Thinking of an Aarn bodypack?

[kneighbour]

Correctly fitted the full weight of an Aarn pack should be on your hips.
I can easily slide a finger under my shoulder strap (at the shoulder) with a full load on.
You can have the weight on your shoulders if YOU choose to do so but they are not designed like that.

I suspect that most backpacks are designed like that. Certainly the idea is to get as much weight onto the hips as possible. This just emphasizes the ineptness of the salesman, I guess.

[Gusto]

The Universal Front Pockets are a little different. In alot of cases the regular front pockets attach fairly easily too. They come with little attachment pieces.

[jobell]

I'll add my vote for the AARN packs. I took an Effortless Rythm on the AAWT last year and it performed admirably with no wear and tear even though I managed a few steeper descents on my bum with the pack scraping on the ground. It's worth watching AARN's own videos (links via his website) on fitting, I learnt a lot about making the pack work well for me this way.

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[kneighbour]

Frankly, I think I have given up on the Aarns. There seems to be no/little support for them in Brisbane, and Aarn himself cannot be bothered with current videos or much in the way of marketing. Too little confidence in the fitting or support for such an expensive purchase.

[GPSGuided]

The fitting is hardly a difficult science. Just follow the Youtube video steps and it'll be more than good enough. As for many products out there, that extra bit of uniqueness and improvements are for those who are willing to read a few lines of instruction. Personal choice. As for price, they are not very different to packs for serious user. Anaconda has cheaper packs.

[Strider]

The fitting isnt hard at all. If you buy from Backpacking Light in Melbourne, Tim will do a Skype fitting session with you. Like most packs, the real adjustments happen on the track before you really learn what works for you.

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[kneighbour]

The fitting isnt hard at all. If you buy from Backpacking Light in Melbourne, Tim will do a Skype fitting session with you. Like most packs, the real adjustments happen on the track before you really learn what works for you.

Yeah, had thought of that.

[onward]

I have had a Featherlight Freedom for a while, always liked it, couldn't quite get it to work (despite watching lots of videos), went back to Backpacking Light, 15 mins with Tim and it was largely sorted, a bit of tweaking on each trip to suit the load and couldn't be happier with it. And the front load pockets really work, I loaded the pack with 12kg and then started adding weight to the front pockets; I still can't get over how much difference it made, stopped at 3kg in each pocket because I didn't have more weights.

[kneighbour]

I submitted today - finally took the plunge and bought the Effortless Rhythm (66L) plus the Sport Pockets</strikeout>. I am not totally happy with a few of the features, but it has the volume I want. I am going on a short 6km walk this afternoon to try it all out. They are certainly weird packs to say the least, and I can quite see why they are not particularly popular (apart from poor marketing). Anyway, will report back after my test walk today.

BTW - K2 Basecamp here in Brisbane came to the party after I found a salesman that knew what he was talking about. They turned out to be very helpful, so perhaps the lesson here is not to go in at the busiest time of the day.

Edit: I mentioned I had Compact Balance pockets - my mistake, they are the Sport pockets.

[kneighbour]

Not sure why you are put off by the lack of an integrated pack cover. Pack covers used to be in vogue when heavy canvas packs were popular, as these fabrics would absorb a lot of water making them even heavier. A waterproof liner will always be much more effective at actually keeping your gear dry.

Well, I am not any more. Have learnt my lesson there. I have been using a dry sack in my old Black Wolf pack and it works just fine.

I have an Aarn Guiding Light and love it. To be honest the construction is not great and the fabrics are cheap. There are also some quirky features that don't even make sense (e.g. the trekking pole system, worthless straps inside the top of the tool pockets, "rope door" to nowhere behind your head), BUT the harness is nothing short of amazing. My dream pack is an Aarn design built by Osprey.

