Pack it light, wear it right
Hey! You're not leaving home. Why break your back with your pack? Lighten it up. Your back will thank you.
Check out how much that stuff you haul around every day actually weighs
| Shoes | 1kg/2lbs |
| wet towel | 1kg/2lbs |
| 6 text books | 2.7kg/6lbs |
| 2 binders | 1.5kg/3lbs |
| 20 CDs | .5kg/1lbs |
| Game Boy | .25kg/.5lbs |
| water bottle | .25kg/.5lbs |
| sports gear | 4.5kg/10lbs |
| lunch/snacks | 1kg/2lbs |
| laptop computer | 2.7kg/6lbs |
If you're hauling more than 15% of your body weight (10% for younger kids), you need to lighten the load!
| If you weigh | Only carry |
| 23 kg/50 lbs | 2.2 kg/5 lbs |
| 32 kg/70 lbs | 3 kg/7 lbs |
| 40 kg/90 lbs | 6 kg/14 lbs |
| 50 kg/110 lbs | 7 kg/16 lbs |
| 59 kg/130 lbs | 9 kg/19 lbs |
| 68 kg/150 lbs | 10 kg/22 lbs |
| 77 kg/170 lbs | 11 kg/25 lbs |
| 86 kg/190 lbs | 13 kg/28 lbs |
Don't throw yourself a curve by carrying the weight of the world in your pack
If you don't lighten your pack, you could get a hunch back.
Straighten-up! Unless you want to be leaning all your life, lose some of the load off of your shoulder.
Get the lead out of your pack! And always bend your knees to lift. If you don't, you'll be heading for back trouble.
So what's the best way to carry a pack? Pack it light. Wear it right.
That load'll seem a lot lighter if you pick a pack with plenty of compartments.
You've got two shoulder straps. Wear'em both. Place your pack on the table, and put it on one strap at a time.
Carry the heaviest items closest to your body. Use your waist belt, and adjust the straps.