5 Ways Our Bodies Are Not Meant For Men's Backpacks
Have you ever wondered why most men's or unisex backpacks do not fit well on female bodies? If you are a woman who enjoys backpacking but struggle to find a comfortable backpack, you are not alone. Especially if you prefer ultralight or minimalist backpacking with an extremely low base weight, you may have noticed that the majority of ultralight backpacks are created for men, by men. Some of you may have settled for these packs just to reduce weight and could mostly manage with men's or unisex options. However, many of us wish we could find a better-fitting backpack.
So what are the differences?
1. Our shoulders are narrower. We tend to have narrower shoulders than men, and having a pack that is too wide can lead to the straps slipping off our body or putting pressure on our shoulders or back, leading to pressure points, rubbing and general discomfort.
- If a woman has broad shoulders, that does not necessarily mean a man's backpack will fit her better. Men's backpacks distribute weight to the shoulders, suited for their higher center of gravity. Women's lower center of gravity makes it harder to carry weight on the shoulders.
2. Our torsos are typically shorter. The length from the shoulder to the hip on most women tend to be shorter than for men, usually between 15"-18" on average. The length of your torso determines where the backpack will securely sit on your back. A pack that’s not sized correctly to your torso risks being uncomfortable or even causing injury. Backpacks with adjustable torsos help you create a more customized fit to carry weight that feels more centered.
3. We have boobs (S-curve shoulder straps). The classic straight or J-shaped shoulder straps will typically dig into our boobs. As women, we're told to find a backpack with S-curve straps so that they'll wrap around our boobs better. And it's true, that curve in the strap helps prevent the straps from smashing down our boobs and, instead, contour around it. Many ultralight cottage companies now sell interchangeable s-curve straps and/or smaller torso backpack sizes if needed. But, is the right torso size and s-curve straps really enough to create a comfortable fit for our female bodies? For example:
- Are you a short woman with a long torso, hourglass figure, and 'busty'?
- Are you tall with a short torso, broad shoulders, narrow hips, and small boobs?
- Or, are you average height with a proportionate torso, but have narrow shoulders, wide hips, and big boobs?
The reality is, you probably don't fit the mold of the "average-sized woman" catered to by standard-size women's backpacks in Small, Medium, or Large sizes. As a woman, you already know you are not a small man. So, you know the challenge of trying to be comfortable in a small men's backpack, let alone in a "unisex" backpack. If you're seeking a women's ultralight backpack under 3 pounds to support extended trips, options are limited for a comfortable fit.
4. Our hips are different. The hip belts in women's specific fits are designed to be angled upwards to provide better support to the hip bones and distribute weight evenly. If you've used a hipbelt, then you probably may have struggled, at one point or another, with pain and/or bruising on your hips from the hipbelt "digging in." It's probably because the hipbelt didn't have enough of an angled flare to cup around our angled hips, or you needed the hipbelt to extend longer.
Every woman's hips are unique, just like our fingerprints. And they are definitely very different from a man's hips. Your biology at birth affects the way your skeleton develops and changes during life. The major differences between a woman's hips and a man's hips is the shape of the pelvis:
- Our pelvises are broader - our larger pelvis accommodates childbirth, allowing room for the baby and surrounding organs to shift as the baby grows and moves toward the birth canal.
- Our hips are wider - our wider pelvis creates wider hips and causes our hip socket joints to be angled forward.
Thus, compared to a man's hips, our hips are wider, flare out, and angle forward. Hipbelts need to be designed to accommodate these nuances. If you get pain and bruising from your hipbelts, where it feels like they're digging in, then you probably may need a hipbelt that is more angled, and/or has the ability to expand and adjust to a larger size.
5. Our center of gravity is lower. Women's center of gravity is closer to the pelvis area, whereas men's is closer to the torso. This difference affects how weight distribution impacts posture. If your pack weight is not distributed evenly, you might find yourself being pulled backwards and forcing yourself to compensate by leaning forwards more. To address this, women's bags are designed with a lower center of gravity for balanced weight distribution and enhanced comfort.
- If a woman with broad shoulders wears a men's backpack and carries gear weighing around 20% of her body weight, it might not comfortably carry her gear. This is because her center of gravity is lower, making it harder to carry weight on the shoulders and causing her to feel unbalanced. However, if all her gear is "ultralight," then the backpack's design probably won't make a big difference in her ability to carry the weight.
Final Thoughts:
Women's bodies are so nuanced, with different sized hips, shoulders, and boobs impacting the fit of almost anything. Sojourn Trekkr addresses some of these nuances by designing our gear with multiple points of adjustment. If you're a woman searching for a backpack for your next outdoor adventure, find your nearest outdoor outfitter and start your search with those specific features that are meant for a woman's body: s-curve straps, adjustable torso, and angled hipbelts. Look to see how many points of adjustment they have built-in for these different features. Once you've found a few backpacks with those features, try on all of them and see if one of them is a better fit. If those don't work, look online for companies with a good return policy and try on everything else to see if those will work, then just return the ones that don't.