Lowe Alpine Airzone Trail ND32L Backpack

All adventures begin with a backpack. A properly fitted backpack makes all the difference on the trail, steep ascent, or exposed sky run. Your backpack should allow you to feel unhindered, and give your body the freedom of movement it deserves. This guide is here to help you find the right backpack, with a perfect fit, for your next trip. We have broken down the backpack size guide into 3 easy steps.

Step One – Measure your back length You can find your back length by measuring from your C7 vertebra, the bony bit at the back of your neck directly down parallel to your iliac crest. Tilt your head forward slightly to find your C7 vertebra, and place your hands on your hips. Your iliac crest is the most obvious pretruding part of your 'hip bone' and where you would naturally place your hands on your hips with your thumb and fingers spread and facing away from one another.

Step Two - Narrow Dimensions You may have noticed some of our packs have the words ND in the name. The ND Narrow Dimensions packs are built with different proportions to the Regular packs, making them ideally suited to anyone with a smaller frame. They’re designed to provide a comfortable and supportive fit for women or men with a narrower build.

Step Three – Fit your new pack The mail has arrived, and with it, your new pack. It’s time to get your pack fitted, and ready for your next trip. Hold on. Before you get excited we just want to introduce you to some key components of your pack. Your backpack’s back system is made up of 4 main parts.

These are: 1. Hip belt The hip belt is designed to securely fasten around your hips. A common mistake is to put the weight of the backpack on your shoulders and use the hip strap for stabilisation. In fact, it works the other way around. The hips need to take your weight and the shoulder straps are for stabilisation.

2. Shoulder straps The shoulder straps are designed to fit snug to your shoulders, and the front of your upper torso, without restricting movement or blood flow. They should follow your natural shape and be secure enough to stop the pack bouncing around when moving, but loose enough to ensure you have a free range of movement.

3. Chest strap The chest strap, or sternum strap, is simply designed to stop your shoulder straps from sliding down your arms. This is particularly helpful when wearing softer garments, such as shells, where there isn’t much friction to hold the shoulder straps in place. The sternum straps should be tightened enough to achieve this, but it should not restrict your breathing or range of movement.

4. Load lifter strap The load lifter strap is the small strap that connects the top of the shoulders to the upper construction of the back system on your pack. If you loosen the straps, the top of the pack will move away from your body, and if you tighten them, the top of your pack will shift towards your body. This helps to centre the weight of your pack towards your body which is useful if you have a lot of weight at the top of your pack.