In a recent video, Kevin and Luke show us how to properly fit and adjust a Seek Outside ultralight backpack. Perfect fitting will not only be dependent on your specific torso size, but also on the weight of the load that you will be carrying. Here are 3 specific keys that we wanted to highlight from the video:
1. Adjusting the Hip Belt
First, the hip belt should center on your hips with full coverage of your iliac crest, or the uppermost point on your hipbone. You also want the hip belt to wrap around the front of your hips with as much coverage as possible.
There are adjustments that can be made to the hip belt on our packs. The hip belt is attached to the frame with two bolts and locking nuts through a grommet. There are two sets of grommets, giving you adjustability options in where the hip belt rides in relation to the frame curve. The video will show this in more detail.
2. Adjusting the Harness
Next, you will need to adjust of the harness and shoulder straps. Adjusting the pack to your torso size is largely a matter of harness adjustment. Torso length is typically measured as the distance from your C7 vertebrae (the most prominent bone at the base of your neck), down to the height of your iliac crest.
To adjust the harness and change the torso length, start by sliding the webbing completely out of the load lifters and out of the upper ladder locks. With these pieces undone, the harness will fall down from its attachment points, exposing two metal tri-glides on the back side of the harness. Pull the webbing from the tri-glides in either direction to shorten or extend the torso length. With the tri-glides evenly adjusted, replace the webbing through the upper ladder locks and the load lifter straps.
With the torso length adjusted, finish adjusting the harness by adjusting the load lifters and the shoulder straps. You want the harness touching your shoulders, but you should be able to slide your thumbs through. You don’t want the harness pressed into your shoulders but neither do you want it floating above. If you crank down on the load lifters and the harness comes totally off your shoulders, you’ve gone too far and should back off the load lifters.
3. Adjusting the Frame Height
One more thing to consider is frame height. Frame height is a balance of head movement and lift for the load. If you are carrying a heavy load, you might want the frame height to extend to the top of your ears. But you might lose some head movement. With a slightly shorter frame height near the bottom of your ears, you’ll get good head movement with sufficient load lift for moderate sized loads. To adjust the frame height on our packs, frame extenders can easily be added or removed.
For details and more in-depth instruction check out our Backpack Adjustment video:
If you have questions or need help, please give us a call at the shop at 970-208-8108. We’d be happy to help you find the perfect pack and get it fitted for your next outdoor adventure!