Back Packs

[Don]

Hi i am  a newbie to this forum , i would like to find out if there are any remedies to stop my back pack from rubbing  against my skin arond the hip area, i have a Talon Back pack and no matter how tight i get it  it still causes a problem  to the point last sunday i did  a 44km training session with back pack , i carried 4ltrs of water  mandertory gear to get used to and  had a great session  through the mt lofty hills in Adelaide and did agood time 4 and half hrs but was in quite a bit of pain by the end. if anyone  has any imfo it would be appreciated.
                                                                                                                         Cheers Dej 

[Matthew]

Hay, good topic! I am having a similar problem. Mine was rubbing spasmodically and am still at a bit of a loss as to what is causing it? I did however do the Goldy 50k on last weekend & wore a technical singlet & got no rub. (I have been wearing cotton t-shirts) the only problem was I got BAD rub on my shoulder!!! If it's not one it's the other. I am thinking for the race I will wear a tech singlet & a tech shirt over the top. Hopefully that solves the issue! Oh as a side point, in training I always put vasaline on my back, but forgot to in the race! Go figure!!! Good luck and see you at the race!!!
TattooRunner

[Ray]

I find that having the bag as high up toward my shoulders the less problems I have (learnt this a long time ago in the Army with some pretty heavy rucksacks)
I make sure the main straps are pulled in tights as poss and the chest strap nice and tight (constant adjustment as the bladder gets lighter during the run!)
I dont like to have the straps too tight around my waist/fat gut (I think this is where most people get the rubbing from, your waist doesnt move the same direction as your upper torso, as your right arm moves forward your left leg is going forward and your waist tends to follow the leg) so losen the waist strap avoids the opposite pulling = rubbing

Not saying this is scientif fact or anything but hey it works for me and I've not had any probs in any of the runs I have done so far (fingers crossed) and that has included a 4 and a half hour trail run when it was chucking it down with Rain and we had three river crossings to make sure we were truly soaked! (lots of fun though)

I have the Camelbak Octane 18 which is very light and it fits like a glove, give the above a try and see how it works for you

[john]

I've found wearing a bicycle athletic top really helps, both from preventing neck rubbing (it has a higher collar), and I put a thin foam rectangle in the back zipper pocket and this helps greatly with preventing lower back chafing. Good luck! John

[Don]

Thankx guys, i wiil try them out and hopefully one will work  and good luck

[Joshua]

I used to get rubbing from my back pack.  (usually at the bottom of my back).

i just put some strapping tape over the areas where the back pack rubs.  that generally works.

good luck.
josh

[Tim]

I'll just second the bike jersey idea.

I've got the Inov-8 18 pack which is good but the shoulder straps were causing rubbing on my neck. Now that the weather is cooler, I've swapped to bike tops which have a small collar which is just sufficient to prevent rubbing.

They are definitely hotter than a singlet though even with a 3/4 zip. Hopefully heat (or cold!) won't be an issue on the day.

[Andrew]

I'd just like to second Josh's comment about taping the areas that rub. I used to suffer quite badly with this, especially in the shower after a run!

Decent strapping tape, or Therafix tape is the way to go. Just make sure you put it on dry skin, which isn't always possible. That said I have put tape on my back before a race and 33 sweaty hours later it was still in place and not so much as a red patch on my skin.

See you all out there,
Andy

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