What kind of Belt Best Paired with The Hip Belt According to Hikers?
People vary in preference, whether belt or beltless while hiking with their backpacks. If you are voting for the belt group, what kinds of belts would you recommend to hike under the pack?
Why Hip Belt is A Must?
Firstly, let’s talk about why a hiking backpack with a hip belt is necessary. Unlike the travel backpack that provides flimsy webbing straps, the hiking backpack with the hip belt is an ideal backpack for outdoor gear. A hiking backpack is designed to contain a large space for different kinds of storage, such as high-energy-containing food, clothing, plenty of water, and a first-aid kit. It gets heavy once it is stuffed. Relying on your shoulder with weak muscle strength is too much to bear the heavy load of the pack. In addition, it would strain your body in the long run. Therefore, there is a reason for the invention of the hip belt.
According to the Outdoor Gear Lab, the padded hip belt of the backpack is specially designed to carry 60-80% of your pack’s weight due to the stronger muscle strength of your hip while the remaining weight would be carried by your chest and shoulders. The transfer of the weight from shoulders to hip is performed by the straps. This is why people tend to feel lighter with the hiking backpack despite it is loaded.
When Hip Belt Fight Against Belt of the Pants
Both the hip belt and belt of the pants are important to hikers. Both serve to ensure maximum comfortability during the hike by doing their jobs respectively. The purpose of wearing the belt is to hold up their pants during the hike whereas the purpose of wearing the hip belt is to do the heavy-lifting job. However, many hikers often have an issue with both of the belts going together during the hike. For some of them, the experience sucks! Check out this article to find out why. To put it shortly, some hikers decided to tie both belts together to prevent the belt of the pants from moving around at the expense of comfort. Imagine a lump of knots placed against your abdomen. It could get worse if the buckle belt is a bulky type.
What Kind of Belt Would Be the Best to Pair with A Hip Belt?
Based on the experience of the hikers, a sturdy belt with a low-profile buckle design would be the best option to pair with a hip belt. Here are the recommendations for searching for the right belt:
• Webbing Nylon Strap: Strong and Lightweight
• Buckle: Flat and Thin
• Strong Grip
• Micro-Adjustable: Holeless
You don’t need a fancy or high-tech belt. All you need is a belt with the above features to get your belt to stay at the right place comfortably as if it could not be felt.