Is 30lbs on your back good for you?

[adrian]

Thinking why a fully loaded backpack I got from craigslist weighed so much, I put it on a scale, and it said that it weighed 30lbs! :eek:

Now, all I have in this bag, is my final books for the quarter (physics book, routing book, and a folder) with my laptop (with two batteries), its charger and mouse and other small items including pencil, calculator, which shouldn't weigh a pound.

Although this thing has wheels, I don't think it'll look right as a guy with a tie pulling a bag. Should I reduce the weight, or just use the bag with wheels?

[Miulang]

Adrian, your health is more important than vanity. 30 lbs is an awful lot of weight to put between your shoulders, even though it's better distributed than if you were just carrying it in front of you.

Put your vanity and macho-ness aside and roll your backpack rather than put it on your shoulders. And you should only put what you need in that backpack, not like wahines who have those beeeeeg handbags that carry everything, including a small dog. :eek:

Miulang

[Linkmeister]

They put wheels on there for a reason. Use 'em. Wait till there's a draft if you want to carry 50-lb packs around. :D

[timkona]

Wear the pack high, and cinched up tight. 30 lbs is nothin. Heck, I carry my daughter around sometimes and she weighs 46 lbs already. Sounds to me like a great way to stay in shape between classes. If you get tired carrying 30 lbs on your back, that's a sure fire sign that you need to do more physically to keep that body alive for years to come.

[craigwatanabe]

Although this thing has wheels, I don't think it'll look right as a guy with a tie pulling a bag. Should I reduce the weight, or just use the bag with wheels?

That's about as absurd as a guy who would rather get soaking wet in the rain rather than be seen carrying a wimpy umbrella. Meanwhile everyone's dry and you the one with the wet hair.

The wheels are there for a reason...you really should use it. Yeah it doesn't look cool rolling it around like an elementary school kid but hey when you're older and the back pains are making you look like Quasimoto, that ain't cool either.

Remember what seems cool to one person looks really lame to others, like smoking because it looks cool or wearing sunglasses at night because it looks cool. Or wearing buttoned down dress shirts untucked and wrinkled because it looks cool. Looking cool is simply for those vain enough to desire it. :rolleyes:

[i-hungry]

take off the tie! :D

[Pua'i Mana'o]

Maybe you need a better backpack that is more ergonomic and lighter. Carry around a power cord instead of all those batteries. And carry your physics book in your arms in front of you. With the weight more evenly distributed, combined with a lighter backpack, your commute between class and car will be more efficient and healthier. Concentrate on stabilizing your abs and hips in your gait and you might find the walk to be the better part of your day. :)

[MadAzza]

If you are between the ages of 15 and 75 years old and a 30-lb. pack is too heavy, you are desperate for strength training. If you don't work out, you should start. You also should do some form of cardio exercise at least four times a week. Get your heart elevated *and* strengthen your muscles.

Use wheels if you want to be fat, out of shape and miserable — for the rest of your life.

[pzarquon]

Use wheels if you want to be fat, out of shape and miserable — for the rest of your life.Um. I'm all for more exercise, and 30 lbs. certainly shouldn't be a struggle, generally, for a healthy young man... but toting 30 lbs. on your back all day isn't neccessarily the best way to approximate weight or strength training. And for a variety of reasons, it could very well be unhealthy.

Controlled back exercise good. Back pain and strain, bad.

Bags and luggage with wheels are manufactured and, yes, recommended for good reason. For kids especially, but adults too... and if it helps, Adri, you see folks with ties pulling bags and carts with wheels all the time, and not just in airports. Check out the lawyers downtown! ;)

I don't think how you choose to transport your stuff will condemn you to a life of misery. Maybe use a bag with wheels but get the bus off two stops early for the excersise. If you do stick with the pack, though, I second the recommendations to make sure you're carrying the weight right (use both straps, keep the pack high!), and consider toting less around!

[MadAzza]

My poing is, the kid needs exercise. I'm not picking on him -- we all need exercise. He wouldn't be carrying it "all day long," just between classes and to/from wherever. Not continuously for 12 hours.

In my day, our backpacks didn't have wheels! And we LIKED IT that way!

The wheel hadn't been invented yet.

Honest to God, we didn't wheel everything all over the place and we were just fine. What is UP with all the wheels? And all the fat young people? Hmm, could there be a correlation?

Kid, get some exercise. And carry that pack! If it's too heavy, take something out.

This thread is ridiculous! And I'm adding to it! Aaaargh!