Hi, I'm Andy with Sierra Trading Post
Today we're talking about how to properly adjust your backpack.
The first thing that you're going to want to do is put a little bit of weight into your backpack so you can get a proper feel. 
Then you'll want to loosen all the straps so you can start from scratch. Then, go ahead and throw it on.
Once you have the backpack on, the first thing you'll want to do is find the right placement for the hip belt.
The padding of the hip belt should sit right on the top of your hips.
Then, go ahead and buckle that and tighten. Now, it should be snug, but not overly tightened.
Once you have that in the right place, then move on to the shoulder straps.
The shoulder straps just pull down like this, and again tighten them, but not too tight.
The contour of the shoulder straps should follow your shoulder back down.
If it goes up like this, the backpack is too large for you.
Next, you'll move on to the load lifters. The load lifter, you'll just pull on like this
That's going to pull the weight of the backpack in closer to your body.
The ideal setting is about a forty five degree angle on the load lifter straps.
Finally, you're going to move on to the sternum strap.
The sternum strap goes right across the chest here, and tighten, again tight, but not too tight.
What that's going to do is pull the shoulder straps off of your shoulders and reduce some of the strain there.
Now that everything is tightened, I can loosen the shoulder straps a little, and that's going to let all that weight fall back on my hips, and I'm ready to go.
That's how you properly adjust a backpack. For more backpacking tips, click on the backpack icon, and if you found this video helpful, give us a thumbs up.