Load lifters at a glance
- Target angle
- About 45 degrees
- Weight they carry
- None directly
- They pull the load in, they do not hold it up
- Found on
- Framed packs only
What load lifters are for
Picture a loaded pack hanging off your shoulders with nothing holding its top half in. It tips away from you, and your lower back spends the day fighting that lever. Load lifters are the two short straps that stop it, running from the shoulder straps back to the frame at roughly the height of your collarbone.
The 45 degree rule
The number people quote is 45 degrees, and it's a decent target rather than a rule. What matters is that the strap has a genuine upward angle from your shoulder to the frame. If it runs flat or downhill, the frame is too short for your torso and the strap can't pull the load anywhere useful.
Using them while you walk
They're also a tuning control while you walk. Snugging them shifts weight subtly forward onto your shoulders, easing them off shifts it back to your hips. On a long climb, alternating between the two spreads the fatigue around rather than concentrating it in one place.
What this means when you're choosing
- A strap angle of roughly 45 degrees when the pack is loaded and adjusted
- Anchor points that sit above your shoulders, not level with them
- Whether a lightweight pack has them at all, since many sub-2 lb packs skip them deliberately
The common mistake
Cranking them tight
Pulled hard, load lifters lift the hipbelt off your pelvis and transfer the weight straight back to your shoulders, which is the opposite of the point. They should be snug enough to close the gap between pack and back, and no tighter.
Common questions
What angle should load lifters be at?
About 45 degrees up from the shoulder to the frame. Much flatter than that usually means the pack's torso length is too long for you, which no amount of strap adjustment will fix.
Why doesn't my ultralight pack have load lifters?
Because under about 25 lb the lever they counteract is small enough to ignore, and the frame they'd need to anchor to is most of the weight an ultralight pack is trying to avoid. It's a deliberate omission rather than a corner cut.