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My mother is 70 odd and loves hiking.
She has a curved back and finds it hard to find a daysack that is comfortable.
The back is basically too long on everything.
If she puts the pack on as I would, it makes her lean forward to straighten her back
If she stands upright as straight as she can, the pack sits on her bum - lifting the straps up clear of her shoulders.
We went to a shop with loads of packs, even the "womens short back" osprey adjustable packs are too long.
They all seem to be designed long and thin, whereas I think we need a short and fat pack.
Just 25 litres or so would do her.
Anyone had to deal with this before?
Mrs_oab is 5' and a smidge.
We had to search for short back, but ended up buying her a Gregory Maya 22.
The back fits really well, it is mega comfy. The only issue she has found when scrambling is that the back protrudes above the shoulder straps far enough that her hair or head can brush it at times.
You can see it sticking up here:
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50802951243_439f001c0e_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50802951243_439f001c0e_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2kphpst ]Ben Ledi[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/matt_outandabout/ ]Matt Robinson[/url], on Flickr
Some of the Vaude backpacks are highly adjustable for height - similar to the one above I think, in that you end up with some of the pack poking above the top of the straps - not really an issue if just using it for general walking though.
Yes that would be OK. Packs seem to sit on her bum and then the straps come from above. Even the shortest ones.
So if theres a pack that sticks up that will be fine!
I will try and find a Gregory and Vaude stockist. She tried everything in go outdoors.
I even saw this on decathlon and though it was a possibility, but the straps are too short.
Have a chat with the guys at Aiguille Alpine in Staveley
https://www.aiguillealpine.co.uk/info/advice-2/rucksack-advice/rucksack-back-sizes/
It might be too small, but how about the Camelbak Solstice Lumbar pack?
My Mum has similar issues and manages with a Deuter woman’s. May or may not be useful.
I have a berhaus freeflow 25+5 that is very adjustable - the whole shoulder cradle / strap attachment bit can be re positioned and goes down to extra small.. its pretty small for a 25 l bag but might help?
I'm small (160cm) and ride (or hike) with a Deuter backpack when I have to, I think its 15 or 20L. Usually I find a lumbar pack far more comfortable. It may be a woman thing but I like carrying weight on the hips not the shoulders wherever possible.
A lumbar won't carry quite the same volume of course. Some ingenuity is required to carry everything you need, which of course depends on the walk or hike itself. I've threaded an extra layer through the waistband of the lumar pack and hung the water bottle off it.
Thanks all.
If she stood up straight her back measures to the spec of the rucksacs. She's not actually all that short nor "petite"....
But the problem is she has a curved back, from hunching over in a career of teaching exacerbated by old age. So with her posture the rucksac tries to straighten her out which is really uncomfortable for her. She is not unique, a fairly typical shape for ladies in their 70s I think.
She may never find anything comfy (I think that in itself is a misnomer, what weighted rucksac is actually comfier than not wearing one?!) so I guess we will just try lots and speak to the custom rucksac makers like aigulle.
Aiguille Alpine can customise their standard rucksacks so they're certainly worth calling.
I think any soft back system rucksack that doesn't force her to stand upright should work. Bags like the freeflow above tend to have a metal or plastic frame that creates the air gap between bag and back. I find them really uncomfortable and I don't have major posture problems. Also look at OMM as they are designed to be very light with minimal padding