I just bought the Effortless Rhythm, and one of the first things I checked was the trekking pole mounts as I could see myself using those on most hikes. I did this in the shop, and even the salesman could not work it out. As you say - they seem totally useless. It is puzzling as it is obvious that there has been a lot of research and time spent on designing these packs. How could they get something so useful and (to my mind) fairly simple so wrong? I have actually emailed Aarn to see if I am missing something.

And you are right - if Aarn linked up with Osprey they could come up with a winning pack design.

[GPSGuided]

I just bought the Effortless Rhythm, and one of the first things I checked was the trekking pole mounts as I could see myself using those on most hikes. I did this in the shop, and even the salesman could not work it out.

Are you serious? The ice tool straps and holding facility is easy to use for trekking poles, just can't be accessed without taking the pack off unless there's a friend around. The wrap around flap (optionally used) is great as it completely eliminates any risk of the pole catching tree branches as one moves through scrubs. Otherwise no more challenging than the great majority of the packs out there. That under the arm Osprey quick access pole holding design can be handy but my Black Diamond folding pole is a bit short for that design, easily falling out from one of the ends. Quite annoying.

[Strider]

I think kneighbour is talking about Aarn's under the arm system, GPS. It's a design disasterm

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[kneighbour]

Are you serious? The ice tool straps and holding facility is easy to use for trekking poles, just can't be accessed without taking the pack off unless there's a friend around. ... That under the arm Osprey quick access pole holding design can be handy but my Black Diamond folding pole is a bit short for that design, easily falling out from one of the ends. Quite annoying.

Totally serious. The straps on the front of the pack are fine. I never use those as I hate taking the pack off during a walk. And they are so varied I would never stop to put the trekking poles there. The side mounts are what I am talking about. I just checked out the Aarn video showing how to fit the poles and it seems that my particular pack is missing the loops on the waist belt. Whether this is a shipping issue or a new design I am chasing up with Aarn.

[kneighbour]

Did a reasonable 6km hike with the Effortless Rhythm pack loaded to about 10kg yesterday. Some steep hills, rough tracks and a lot of flat. A good mixture of terrain. Pretty impressed with the waist belt. It looks very flimsy (no padding) as do the shoulder straps. Totally unlike any other pack that I have seen, which usually go for thick padding. But the dual straps on the waist belt are great - you can adjust top and bottom tension to really get the belt fitting over your hips. So far, this is the best part of the system.

As others have said, the shoulder straps take no load, so do not have to be padded. It still looks a bit weird.I remember looking at them in the shop and thinking - that doesn't look right!

The backpack itself is 66L and looks huge. Even with a dry liner, it looks a lot bigger than my 65L Black Wolf. I might have gone a bit bigger than what I really need here, but I guess you cannot have too much room. Only half filled it yesterday, so not much I can say here. The lack of side pockets is a bit annoying (might have to spend $30 to get the lasso-locks). There are no top or bottom loop straps to tie on your foam mattress (or whatever), which is also a bit of a disappointment. Cannot see anyway to carry the mattress now - perhaps tie it to the front with paracord or something? No idea.

The front balance pockets were not as practical as I had hoped. They are great for load shifting, but for making things available on the hike, and for carrying water, they need a bit of work. On my part, I might add. I found it hard to get the water bottle to go into the front expandable pockets (they are small) and in fact it fell out at one point. I usually use a hydration pack, and I found using a water bottle at all a bit of a pain. Since it was so hard to get out and return, I drank less water than I wanted to. Anyway, I think a lot of this is on me, and that I need to work out a better system of loading the pockets. Must see if I can get a hydration pack in there somewhere.

I also have a pretty big gut, so the pockets hung more to the side than out in front - so using the trekking poles was a bit of a pain as I kept rubbing on the balance pockets. This is not a fault of the Aarn system - I just need to get a better body!

Anyway, overall a success. Loved the waist belt and suspension system. I am sure that I will iron out the little difficulties over the next few hikes.

[Strider]

Put your mattress inside your pack, where it belongs. As for the bottle vs hydration pack, I really enjoy having easy access to bottles. You might struggle fitting these in due to the small Compact pockets? Water really needs to be up front or you throw the balance benefit out of whack. I split my weight approx 50:50 between front and rear packs.

