Pack & Trekking Pole Sizer
Pole length from your height, pack volume from your trip, and frame size from your torso — with which of those measurements actually matters.
Trekking poles
The rule is simple: with the tip on the ground, your elbow should sit at a right angle. That works out at close to 0.68 of your standing height, which is where the sizing charts come from. On a sustained climb shorten both poles by five to ten centimetres, and lengthen them by the same on a long descent — descending is where poles earn their keep, taking a genuinely useful share of the load off your knees.
On a traverse, set the uphill pole short and the downhill pole long. It looks fussy and it is the single biggest comfort difference poles offer on side-hill ground.
Pack volume
Pack fit — torso, not height
Frame size is set by torso length, measured from the bony bump at the base of your neck down to the shelf of your hip bones. It is not correlated with height as strongly as people assume — plenty of tall people have short torsos and long legs — so buying by height is one of the most common ways to end up with a pack that never sits right.
A correctly fitted pack puts most of the weight on your hips, not your shoulders. Set the hip belt over the top of the hip bones first and tighten it before anything else; the shoulder straps should then wrap without carrying much at all. If your shoulders ache after an hour, the belt is either too loose or in the wrong place — which is usually too low.
Torso length to frame size
| Torso | Frame size |
|---|---|
| under 16″ | Extra small |
| 16″ to 18″ | Small |
| 18″ to 20″ | Medium / Regular |
| 20″ and up | Large / Tall |
How to use
- Measure your torso length, not your height, for the pack.
- Choose a volume from trip length and season.
- Set pole length so your elbow is at 90 degrees on the flat.
- Load the pack and adjust the hipbelt before the shoulders.
Frequently asked questions
Why is torso length used rather than height?
Because the pack has to transfer weight from your shoulders to your hips, and the distance between them varies considerably between people of the same height. A tall person with a short torso needs a smaller frame, and fitting by height is the commonest sizing error.
How do I measure my torso?
From the bony bump at the base of your neck down to the level of the top of your hip bones. It needs a second person to do accurately, and getting it wrong by an inch or two puts the load in the wrong place for the whole trip.
Should the weight be on my hips or shoulders?
Hips, overwhelmingly — commonly cited as around 80 per cent. The hipbelt should be tightened first, over the top of the hip bones, with the shoulder straps then snugged to stabilise rather than to carry. A pack that hurts the shoulders is usually being worn wrongly rather than being too heavy.
What volume do I need?
Roughly 30 to 50 litres for overnight and weekend trips, 50 to 70 for multi-day, and more for winter or for carrying bulky group gear. Buying larger than you need is a trap, because a bigger pack reliably gets filled.
How should trekking poles be set?
So your elbow makes a right angle when the tip is on the ground beside you on flat terrain. Shorten them for climbing and lengthen them for descending, which is the main reason adjustable poles are worth having over fixed ones.
Do trekking poles actually help?
Substantially on descent, where they take a meaningful share of the load off the knees, and on uneven ground and crossings where balance matters. They cost some energy on the flat and occupy your hands, so plenty of people carry them and use them selectively.
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