[at-l] Hike ended short after 13 miles

[jbullar1 at twcny.rr.com (Jim Bullard)]

At 02:41 PM 3/4/2005 -0500, Chase Davidson wrote:
>Hey,
>         I like my chest strap. But like Steve said I do not use it to 
> pull in the shoulder straps.  I use mine mostly for holding gloves and 
> hats that are not needed at the moment but are quick at hand if needed. I 
> attach a loop to all my stocking hats and gloves so they can be hung from 
> the (loosely strung ) chest strap. Thats what works for me on the trails. 
> When scrambling or bushwhacking the sternum strap is useful for keeping 
> the shoulder straps in place. Still I wear it so as not to restrict breathing.
>
>chase

The sternum strap on my favorite pack has a piece of 2">< piece of elastic 
sewn at its ends to a about a 4" section of strap. I tighten the strap 
through the buckle until the elastic is taut but not stretched and the 
strap itself stands up in a loop above the elastic. That way it does not 
restrict my breathing/movement at all but if the pack starts to shift, the 
strap catches it. I don't have narrow shoulders and don't always use the 
sternum strap but since I keep the weight on my waist belt the shoulder 
straps are actually quite loose much of the time. I do snug everything down 
when balance becomes an issue and I don't want the pack shifting around 
unexpectedly.