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[kneighbour]

Put your mattress inside your pack, where it belongs. As for the bottle vs hydration pack, I really enjoy having easy access to bottles. You might struggle fitting these in due to the small Compact pockets? Water really needs to be up front or you throw the balance benefit out of whack. I split my weight approx 50:50 between front and rear packs.

The mattress is a concertina type, a Thermarest Z-Lite. Probably won't fit inside the pack. Perhaps it is not called a mattress, but an insulating pad.

I found it hard to get to the bottles, so definitely harder for me to access than a hydration pack. Aarn recommends "Rectangular section water bottles fit best in the mesh pockets on the Balance Pockets". I have never seen a rectangular water bottle, and have been searching on ebay for such a thing with no luck. Bit weird. I have just ordered a 1L hydration pack that I think just might fit into one of the Balance Pockets. Will see how that goes. I agree that it would be good to get the weight of the water into the front pockets somehow, just don't see how at the moment.

There is a hydration port in the top lid, so if it comes to it I can use that. But it seems like it was put there as an afterthought (or customer demand). I don't think putting the water in the top lid is a good idea. First of all, there is nothing in there to hold the bag - so I can see it slipping around, perhaps even getting other items wet. It is also horizontal, not vertical as per normal. And of course it is above and to the back of your head, and juts out away from the body - not sure if that is a good place as far as COG goes.

There are connectors (of sorts) on each side for the Lasso-Locks. I have been eying them and trying to picture some sort of paracord suspension system for a hydration pack. They are perhaps too far apart for it to work though.

Not a good system overall.

[Strider]

I think the issue is you are focusing too much on carrying items outside the pack. This is a bad idea as it only leads to things getting wet, lost or damaged. Aim to put 100% of your gear inside your pack, if you can't do this you need a bigger pack (not likely with the ER). Are you American, by any chance?

I don't have any issue fitting 1L Nalgenes in the mesh water bottle pockets of my Expedition Balance Pockets. Regardless , Decor do make a square 1L flask that might work for you?

I do think you might struggle to balance weight effectively front:rear with such a large main pack and such small balance pockets.



http://www.decor.com.au/product/food-fresh-flask-1-0-l/

[kneighbour]

I do think you might struggle to balance weight effectively front:rear with such a large main pack and such small balance pockets.

I made a mistake earlier - I did not get the Compact Pockets, but the standard Sport Pockets. They are actually pretty big.

One reason I like a lot of stuff on the outside of the pack is that the inside of the pack is not big enough to fit all the stuff. Well, that was the case with my old pack. So the inside of the pack holds all the big stuff. I then cram all the small stuff (packs of food, torch, whatever) into side pockets and the top lid. I don't actually have things hanging off loose and flapping around though, I agree that is a bad idea. There are also a number of things you want to get to quickly - raincoat, first aid kit, toilet bag, etc without opening up the whole bag.

I had things pretty much worked out with the old pack as I had done a number of walks with it. The Black Wolf is a pretty well designed pack, especially for the money. The Aarn is different in a lot of ways, but I guess I will work it all out given a few more walks. I am pretty happy with everything except the hydration. It seems so poorly thought out to me and that cannot be the case. The Aarn team is very experienced (infinitely more experienced than I am), so I need to understand how to do things the Aarn way.

I had planned on getting the Expedition Pockets, but the K2 guy recommended against it. They can get a bit unwieldy, so it seems. My current Sport Pockets seem pretty big. The issue is getting the right stuff into each pocket, including the water somehow. I am still working on that and I am thinking it will take a few more walks before I get that worked out to suit.

And I am Australian. An overweight 64 year old, but keen to get fitter and slimmer.

