Rucking - Cutting Waist Strap - Page 2

x SF med · 02-01-2009, 12:54

Dougie and Atilla-
even at 55lb, the lower part of the ruck bounces enough to do damage to the bones, muscles and organs (kidney, liver, and sciatic nerve are very close to the surface) that will come back to haunt you in later life.

As you progress in your training/SF career you will find that in the field keeping your 'ruck strapped tight' will help you keep your balance and keep from getting injured. Just my .02, I saw lots of guys with back and knee injuries because "it's just a short hump, I don't need to use the waist strap..." one chuck hole, one rolling branch, one scree slide where the ruck starts swinging and you can be toast.

There is a difference between smart and hard - stay smart.

Prester John · 02-01-2009, 14:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by x SF med

There is a difference between smart and hard - stay smart.

Duly noted sensei.

I'm a lot harder than I am smart. I appreciate the intelligent people looking out for me.

Doug

Dozer523 · 02-01-2009, 16:56

I don't know if this medically dumb or not but here goes. . .
Back when I was in Group (when it was Hard

) nobody used the waist band. Something about being able to dump the ruck fast.
OH the discussions generated about when, where, why to dump a ruck another thread perhap. . .
Anyway. . . A lot of guys added extra cushioning to the pad. I guess I subscribed to the theory that "if a little was good a lot must be great". So I found a nice piece of foam about 5 inches thick; I cut it the the width and length of the pad, waterproofed it and secured it to the pad. I liked it. I did not notice any problem (that may be a personal issue). What I did notice was now the ruck was an extra 3 or 4 inches farther from the small of my back. Soon after this we switched to the SINGARs radio and,lo and behold it fit nicely,horizontallyin the space created. The radio was totally accessable, the antenna ran up the frame and fully extended did not point to me and shout "Shoot this guy first!" I also found that a Camelback fits there nicely too. A med pack for an IV will too. I can tuck most any "nice to have quick" thing in the space. Like I said, it didn't bother me, I didn't notice a significant weight shift etc etc. I also didn't notice anyone else doing it and that gives me pause because conventional wisdom can usually be trusted. Especially in the SF community. Or, maybe I'm really ahead of my . . . NAH!

(oh and it made a really nice pillow for those poncho hootch bivs)

Blitzzz (RIP) · 02-01-2009, 21:12

Way back when I was in the 7th, the team leader introduced us to waist belts. He actually purchased for the entire team. o after giving him a hard time we trained with them to prepare for a trip to Korea. The belts were padded and had quik releases ( for a quick ruck drop), but what we found after a little reconditioning was better agility with the rucks and shared weight load on the hips instead of all on the shoulders. Later in the 10th group we got the LOWEs and they came with padded belts. Any way thats all... Blitzzz

mcarey · 02-01-2009, 22:26

My experience with many a long heavy load is this.

Whatever ruck you use - pack it carefully to insure shifting of weight is kept to a minimum. Things you need, radios, med kits, chow and water should be easy to get to without "dumping" your ruck. I never could get my rucks load back tight if I failed to think ahead and pack accordingly. Heavy items should be kept close to the back/frame.

Use the waist strap when load bearing equipment and armor allows. It really does assist in distributing weight during diffent movements and causes less fatigue than not using one. Use of the waist belt also reduces lurching shifts when walking side slope or on scree. (as a medic, I treated many teammates that got spasms or worse from sudden tortional movements with a heavy load during a slide or fall)

Additionally, the shoulders straps can be loosened when going downhill and tightened when going up; keeping your load balanced over the hips and feet. Adjust occasionally throughout long movements to insure no hot spots occur on back / flanks or shoulders.

All that said, tactically you need to be able to easily drop and lift your ruck for quick movement. Both with and without noise discipline.

Practice movements, sitting, taking a knee and going prone to include rests and immediate actions to isure your QR's and buckles work / are positioned properly for use with and without gloves. No ruck flops!

Always insure your weapon is not rigged to interfere with donning / doffing your ruck.

Just my thoughts, take them or leave them.

All the best to the young studs reading this.

x SF med · 02-02-2009, 10:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blitzzz

... Later in the 10th group we got the LOWEs and they came with padded belts. Any way thats all... Blitzzz

The Lowe Alpine too big to jump Ruck - Ah I remember it well. Only being 5'8", by the time they got the jump harness set up for the monster - I was really disappointed - I had to carry the lower end of that sucker to be able to move... and in the field, the top of the ruck was 6-8" over the top of my head...

I had to use the waist strap on that bad boy just to keep it from dragging on the ground.

Bleh!

Blitzzz (RIP) · 02-02-2009, 10:16

I don't know who was responsible for the Lowe Packs, but I typically I don't believe it was an end user. I was always happy with the Alice. Blitzzz

7624U · 02-02-2009, 10:56

Lowe Alpine pack stayed in the locker I hated the birds nest of straps on that thing.

Hartley · 02-02-2009, 11:31

I had serious nerve damage inflicted on me by an Alice pack and it's narrow waist "pad". I went down to the PX and bought a civvie waist belt for a frame pack and had the riggers sew it to the Alice pad - worked for me.

My best ruck for for "heavy" missions was a 1944 back board (the molded plywood one) my father brought back from the "big one". I added a waist belt to it, but it was otherwise stock - you could strap ANYTHING to it, and it worked better for those 80-pound commo-guy loads than anything else I tried. The riggers had a cow the first time I went to jump it, but it was still in the manual (with an 81 baseplate strapped on) so they had to let me go.

Wayneo79 · 03-24-2009, 20:38

"Use the waist strap when load bearing equipment and armor allows. It really does assist in distributing weight during diffent movements and causes less fatigue than not using one. Use of the waist belt also reduces lurching shifts when walking side slope or on scree."

Yup, do what HE (Mcary) said... use the strap (in training) to reduce the possibility of injury to your VERY important back! And always walk softly to save your knees.

I NEVER used the waist strap, mostly due to my LBE hanging below my 4th point of contact, and, yah, I was a tough guy, all 160 lbs of me! Never had a lick of sense and always too stupid to know when to quit and start over the right way. After 28 years I'm really blessed my back is still functional but, I can tell it ain't right (mostly cuz of those jumps done between 13k gusts onto tundra or desert).

Train smart and train frequently (unless injured) to stay healthy, toned, strong and flexible (the REAL definition of "hard") to prepare for those days when you have other priorities.

funnyman · 03-24-2009, 21:38

Without wearing the waist strap, I got "rucksack palsy" at the very end of SFAS. I could not lift my arm at all and it took about 6 months till it came back 100%. Maybe not wearing the waist strap was just cooincidence, but after that I always wore it.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m...n9347435/pg_10