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Skiing with a backpack?

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
I recently put up a vid of my skiing for critique on another forum. One of the comments was that I was still a bit in the 'back seat', which is absolutely true. The poster suggested that I should avoid skiing with a back pack as this will apparently exacerbate this situation.

Trouble is, I ski with my family (including one young child) and as my jacket only has so many pockets, I find it helpful to carry a teeny tiny rucksack with spare gloves, goggles, wipes, suncream etc. for the little'un. There is nothing heavy in there at all, so I'm wondering if that would really have a significant impact on my skiing in terms of affecting my balance?

Would be interested to hear your experiences.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
I bet if you took your pack off they'd still say you were in the back seat.

Flex your ankles more.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Unless you ski with your family IN your backpack I don't think it has much impact on your fore/aft balance.
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Quote:

There is nothing heavy in there at all, so I'm wondering if that would really have a significant impact on my skiing in terms of affecting my balance?

No, probably not - you see some very good skiers around the mountain with backpacks, and plenty in the back seat without. Like altis says, flex your ankles more (I have recently spent whole days concentrating only on my ankles and I think it helped a lot).
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
rob@rar wrote:
Unless you ski with your family IN your backpack I don't think it has much impact on your fore/aft balance.


Yes, that's kind of what I thought! wink
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Fenfilly, I'd agree that well-fitted backpacks shouldn't noticeably alter your balance. About half the days I've ever skied have been with a fairly bulky backpack, weighing somewhere between 5 and 8 kilos depending on what I've packed. The only times I even notice it's there is when it's not tightly strapped around shoulders and belly.
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Doubt it would make much difference, beyond the initial few turns when you adjust.

I Be Nice please! hate skiing without a backpack on these days, just feels so weird.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
I do find a difference with and without, but only that a backpack means once i AM back it is worse/harder to get out of, it doesn't make it difficult to be forward. A strap across the chest helps me. Really noticed it doing exercises with an instructor last week and was surprised as have been skiing with a backback for years!
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rob@rar wrote:
Unless you ski with your family IN your backpack I don't think it has much impact on your fore/aft balance.

+1^^
Laughing
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Just got back from Austria and did a quick count of backpacks while I was there. It seems about 1:20 were wearing them and it looked like most of them were Brits. Never quite understood why we feel the need for them. I doubt it's affecting Fenfilly's balance, but she could always wear it on her front and see if that helps Very Happy Logically, whether it helps the fore/aft balance or not it is definitely going to raise to CoG which can't be a good thing however you look at it.
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foxtrotzulu, you can always spot the british skiers - if they are carrying a rucksack and wearing a helmet then they are probably british
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
johnE, Certainly agree about the backpack, but even I was astonished to find that well over 95% of the skiers in Obergurgl were wearing helmets. Admittedly it's a fairly British resort, but even so.....
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foxtrotzulu wrote:
Just got back from Austria and did a quick count of backpacks while I was there. It seems about 1:20 were wearing them and it looked like most of them were Brits..


Probe, shovel and first aid are most important reasons. Plus in St Anton it seems every man and his dog has to rock an ABS (most notably in groups on loaner kit).
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
rob@rar wrote:
Unless you ski with your family IN your backpack I don't think it has much impact on your fore/aft balance.
+1, although it can make a difference how you pack your backpack. make sure the heaviest items (eg waterbottle, cans of beer) are at the bottom, otherwise you will have to adjust the whole time.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
In my experience even a tiny rucksack can alter your posture, though not necessarily your balance. I started carrying a tiny rucksack this season, with a waterbottle, suncream and specs in it - hardly anything - and found it aggravated an old shoulder condition and made me quite uncomfortable on long days out. I gratefully gave it up to a chum on several occasions even though it weighed very little and I'm pretty strong. (NB I really wanted it for carrying water as I tend not to drink enough and then get cramp.)

Most people, especially in desk jobs, have a tendency to slump forward - it's why young ladies used to have to wear "backboards" for deportment, and they strapped round the shoulders much like rucksacks. I am very conscious of posture but am still guilty of slumping myself. It's quite possible that your rucksack is changing your posture a little, but they're probably right about the ankles too!
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
johnE wrote:
foxtrotzulu, you can always spot the british skiers - if they are carrying a rucksack and wearing a helmet then they are probably british


Aye, you can tell 'em a mile off ...

