fatigue.

 

[WBrim]

I need to work on utilizing these. I’ve got a basic place they are usually at, but I’m sure I’m not getting the full advantage by not using adjustment very often.
Good question