hikerfuel The hip belt on my pack left raw spots right where it curved in, even after I loosened everything and shifted the load lower for the multi-day carry. Tried padding it with an extra strap wrap but that just made the whole thing slide around more. Turns out the frame doesn’t spread wide enough from the start.
ScreeScrambler hikerfuel nailed the frame spread as the root cause. Once it won’t open out enough for your hips the belt’s just gonna roll or pinch no matter how you shift the load. Some packs let you swap in wider stays if the model supports it, otherwise it’s a different pack.
TrailGlimpse frame width locks everything else in place, no amount of tweaking the belt changes that once the stays are set narrow. if the pack doesn’t take wider ones, you’re basically shopping for a different harness shape that matches your hips from the jump.