Quote Originally Posted by Ken White View Post
The hip belt really came in after World War II, European Alpine and Nordic Ski Troops used rucksack / bergens (from the Norwegian town where the ruck with hip belt was refined) to achieve that stability Dayuhan mentioned. For a large load in rough terrain, it is very beneficial. Those benefits led to increasing adoption from the 60s until today.
I got a link to the photo and caption below via my Haglöfs RSS feed this morning.



There is a slight difference in design between the backpack you would use for a weekend of backcountry skiing today and the one someone would have used 70 years ago. These are both made by Haglöfs though. Maybe some of you prefer the old style?