That is what I'm assuming, but in my limited backpack experience, the variation of those belts is nearly endless.@JTQ said "I'm not completely sure what a "hip belt" is.."
I think the OP is referring to the bottom belt on a backpack that helps support the weight of the pack on your hips, in addition to the shoulder straps.
Exactly. A pack has to be able to be dropped when necessary. If you attach your gun to the pack (including a hip belt), that would leave you disarmed.I wouldn’t attach a handgun to a pack.
You go for a long hike, you get back to camp or get to your campsite tired. You remove and set your pack down hard. What’s at the bottom? Your gun.
Exactly. A pack has to be able to be dropped when necessary. If you attach your gun to the pack (including a hip belt), that would leave you disarmed.
The Army has long experience with this. The M1910 pack (and its successor, the M1928 pack) was an integral part of the soldier's equipment. Someone had the bright idea that all the equipment should be put on / taken off as a unit. But that meant that if a soldier removed his pack to rest, he would be without his ammunition. Not good. Every equipment development since WW2 has tried to find ways around this. Today, the pack is completely separate from the rest of the equipment.
In all of my many trips into the BWCA in Northern Minnesota, I've never seen a bear EXCEPT at the garbage cans at the entry points. It's the MOOSE that you really need to worry about! While a deer is graceful, a moose moves through the woods like a tank, knocking down every tree in it's way!