[at-l] Shoulder and Sternum Straps

[dfaddleton@mindspring.com (David)]

> My opinion is that women do
> not have the large trapeziods and deltoids that men have so the straps
tend
> to fall off the shoulder.  After years of doing this I have indentations
in
> mty shoulders from the shoulder straps so I probably could get rid of the
> sternum strap now

What kind of back pack do you carry?

A male here. I do not let the shoulder straps rest on my shoulder. Most good
back packs with a belt have a strap near your ears that you can use to pull
the shoulder strap away from resting on your shoulder. This puts all the
weight of the backpack on your belt and thense to your legs. I find this
infinitely more comfortable than carrying any weight from shoulder. In fact,
a slightly modified my Dana Designs K-2 external short-bed to move the
shoulder straps even further from shoulder than the original design allowed.

The sternum strap in this arrangement becomes necessary to keep the shoulder
straps in front of my shoulders.