Can anyone recommend a lightweight backpack for my husband?

[GrizzlyMama]

Jim is planning a 3-day backpacking trip with our son and grandson. The shoulder straps on his current backpack are rubbing on his port. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[RyderLake2]

Hello, There are many types of backpacks but two I like are Tortuga and Osprey. Do a Google search. Good luck!

[GrizzlyMama in reply to RyderLake2]

Thank you!

[Shooter1]

If he doesn't have a waist belt to carry the weight, get him one.. My back- shoulders won't carry much weight, so I just balance with them and carry weight on hips.. Have fun on trip..

[GrizzlyMama in reply to Shooter1]

Thank you! His trip is planned for July 20-23.

[AlanMeyer]

I have seen school children (this was before the pandemic when you could see school children) wearing backpacks with single straps. Maybe there's one like that that will avoid the port area. He'd have to find one in a store where he could try it on.

Another idea is to lengthen the straps on the existing backpack and use a belt, strap, or rope to bind the straps together in the center of chest. Maybe that will move them away from the port far enough to avoid the rubbing and yet still be acceptably comfortable.

There are also some big fanny packs that might carry to be useful.

Good luck with it.

Alan

[AlanMeyer in reply to AlanMeyer]

Googling ( single strap backpacks ) will find tons of them.

[GrizzlyMama in reply to AlanMeyer]

Thank you for your suggestions!

[TeleGuy]

If you're backpacking for three days he must have a regular backpack with a waist pad and strap. If fitted correctly, most of the weight is carried by his hips. To handle the shoulder strips, could you get some thick felt at a fabric store and tape it on to his chest above and below the port so that the weight of the strap pushes against the felt and into his chest, leaving the port tube free from pressure?

I wish you all the best, we are attempting a simple overnight backpack trip next week!

[GrizzlyMama in reply to TeleGuy]

The felt and tape may be a great solution! I’ll let you know what he decides to use. Thank you for the suggestion. How was your overnight trip?

[TeleGuy in reply to GrizzlyMama]

My daughter was sick so we had to bag it, hopefully we can go yet this summer.

[MateoBeach]

The Gossamer Gear Mariposa is perhaps the most comfortable ultra light backpack and what I use for long “section hike” backpacking. Must fit properly with weight on the waist and not shoulders. There are other great ones too. outdoorgearlab.com/topics/c...

[GrizzlyMama in reply to MateoBeach]

Thank you! The ultra light backpacks are great! Prior to Jim’s cancer diagnosis, he was an ultra light backpacker, using a GoLite backpack. This will be his first trip in 4 years.