Glossary
Load lifters
The straps connecting the top of a backpack's shoulder straps to its frame, used to pull weight closer to your back.
Load lifters are the short straps found near the top of a backpack's shoulder straps, angled back toward the main body of the bag rather than running straight down. Tightening them pulls the top of the pack closer to your shoulders and upper back, which shifts weight off the front of your shoulders and reduces the feeling of the bag pulling backward away from your body.
They matter most on bags carried for a full day of walking, such as through an airport, a train station, or a city on foot, since a bag that hangs away from the back becomes tiring much faster than one held snugly against it. Smaller daypacks and slim personal items often skip load lifters entirely because there is not enough weight to justify them.
When adjusting load lifters, aim for an angle of roughly 45 degrees between the strap and the top of the shoulder strap, not pulled so tight that it lifts the pack off your shoulders entirely. A common mistake is leaving load lifters loose or ignoring them altogether, which is one of the most frequent causes of shoulder and neck discomfort with an otherwise well-fitted travel backpack.