Sliding hip belt pads a la Patagonia Ascensionist

When I load up my Cold Cold World Valdez for a big approach I sometimes get numb hip flexors or other hip woes, which I attribute to the pack's unpadded 1.5" webbing hip belt.  A friend has a Patagonia Ascensionist with hip belt pads that slide on the 1.5" webbing hip belt, and I kind of want to try these things out on my CCW pack.  

Does anyone like the Ascensionist hip belt with heavy loads?  Is it worth trying to get my hands on some of these hip belt pads?  Anyone ever make their own?

My buddy routinely carries 35-40 lb in his Ascentionist. Never heard him complain.

I can make you a pair of hip pads for cheap if you want to try them. They'll have to slip onto the waistbelt webbing, so hopefully there's no massive buckle permanently attached to either end.  PM me to discuss details.

I've had a 35L ascensionist pack for almost 3 years now and I'm not a big fan.  The hip belt is actually quite nice for light loads, but does not have much value for heavier loads.  The shoulder straps are awful though.  They've completely curled up and worn down to where it feels like shoe string on my shoulders.  I have a trango 50L now for heavier loads and it holds us MUCH better.  I'm skeptical of how long it will last me since I'm kind of rough on my packs... 

If you still have concern for support for carrying heavy loads, try a full size backpacking pack.  For example, a Gregory Baltoro is an incredible pack that will last almost forever and is very comfortable!  I still have my Gregory 80L from 11 years ago!

Mike Womack wrote:

I've had a 35L ascensionist pack for almost 3 years now and I'm not a big fan.  The hip belt is actually quite nice for light loads, but does not have much value for heavier loads.  The shoulder straps are awful though.  They've completely curled up and worn down to where it feels like shoe string on my shoulders.  I have a trango 50L now for heavier loads and it holds us MUCH better.  I'm skeptical of how long it will last me since I'm kind of rough on my packs... 

If you still have concern for support for carrying heavy loads, try a full size backpacking pack.  For example, a Gregory Baltoro is an incredible pack that will last almost forever and is very comfortable!  I still have my Gregory 80L from 11 years ago!

I have a CCW Chaos from 2009 for truly large/heavy loads, and I like it a lot.  It's a bit too big to actually climb with, though, so I bring the Valdez on trips where 40L is sufficient and I'm going to be doing 4th class or harder with the pack.  Unfortunately such climbs typically involve big mileage before and after; e.g. Goode NEB which was ~14 miles on day 1, climbing on day 2, and descending off-trail then hiking ~21 miles out day 3.  More recently I did a route on Prusik peak car to car, which is 10-11 miles each way.  Both of those involved hip woes.

Also very interested in this - just got an Exped Serac that has no hip padding and would love the option to add/remove.

I have the 45L ascensionist pack (the new one, with better straps/durability than the previous edition) and love it. Funny enough, one of my favourite things about the pack is the hip belt, feels amazing when you get it just to the right tightnesss, takes a lot of the load and the gear loops are awesome for gear or for keeping stuff handy on long approaches. The padding on them fits the hip shape perfectly, and I couldn't be happier with it. If you're getting some custom made, would recommend basing them off the ascensionist ones. Or find someone with an older ascensionist who's willing to part ways with the padding (granted it fits your belts webbing size).

I have the new Ascentionist 40L and like the hip belt pods, they do help. If I had custom ones made, I would want them about one to two inches longer. The height is good or I could even a little less tall, but definitely a tad longer to completely wrap around all of my boney hips.  

My favorite style are packs like the Mammut Trion Light where an unpadded webbing belt is permanently attached and goes outside/around a padded (light weight, perforated foam) removable belt. I know it is not hard man cool to stay this, but I find a pack like the FL45 fully loaded just too uncomfortable with only a 1-1/2 inch webbing belt. Shoulder straps that are a little too thin or an unpadded webbing belt are not a good place to save weight for any pack larger than 35L IMO. 

Got my pads from Gunkiemike today!  Hopefully will get outside and schlep around some heavy stuff this weekend, but so far I think they're great.

A note for anyone else who wants these: I guess they're patterned off the Patagonia Ascensionist hip pads, but due to how the hip belt webbing is sewn on my pack, I can't really move them any further back than they are in this photo.  If I were skinnier than my 30" waist that might be a problem, but it should be fine for me.  Maybe worth mentioning that (a) the Ascensionist hip belt looks like it has more room, since the pack fabric doesn't wrap around your hips/back as much, and (b) I've never tried on the Ascensionist so I'm kind of talking out of my ass here.

Thanks for doing this Mike!