Your hip belt should do the heavy lifting.

The correct order is: put the pack on, buckle the hip belt over your hip bones, and tighten it before you touch the shoulder straps.

Most people hoist the backpack and yank the shoulder straps first. That puts all the weight on your shoulders and traps, which is exactly what makes hiking miserable. Your hips and legs are built for carrying weight; your shoulders are not.

So here’s the actual way: loosen the shoulder straps completely before putting the pack on. Then position the hip belt so it sits over the top of your hip bones — not your waist, not below. Pull the belt tight enough that the pack feels glued to your hips. Now, snug the shoulder straps just enough that they lie flat against your shoulders. They should be resting on you, not hauling the load.

After that, fiddle with the load lifter straps (the ones up top that angle back) until the pack sits close to your back, and connect the sternum strap. You want 80–90% of the weight on your hips. If you can feel the shoulder straps digging in, the pack is fitted wrong or loaded wrong.

This is not where you save six bucks of effort. Get it right and your back will still be talking to you at the trailhead.