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Two sets of experiments were conducted to explore the hypothesis. Experiment 1 involved the design and construction of a laboratory spine and backpack. The apparatus is called the Spine Simulator. The latter was used to measure the forces required to counterbalance different weights that were hooked in varying positions of the experimental backpack. Experiment 2 involved the customized design of a conventional backpack that was compartmentalized to store weights in different regions of the backpack. Experiment 2 recorded the subjective evaluations of test individuals of their perceived counterbalancing force required to carrying the loaded backpack as the position of the load was changed. A variation of experiment 2 was also conducted to explore the effects of re-distributing part of the load to a FRONTPACK that was worn in conjunction with the BACKPACK. |