macpac liberator harness

[Scottyk]

Hi all
I have got a new macpac Torre 80 and I am trying to sort the harness out in terms of fit.
I am used a hip belt that sits down on my waist but this one seems to want to sit a bit higher. I have read through macpac's fitting guide and they seem to say that the hip belt should be bit hight e.g. the centre of the belt in top to bottom terms should be on the lilac crest.
Has anyone else got this harness? and if so where do they position the hip belt?
When I wear it feels a little high
Here is the macpac fitting guide http://www.macpac.co.nz/files/attachmen ... ctions.pdf
Would be great to get others views

[Giddy_up]

Hi Scottyk, I have a cascade 65 with that harness. I got mine as a bit of a custom job as that size backpack didn't come with a size 4 harness but we got it sorted. Mine sits just a little high when empty but when loaded with kit I find the middle of the belt right on my iliac crest. I've loaded this up a couple of times now with 20kg+ carrying for two and its been fine.
One thing that I quickly learnt was to watch what sort of clothing I wore with the pack. If I was wearing some of those quick drying and wicking t shirts the hip belt would slip down and place all the weight on the shoulder straps. Nothing serious, just the hip belt and shirt material were incompatible and very slippery.
Another tip to tighten the hip belt is if your tightening the left side pull the actual belt on the left with your right hand to the middle and at the same time pull your strap with your left hand. Repeat on the other side. This will allow you to get a much firmer hip belt fit.
G_U


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[wayno]

pelvis bones should be about in the middle of the hip belt... you might have to lengthen the back of the shoulder straps to let the drop down further on your hips

[Giddy_up]

Scottyk, what size harness have you got with the pack. You may have the wrong one for your body shape.


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[wayno]

did they size you up in the shop to make sure you got the correct frame and harness size?

[Scottyk]

it's a size 3
I got measured and yep I come in at the bottom of the size 3 range. So I got a size 3. I have lengthened it up as much as I can.
I carried about 13kg up the WOJ and it felt a bit high. On the way down I ended up carrying most of my wifes gear and I think I was at about 19kgs and it did start to feel a lot better so maybe it needs a bit of weight in it.
Maybe it is just me and I need to play with adjustments with some weight in it and then get used to the middle of the belt being right on the lilac crest.
The pack is great apart from this small issue, I am sure I will get it sorted.
Thanks for the replies.

[wayno]

take it back to the shop loaded up and see what they can do about adjusting it

[philm]

The harness and the pack do sit high as I have a cascade 75 with this harness. I found that the main difficulty in fitting the harness correctly was to first adjust the length of the shoulder straps. You should only need to do this once and it is done by accessing the adjustment from inside the pack. It will take a while but when correctly fitted the shoulder straps and pack should fit tight onto the back with no real gaps. The strap from the top of the pack to the shoulder straps should also be at about a 45 degree upward angle when you have the fitting correct. Once the pack is in the correct position the top of the hip belt should sit over the top of you hipbone by about half.

You should make all these adjustments with at least 12 kg of weight in the pack.

[tryangus]

You should only need to do this once and it is done by accessing the adjustment from inside the pack.

Adjustment is external. There will be a 'triglide' buckle between the shoulder straps (under the little stitched on "Macpac Liberator" badge) that you use to raise/lower the shoulder straps.

Sounds like the harness might be a fraction too short. Try extending it a little and see how that goes.

Good luck!