[Mike McGavin]

Hi again.

Firstly, thanks everyone who helped out with my query about Cactus packs, both in the forum and in person. Bronwyn let me borrow her medium-sized one for a few days (thanks Bronwyn!). I put 15 kg in it and walked around the Tinakori Hill for a couple of hours, and I’ve decided that it’s *probably* not ideal for me. In my specific case, it seems to be sitting a quite low down, even if I completely loosen the shoulder straps so there’s nothing pushing it down, and it’s especially bad when I start going uphill. I could try the larger harness but I’m not sure it’d make a difference. (Actually on the other hand, I doubt I could test it properly and keep it in a saleable condition.)

Anyway, in my continuing search for a pack that fits better, I’m hoping to get a bit of advice about harness-fitting, if anyone’s able to suggest anything from their own experience.

I’ve had a Macpac pack with one of their quantum harnesses for a couple of years now. Macpac advertised these as brilliant, of course, but they also seem quite rigid in their shape in some respects. What I have has been okay for weekend trips but I don’t think it’s ever fit perfectly, and to me it seems something other than just an adjustment or sizing issue.

In particular, once I’ve tightened the hip belt as much as I need to, it tends to press in on the bony bits of my hips in a way that ends up bruising them after 2 or 3 days of walking and getting quite painful. This is what I’ve been trying to get away from if I get myself a new one. I also sometimes get the thing where it likes to pull back on my shoulders sometimes to the point of eventually getting painful. I guess this one *could* be partly a sizing or adjustment thing, although I can’t seem to consistently prevent it no matter how careful I am about packing, or how much I play with the harness settings.

Is all of this likely to be a symptom of a badly adjusted harness, or is it more that I could have a weird back and/or hip shape, or just an unhealthy way of walking? I’m starting to suspect either of the latter two, but I might need to get medical advice to know for sure, in which case it’d be useful if anyone could suggest a practitioner who knows a lot about the topic.

And running off on a tangent, is there anywhere these days that might custom-make a pack/harness for to an individual’s measured specifications? (Maybe even saving weight by getting rid of all the adjustable stuff that only ever needs adjusting once.) It’s probably out of my price range even if there is, but it’d be nice to know about it all the same. I’ve already confused a couple of retail assistants by not having a properly straight back that fits into the straight packs they have available.

Maybe I should just get myself a Mountain Mule so that having it fit well is no longer an issue.

Thanks for any help.
Mike.

[Andrew]

Hi Mike,

Have you looked at the One Plant Packs? I Purchase one last year and find the harness great. I could bring it down to club one night if you want to have a look at it?

Andrew

[Mike McGavin]

Hi Andrew.

I know of them (although nothing about the harnesses), but I haven’t seen them on display anywhere lately. They used to be stocked at Mainly Tramping, didn’t they?

I’m certainly interested to see one if it’s not a lot of trouble, and could probably travel somewhere if getting it to a club night and back is an issue.

Thanks.
Mike.

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