Where exactly should the hip belt sit?

[MtnHunter]

My venture last weekend reminded me that my old Osprey pack and my year-old Kifaru Duplex frame pack both rub the top front of my hips raw. Naturally, the center of the belt wants to rest on the top front of my hip bones (tall skinny body type). However, after it starts rubbing, I move it lower so the belt seems to "hug" my hips as opposed to sitting on top of them. After a short time walking with the belt "hugging" my hips, it always moves back up so the pressure is on the top front of my hips. My guess is the weight of the pack slides it lower on my back, causing the belt to hinge upward. Has anyone else come across this and know of a solution?

 

[HellsCanyon]

Ride it wear it's comfortable... Sorry not much help here! How tight are you getting the belt? For myself because I"m very high waisted, if I have the center of the belt on the top of my hip bones like Kifaru suggests, I literally get a side ache because the belt is also constricting my rip cage and I cant get a full breath. I lower it down to wear the top of the belt is about even with the top of my hip bones and that's the most comfortable for me. I cinch it down pretty tight though and have never had it move up/down on me once cinched down.

Mike

 

[tipsntails7]

ive always put the top of the buckle right at the bottom of my naval, this seams to to wrap my hips with whatever waste belt I have. I wrapping the hips is better then having the entire belt sit ontop. you may need more lumbar if the back end is always sagging, I like a lot of lumbar for this exact reason

 

[colonel00]

As a guy who is neither tall nor "skinny" I have been struggling with this as well. While I try to wear it up high on the hip bones, it always wants to ride down a bit due to the belly factor. Trust me, I have tried to put it on my navel and cinching it down but it always wants to creep down. I would ride it lower but then my lack of an ass kind of let's it keep creeping to where the bottom of the lumbar pad it's at or below the top of the crack of my ass. It's getting better though as I try different adjustments.

 

[husky390]

What kind of pants and belt were you wearing with your Kifaru? I made the mistake of hiking with jeans and a leather belt and my Kifaru belt rubbed the crap out of my hip bones. Aron set me straight and I no longer wear jeans or a thick belt. Thick belt loops will do this. One thing I've found about Kifaru belts is you can easily overtighten them to the point of pinching and causing hip/back issues. I did this to myself thinking I needed the belt cinched tight. Joe helped me on this and now I cinch the belt snug and I'm good to go. Per Joe's recommendation, you may need to lengthen your shoulder straps about 1/2" to keep them off of your shoulders.

For guy's like me who have an "enhanced" mid section, what I've been doing when I put my pack on is to lean over a little, hop a little to get the pack up high on my back, then click the belt just under the belly of awesomeness and cinch it down. Then adjust shoulder straps and load lifters. This works for now but eventually I'll lose the gut so I wont have to deal with this nonsense anymore.

 

[rhunter424]

"Textbook" kifaru tells you that the center stitch line on the hip belt needs to be at the top of your hip-bone arch. That way the top and bottom halves of the belt can "cup" your hipbones.

 

[Rizzy]

You might need a longer hip belt.

 

[boom]

For guy's like me who have an "enhanced" mid section, what I've been doing when I put my pack on is to lean over a little, hop a little to get the pack up high on my back, then click the belt just under the belly of awesomeness and cinch it down. Then adjust shoulder straps and load lifters. This works for now but eventually I'll lose the gut so I wont have to deal with this nonsense anymore.

Belly of awesomeness?!!

You my friend owe me a fresh cup of coffee. I just blew snot and spit into mine guffawing. LOL!

 

[MtnHunter]

What kind of pants and belt were you wearing with your Kifaru? I made the mistake of hiking with jeans and a leather belt and my Kifaru belt rubbed the crap out of my hip bones. Aron set me straight and I no longer wear jeans or a thick belt. Thick belt loops will do this. One thing I've found about Kifaru belts is you can easily overtighten them to the point of pinching and causing hip/back issues. I did this to myself thinking I needed the belt cinched tight. Joe helped me on this and now I cinch the belt snug and I'm good to go. Per Joe's recommendation, you may need to lengthen your shoulder straps about 1/2" to keep them off of your shoulders.

Now that you say it, my pant belt is pretty thick and rides right there as well. I'll check into getting a thin nylon belt to hold up my pants and perhaps ride it a little lower. I appreciate the tips guys.

 

[gelton]

My kifaru belt rides perfect and has never caused any hotspots. For me, my belt rides best when the bottom part of the belt is just over the crease between your thigh and hip bone about two inches below my belly button. Hard to describe but I can tell if mine is riding too low if when I lift my leg to walk and the bottom of the belt gets in the way when walking (the bottom of the belt creases as you step because it is sitting right above your extreme upper thigh). That's when I know its too low, but too low is much more comfortable than too high which can cause back pain for me.

So for me there is a fine line but I have it dialed in just perfect so that the belt rides high enough that it doesn't impede leg movement while walking but low enough not to focus the weight in the square of my back so that it helps distribute the load perfectly onto my hips instead. Everyone is built a little different so I am sure its a matter of personal preference but the good part is that you will be able to dial it in perfectly for you.

 

[husky390]

Now that you say it, my pant belt is pretty thick and rides right there as well. I'll check into getting a thin nylon belt to hold up my pants and perhaps ride it a little lower. I appreciate the tips guys.

I'm using a GoLite belt and hiking pants and haven't had that issue since. Kifaru makes belts as well. Hopefully it helps.