Originally Posted by kartoffel
Seems a little odd. Infantrymen have been humping backpacks way heavier than 4 pounds without tuckering out. If there was a better way, certainly the military would have figured it out by now.
An extreme amount of weight on your back might cause a sore butt, but four pounds?
Have YOU ever done a 1200 km (750 mile) randonnee with a camelbak? I have. It was a BIG, BIG, BIG mistake. I almost had to DNF because of it. It is amazing how much damage 4 lbs of weight on your shoulders can do over 90 hours on the bicycle.
At the 1000 km point of the Last Chance Randonnee, I couldn't move my left arm anymore, and it and both shoulders were screaming in pain. Rowan was riding with me and he helped me off with the camelbak (I couldn't even get it off myself) and strapped it down on the back of his bicycle. About an hour later my shoulders started to feel better, about two hours later my left arm began to become more functional again. By the time I finished the ride I was fine.
I'd LOVE to be able to wear a camelbak on a randonnee ... I've been racking my brain how to carry more water ... but I'd rather not hurt myself. It has absolutely NOTHING to do with being cool ... it has EVERYTHING to do with pain or the lack thereof.
Oh, I should add that I can wear one up to about 400 kms without much difficulty ... it is as the distances increase that the pain also increases ... and mine is a small camelbak.