Didn't quite make it...

[Russ Irwin]

Hi Delphia,

>Hi Russ.... I'm wondering what sort of backpack you had.  I have ordered on
>from the mail.. a place in Texas... this is a New Zeland made backpack and
>weights only 1.5 pounds.   That is great, but there is not a lot of 'frame'
>stiffnes in the back...and I am wondering about that.
>
>Do you think it was just the weight of the backpack, or was it the type..
>any thoughts on that.  thanks.   Hope I loose 10+ pounds..  My husband tells
>me to do it now, so I don't have to carry THAT along.  :-)

First of all I agree with everything Pieter just wrote in a different thread. I'll add my own
"experience" to it. This was my first backpacking experience so I started out knowing just about
nothing. I had a "Khamsin 38" made by Arcteryx. I had bought it mainly for it's lightweight (2lbs
7oz) and the fact that it "seemed" to have what I would need. Wrongo!

Let's start with the hip belt. Instead of a sturdy, thick, padded belt, it had what I would call a
thin "web" belt. It just wasn't good enough to hold the backpack on my hips. Even though I learned
how to put it on so it kept the weight on my hips, after I started walking it would just slide down
no matter how tightly I buckled it. Of course that would transfer the weight back to my shoulders no
matter how I adjusted the load lifters on it.

Now the suspension. The Khamsin has what they call a "Y" frame suspension which is bacsically a Y
shaped piece of fiberboard. What this resulted in was that the backpack would constantly rub against
the top and bottom (base of spine) of my back. Combine this with the fact that too much of the
weight was on my shoulders, add in a couple of weeks of constant aggravation like this, and  the
result ended up in the problems that I developed (they didn't happen overnight).

Now let me add something that I didn't bring up before. I didn't "completely" quit in Belorado. I
wanted to give it one long shot last chance since I knew that my backpack was the cause of my
problems. I took the bus to Burgos the next morning planning on spending two days there to rest up
and find a sporting goods store to buy another backpack. I did find a backpack that did what I now
knew had to be done. It had a good internal suspension and, more importantly for me now, it had
padding that had an open space down the middle to keep any pressure *away* from my spine. It was a
much better backpack and only cost about a third of what I had paid for my origional in the U.S.

I spent the two nights in Burgos and then set out the next morning happy to be back on the road
again. Too late though.  After about 7 Km the pain in the top of my back began to flare up again
with a fury. The damage to my back had already been done and even the best fitting backpack wasn't
going to help it now :-(   I do feel that if I had had the backpack I bought in Burgos from the
start that I'd just be completing my walk this week as planned. [sigh]  Maybe next year though :-)

My conclusion: Go with a backpack that FITS right, even it it's a little heavier. It's more
enjoyable to walk without pain than it is to walk with it.

Russ