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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
The convenience of a back-pack to carry stuff vs lots of pockets is good, however following an incident on the Echo Alpin chair in Linga a couple years ago, you are "strongly encouraged" to remove your back pack on all the chairs. Some people harumph indignantly at the inconvenience of this, or ignore it as they don't think it applies to them, wherupon the lifties stop the lift. This causes incionvence to all on the lift plus those waiting to get on.
In terms of posture, one other thing that can make a difference to your position when skiing with a back-pack is if you do up the chest strap and waist strap.
I found wearing a back protector helped my stance for both boarding and skiing (and keeps me warm). Very Happy
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
I have previously felt my rucksack was causing issues with my balance - I just left it at a lift station and skied a few runs to see if I could feel the difference. It has always been there when I return. I find my rucksack is like a ladies handbag (sorry for being so sexist Very Happy )
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Having skied without a backpack and landed on a full water bottle (after a gondola ride so rock hard) damaging ribs OH skis with a back pack. I prefer the predictable weight of a rucksack to moving contents of pockets in looseish jacket. Also seem to land on pocket contents frequently but have never squished rucksack contents...
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@Fenfilly, spin it round so the backpack bit's at the front and the straps are at the back
Just a thought... wink
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red 27 wrote:
@Fenfilly, spin it round so the backpack bit's at the front and the straps are at the back
Just a thought... wink


My belly is way too big Very Happy
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
It never ceases to amaze me the amount of rubbish some on-piste skiers feel they need to carry around with them. Wallet, sunglasses, phone , lip salve/sun cream and that's about it. There are restaurants all over the mountain if you need food or drink. Most Europeans seem to manage without rucksacks, why can't the Brits?
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Rucksack please.

Backpack is so American Mad
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@foxtrotzulu, Yes if the skier is a/ wearing a helmet and b/ carrying a rucksack then they are almost certainly British
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@Peter S, in Oz it is "backpack". Strange considering we use "bonnet", "boot" instead of "hood", "trunk" etc
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I can't say I've noticed. I use a pack sometimes on piste and always off piste. My position is usually down to how hard I'm concentrating. What is lovely about not having a pack on is the lifts. I must confess if I have my big pack on I don't take it off on the lifts.

@Peter S, I'm carefully using "pack" cos it's easier to type!
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Saw someone fall off the Panoramique chair in Tignes last month partly due to them wearing a backpack.
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Always ski with my pack. Never know when I will hit the off piste, so my avy gears is always with me. Plus it's nice to switch out gloves, goggles or whatever if the weather changes. I guess pockets are okay for that. But not ideal.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
I'm a rucksack / backpack user and in queues swap it so it's on my front on lifts. This means I can see the straps etc to minimise snagging but more importantly means I can sit back safely as I have quite long thigh bones. Have never had a prob getting the safety bar down and it only takes a sec. My pack has glasses / goggles (depending upon what isnt being worn) change of gloves & mitts / camel-bak bottle / extra layer / basic tuning tools and pliers plus my wife's bits and pieces too. In short as an ex Boy Scout I like to "be prepared". Re skiing style I naturally tend to sit in the back seat with bag or not as it seems to help me manage my dodgy sacroiliac joint but Bode Miller has a back seat style too, so it's not a huge concern for me overall!!!!! Very Happy
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
foxtrotzulu wrote:
It never ceases to amaze me the amount of rubbish some on-piste skiers feel they need to carry around with them. Wallet, sunglasses, phone , lip salve/sun cream and that's about it. There are restaurants all over the mountain if you need food or drink. Most Europeans seem to manage without rucksacks, why can't the Brits?


As a big lad, and a not very good skier, I find that I need to carry a big bottle of water for the day for myself , plus a few energy bars. I also end up with any of the other crap that the people I'm skiing with want to take. It's not really a lot of stuff, but it's not something that I like to have in my pockets.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
I ski hot so only wear a base under a shell. This is cold if you have to sit about so I carry a light duvet top in my bag, hat and spare gloves. Often a low light goggle too seeing as I have the pack with me. Plus I usually have off piste gear and maybe skins, and being diabetic plenty of food supplies, a small rucksack is very useful in this case.

