Vent: I carried a 45 pound pack for years because nobody told me about pack fitting
I used to just buy whatever pack was on sale and load it up, and my shoulders would be screaming by mile 3 every single time. Last April I finally went to a shop in Flagstaff and the guy spent 40 minutes measuring my torso and adjusting the straps. Turns out my old pack was 3 inches too long for my back, which is why all the weight sat on my shoulders instead of my hips. First trip out with the new setup I did 8 miles and barely felt it. Now I will never buy a pack without getting fitted first, even if it costs a little more. Anybody else learn this the hard way, or am I the only one who ignored the hip belt for a decade?