Below, we present specific features regarding the Ultimate Pack® that make it superior to standard backpacks, and an "ultimate" solution to the serious health problems backpacks are causing our student/youth population. The Ultimate Pack is fashioned for a fine spine!

SPECIFIC FEATURES

1. By combining a backpack with a vest, the wearer engages her entire upper torso in the weight bearing activity and not just the back and shoulders. This allows for enhanced weight distribution.

2. The marsupial system, utilizing large front pockets for small books, electronic devices and so forth, serves to marginally offset weight carried in the cargo spaces on the back. Again, enhanced weight distribution

3. The cut of the shoulder straps greatly reduces rotator cuff problems. Incidentally, pack makers call this type of shoulder strap, ERGONOMIC. It is commonly seen on high-end backpacks.

4. The shoulder straps are an extension of the shoulder padding and exist as part of a solid state, padded yoke or harness sewn in across the shoulders of the vest. The entire shoulder span participates in the weight bearing activity, and when loaded up, the Ultimate Pack™ encourages each shoulder to rotate back, causing the wearer to stand up straight. Standard backpacks encourage wearers to roll their shoulders forward to compensate for the weight on their backs, thus forcing the wearer into a stooped posture.

5. The lumbar support belt is a significant feature to the Ultimate Pack. The fact that it can be removed and firmly positioned for optimum safety and comfort on the wearer's lower back is distinctly unique. The fact that it is made of foam as opposed to plastic is also distinctly unique. High-end packs claiming the advantages of lumbar support typically have a hard, plastic disc sewn into the back of the pack. This device bears in on the bones of the lumbar region, often painfully when the pack is loaded up. Additionally, such packs often use a sewn in plastic rod-type device that runs down the spinal column of the pack.

6. The lumbar support belt creates what we call the "lumbar-shelf support system" which reduces the possibility of injury and increases the overall comfort through its shelf property. The lumbar support acts as a weight-bearing shelf for all the weight stored on the back and reduces the full amount of weight placed on the shoulders and the upper body, thus actually lightening the load.

7. The base of the storage container on the back is diagonally graded so that objects stack efficiently. That is, objects will continue stacking upwardly as the storage space is packed outwardly; the weight of the load automatically sits higher up on the back.

8. Compression straps are situated on two areas of the pack. One set runs diagonally along both the left and right sides of the storage area. When these are cinched up, the weight of the load is drawn closer to the back. The second set runs one over each shoulder, feeding to the inside of the vest. When these are cinched up, they draw the weight of the load higher up the back. Standard backpacks, relying solely on conventional shoulder straps to draw weight up, are inefficient in the task. Often, when cinched to the max, the weighted shoulder straps will impinge on the rotator cuff and cut into the shoulder. Often, to compensate for such discomfort, the wearer of the standard pack will then let out the straps allowing the pack to drag low on the back or on the butt and bounce about when walking. Our compression straps, working in concert with the shoulder straps, allow wearers to adjust the weight of their loads to maximum comfort and healthward efficiency.

9. An adjustable sternum strap is situated for fastening across the wearer's chest. The sternum strap can slide up and down for the wearer's maximum comfort. Another comfort and safety feature includes well-padded cushions sewn into the back panel of the vest. Finally, the Ultimate Pack® is available in sizes XXS - XL, as opposed to the majority of standard one-size-fits-all backpacks. Our multiple sizes nearly assure a perfect fit for most users.

10. A less obvious feature regarding SAFETY in the school system is seen when students drape their Ultimate Packs over the back of their desk chairs as they would a jacket. Standard backpacks are inclined to end up in the classroom aisle where students trip over them.

I want to know more about how backpacks affect my child's back health.

Backpack
Factoids

The average
elementary
school student
carries 24 pounds
of books on
his/her back
every day.

The average
high school
student
carries 45
pounds
of books on
his/her back
every day.

Doctors and
chiropractors
are seeing a
75% increase
in back injuries
in children over
10 years ago.
65% of these
are due to
back pack
loads.