<p>Anyone who has gone through beast and did camping/hiking before USMA-</p>
<p>How comparable is a foot march to hiking? It seems like it would be almost exactly the same except everybody goes at the same speed</p>
<p>I don’t think you’ll be stopping to smell many roses along the way. Otherwise, exactly the same!</p>
<p>I’m pulling your leg NA1987. I can’t wait to hear the real answers…</p>
<p>I havent one beast yet but I have backpacked at WP before. Big hills but nothing to bad. They are kind of like plateaus (spelling?) with real steep inclines and a flat part at the top</p>
<p>Go to an Army/Navy store, buy an ALICE pack. Fill it with stuff. Walk 10 miles. Voila!</p>
<p>Are rucks designed to put its weight on your hips, or does it all hang from your shoulders?</p>
<p>I’d hope the weight would be distributed. That would be downright stupid if it wasn’t. Look at some reviews on it if your curious.</p>
<p>Now, is the ALICE pack going to be the one we use?</p>
<p>NA1987: My son just finished plebe year and he’s an avid backpacker. He said the issued backpacks were “ok” but not nearly as comfortable as his internal frame backpack. The Alice backpack does have a belt to shift weight to your hips.</p>
<p>From my observation, the number of participants require that road marches are on more level, well-defined roads/trails than recreational hiking trails. Also carrying a rifle affects your walking style.</p>
<p>You may think I’m kidding but my son said the most difficult part of the marches for him was the limited number of backroom breaks. The new cadets were required to consume large quantities of water to avoid dehydration. Depending on your absorbtion rate and bladder capacity, the need for breaks differs. He found that marching when you need to urinate is a painful ordeal. </p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>“I’d hope the weight would be distributed. That would be downright stupid if it wasn’t.”</p>
<p>Actually packs are meant to hold weight at different places but have mose of the weight carried by your hips. Internal frame packs are better used when more of the weight closer to the middle of your pack directly against your back. External Frame (which is like a ruck I believe) is better when the bulk of the weight is near the top of the pack. The downside to having the weight at the top is center of gravity. The distribution of the weight by both packs is about 80% on your hips, the rest is on your shoulders. This is because its easier to use your leg muscles then just your shoulders to carry a pack.</p>
<p>Yep, anotherwords, distributed. The only bags that aren’t somehow taking the weight off your sholders are like the ones your were in middle school or in some cases high school. (and thats not the same thing at all)</p>