Saying that, I never take it off for lifts, I just make sure that all the buckles are done up. The only place that made me take it off one of the straps then fell through a gap on the chair arm rest while dismounting and got stuck. It is undone straps that are the problem, so many people have waist belts just hanging, or looped behind the pack thus putting the buckle in line with the gap at the back of the chair.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Here's a tip. Take it or leave it.

For so, so, so many years and even more years on top of that - from antiquity - I have skied with a (fully compressible - v. important!) small backpack with full belt that in terms of cubic size accomodates a set of inverted ski boots just plus, when the boots are loaded plus an extra set of goggles, gloves, balaclava, neck gaiter etc. In the a.m. if I have to walk to the lift as I am away from our ski in/ski out place here in Snowmass I most comfortably walk to the slopes never in my boots, rather in my tennis shoes - with the dried and nicely warmed boots in the pack. At the base lift I easily change out into my boots, throw my shoes inside, compress the pack essentially flat as a pancake and ski all day. I routinely change out my gloves around noon as gloves do pick up moisture and drier gloves are warmer gloves.
At the end of the day which typically nets 45k to 55k plus vertical with my legs fully wigged out at the base I change out into my shoes and my legs and feet which so dearly need a helping hand get just that instead of the ubiquitous Frankenstein shuffle that everyone else is doing by being in their boots. Once back at the house - or, if away at a hotel, regardless, the boots come out, are fully stuffed with balled up newspaper for two/three hours - it's great......., it near fully absorbs all perspiration and then allowed to openly air dry till next a.m.

I cannot adequately state how great it is to both walk to, all the more from the slopes in your shoes. Your legs alone will thank you for it.


Merry Christmas to one and all. Hope your skiing - and skating - is filled with joy.


Last edited by Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person on Fri 26-12-14 15:26; edited 1 time in total
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Sneakers (whatever they are) on icy pavements and roads? I don't think so!
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@equinoxranch, what do you do with said 'sneakers' throughout the day? If you have a locker then I would leave everything in it in case I needed it - MERRY XMAS ALL snowHead Very Happy snowHead
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@Johnor, with the laces appropriately tued they make lovely, pre-warmed earmiffs.

@equinoxranch, just when I thought we had reached the limits of your posting surreality, we scream past. Delightful.

Have a lovely Xmas and a happy new year when it comes.
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18L and 22l avy bags )Beauty of the mamut/snowpulse system), with poles, shovel, FA kit, Radio, small drink and some food, plus bivvy bag and spare lenses and gloves. Cinched tight and care taken to remove and secure all straps. never taken it off on a lift and never had an issue in 37 years skiing with packs. Agree with comments above that its loose straps that are the issue and tha'ts more true when the rucksack is removed and carried. Wear the bag high and against your back tight and you can still get back on the chairlift seat (I also have a spine protector on underneath)

Oh and I wear a Ski Mojo so my position is spot on, the pack makes no difference, and I can leave it off easily when I take people from out group out on the local pistes for a couple of hours, takes 1 min to adjust
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@madmole, I didn't realise avy bags had been around for 37 years!
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
@RobW, Laughing
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RobW wrote:
@madmole, I didn't realise avy bags had been around for 37 years!


Normal sacks before I had Avy bag (nice present from the wife). If you go off piste then you must have a rucksack
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Hmm. Interesting comments here. Most (fun?) derogatory comments presumably from non-backpack users (sorry @Peter S, "backpack" the right word: its a pack and it goes on your back - "rucksack" is German).
Some (like me) like to go round with a lot of stuff - some don't. I have a backpack with me at all times. In UK its computer and a whole load of "stuff". On the slopes its spare gloves, extra layer, neck thingy, thermos, sandwich, water, and miscelaneous other items including spade and probe.
I feel "wrong" without the backpack, and i suppose it all started with kids, when needed spare and extra clothes plus ready supply of chocolate - solves all child problems on the slopes (for adults have hipflask).
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