Adjusting Your Recreational Barrel Works Canoe Pack For A Customized, More Comfortable Fit
Customizing your framesheet and stays will make loaded, heavy portages easier and more comfortable.
Recreational Barrel Works’ Expedition and Paddler canoe packs include the option of using a framesheet in their operation, which provides a rigid surface down the back of the wearer that helps to transfer the weight of the load off of the shoulders, down the spine and onto the hips - where it is borne much more easily, and for longer periods of time with much less fatigue.
Did you know though, that the aluminum stays used in the framesheet can be removed, and shaped to the back of the wearer to provide a custom fit, and provide even more comfort when carrying heavier loads? The difference is substantial (especially over long distance portages), and your shoulder blades and neck muscles will thank you. This blog post will walk you through the steps to adjust your stays for this modification.
ONE CAVEAT: if you share your pack frequently, or are part of a camp where many people may carry the same pack, this modification is probably not for your application. No two backs are the same shape, so what feels good for one person, may not work well for another who is taller, or shorter, heavier, or lighter - so if sharing packs is part of your routine, you’re better to leave the stays as they come - straight.
If however, you are the person who wears your own pack the vast majority of the time, the extra comfort and functionality of customizing your stays is well worth the time and effort to do so.
Step 1:
Find a friend to help you do this. It’s impossible to do it solo.
Step 2:
Put the unaltered framesheet into your pack, add some weight to the pack (camp gear, weights, books, etc) have the wearer wear it, adjusting it so the shoulder and waist straps are adjusted correctly, and the pack sits comfortably in position.
Step 3:
Take note of where the stays line up in terms of the wearer’s shoulders and back (you will need to place the stay in the same position once it’s removed from the pack and frame sheet).
Step 4:
Have wearer take the pack off, and remove the aluminum stays from the framesheet
Step 5:
Place one of the stays up against the wearer's back in the same position it was inside the framesheet
Step 6:
Take note of where the Thoracic curve (outwards) and Lumbar curve (inwards) align on the stay.
Step 7:
Mark the apex of both the Thoracic and Lumbar curves on the stay
Step 8:
Using the edge of a table, apply pressure to the stay to bend it to follow the contours of the wearer’s back. Multiple small adjustments are better than a single large one, as over-bending will need to be corrected and straightened.
Step 9:
Check fit and contours by holding the stay against the wearer's back - readjust where necessary to match the shape of the stay to the shape of the wearer's back precisely with no gapping. The stays will end up having a question mark or “s” shaped curve to it.
Step 10:
Once you have completed one side, bend the second stay to the same shape as the first, and then check for uniformity.
Step 11:
Verify fit of both stays against the wearer's back - make adjustments as necessary.
Step 12:
Carefully re-insert stays back into frame sheet. It will now have the shape of the wearer's back.
Step 13:
Carefully re-insert framesheet back into the pack.
Done!!
Load up your pack, find the gnarliest trail you can, and portage away!
