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Question: my husband has an old backpack from his boyscout days. It's big, rarely used, and on a nice frame. Are these frames designed for the person who wears them? IE, is a frame he used going to be too big for me? Also, is there a way to take the pack off the frame and use it for a day pack?

Newbie hiker wrote:Question: my husband has an old backpack from his boyscout days. It's big, rarely used, and on a nice frame. Are these frames designed for the person who wears them? IE, is a frame he used going to be too big for me? Also, is there a way to take the pack off the frame and use it for a day pack?

Holly,

The best thing to do is simply try the pack on, and see how it feels to walk around with it. Even better, you may want to take it out to relatively rough terrain for a short hike to test it. I doubt that a person would attempt to have a pack tailored specifically to meet their own needs, because that would take more effort and money than is really necessary in finding a generally good pack. It's all about finding what style works best for you. If your husband's pack is too big or heavy, there are plenty to choose from at your local hiking stores.

There should be a way to take the pack off of the frame, although I wouldn't know what to tell you on that one because all packs have their own various features. If your husband still has the owner's manual, you may want to give that a try. If not, I'm fairly sure that information can be found on a search engine by typing in "hiking backpacks" or something of the sort.

Hope that helps.

External frames (I'm assuming thats what type of pack it is) usually have several adjustment points on the frame. There should be pins, or straps that attach the pack, the waisbelt, and the shoulder straps to different points on the frame. Try adjusting these so that the distance from the top of the shoulder straps and the waistband is slightly longer than the length of your torso (hips to shoulders), the shoulder straps can usually be adjusted in and out to accomodate wider or narrower shoulders. Gennerally speaking most packs cannopt be removed and used as a daypack because the shoulder straps are attached at the frame not the pack itself. I have several different packframes internal and external (most of wich I have bought second hand) that have all served me well for their different purposes (internal for scrambling, external for heavy loads, daybags for, well, daytrips). I would reccoment a camelbak (or equivelent) for a daybag, the hydration system makes it easy to consume enough water to stay hydrated. When you test out the frame pack you should try to load it as closely to field conditions to give you a good idea of how it will actually feel. (heaviest weight should be distributed towards the top and as close to your back as you can get it). If you can't get the pack to fit comfortably try checking out some of the thrift stores in your area, they often have used packs that are still in good condition for just a couple of bucks.

Another option is to go into your local outdoor sporting goods store - go to the pack section and ask them as many questions you can think of. They will have you put on one of their packs and show you exactly how it should fit. Then you can go home, try on your used pack and see if you can adjust it to fit in a similar manner. - Good Luck and be careful - once you start backpacking :rollH: you won't be able to stop!