>>1260974Actually it depends...
For men, your heavy gear should be in the middle of your pack, closest to your back, generally.
For women, you'd want heavier stuff lower down, but not quite directly at the bottom.
Generally on mixed terrain you'd want it like this:
Bottom is for bulky items you won't need till camp:sleeping bag, pad, some camp clothes.
Mid-back is for heaviest items: Fuel, food, cook kit, and hydration resevoir
Mid-front is for light but bulky stuff: pillow, rest of clothes, tarp, etc.
Top of main compartment is for stuff you'll need frequent access to: toiletries, rain gear, a mid layer, shemagh, whatever.
Outside/brain is for essential quick access: map, gps, compass, snacks, sunscreen, bugspray, flashlight, etc.
I guess if you're on some crazy terrain you might want heavy items a bit lower, but this is for quite steep, continuous inclines where being top heavy will put you way off balance.
If you have an external frame pack, you want the mid to top all your heavy stuff, closest to your back, so the frame distributes the weight to your hips. Generally framed packs aren't for steep terrain anyways, so it's best to put the stuff high up and closest to the frame.
An internal frame it isn't as rigid so you wanna help the suspension by having weight as close to your centre of gravity (generally, men around sternum and women around pelvis) as possible. If you have heavy stuff directly at the bottom, it usually isn't being picked up by the frame properly and wont distribute the weight through the pack onto your hips in the best way.