[kitty]

I have the Sports pockets (in small).
I put one 1L playtpus bottle (flexible water bottles) inside each pocket (not in the mesh pockets on the front).
One of them I attach the drink tube kit (hoser) and I put the bottle in upside down so the lid is at the bottom of the sports pocket.
Then I leave the end of the drinking tube sticking out the top of the pocket so that it is sticking out just where the zip closes so that everything still stays dry in the pockets (when its raining).
There is a little clip on the end of the drinking tube so you can clip the nossle somewhere handy like on the mesh. Very easy access to water.
When you finish 1L of water, you can switch and put the hose on the other one.
There is still plenty of room in the pockets for other gear but I find it best to put the bottle in first and fit all the other gear around it.
In the mesh pockets I put really quick-access things like map, gps, camera, snacks, lipbalm, etc.

[kneighbour]

thank you for those suggestions - it seems like a perfect solution (except pretty expensive)

[onward]

I have the Sport Pockets and pack my first aid kit (including PLB, spare batteries etc), camera, phone, gps, wet weather gear, plus gloves, fleece beanie, sun glasses, day snacks in the pockets and then two 1 litre platypus/Source drinking bags/bladders in the mesh sections, I drink directly from the bladders, no drinking tube needed, the Source bladders are better because of the one way valves. One litre bladders in the mesh pockets have caused the mesh to look a little worse for wear (furry). The more weight you get in the front pockets the better, try loading the back section and slowly adding weight to the front pockets (I used 1kg weights) the affect was amazing, the more I added the better it felt!

[Strider]

I pack quilt, sleeping mat, tent, extra clothing, rainwear and any fragile foods in the main pack. Everything else goes in the balance pockets, with water in bottles carried in the mesh pockets on the front.

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[bernieq]

Well done, K, for taking the plunge and buying the pack. A month ago I bought my 2nd Aarn (NB) so I'm a serial convert.

Water: have a look in your local supermarket for fruit juice - some really useful bottle shapes (makes for a cheap bottle but toss out the juice - it's mostly sugar). They last forever (almost).

Using a bottle or two in the front, instead of the hydration tube, bladder etc, you get a weight reduction and cleaning is much easier.

BTW, please, if you carry your mat outside the pack, put it in a bag. Most bushies won't knowingly trash the bush but I have collected many many pieces of foam on the track over the years.

[Chris]

I found it hard to get the water bottle to go into the front expandable pockets (they are small) and in fact it fell out at one point. I usually use a hydration pack, and I found using a water bottle at all a bit of a pain. Since it was so hard to get out and return, I drank less water than I wanted to. Anyway, I think a lot of this is on me, and that I need to work out a better system of loading the pockets. Must see if I can get a hydration pack in there somewhere.

Have carried 2 x 600mL bottles in mesh pockets of both Small and Regular sizes successfully after realising that they need to be held in place using both loops. (Swapped my Small pockets for Regular only because my tele lens fitted better).
Used to use a platypus with my previous pack but changed to front bottles due to balance requirement. An unexpected benefit has been that I now drink more, as I find it easier to get a decent drink from a bottle than to use the tube. Also it's much easier to monitor the amount of water drunk or remaining.

Kitty's suggested use of a platypus in the bigger section of balance pocket does look useful too. Might try that out if I need to carry more water.

People give you strange looks and there are plenty of snide comments from so called mates. But after a full days walking, they begin to change their minds.

Indeed. Particularly on day walks as the pack looks so big. Compared with my traditional day pack though it's so much more comfortable, and convenient for access to nearly everything I need, that I just don't care

[kneighbour]

BTW, please, if you carry your mat outside the pack, put it in a bag. Most bushies won't knowingly trash the bush but I have collected many many pieces of foam on the track over the years.

Good point, never thought of that happening. But am going to leave it behind on the next few hikes as I probably don't need it. Also cannot see how to fit it to the Aarn anyway.

[GPSGuided]

There are always ways to attach. You may need to buy an extra S2S strap or two, or carabiners. I had no issues working something out for hanging/securing sandals to waste bags. To me, Aarn packs are designed akin to mountaineering packs where the outsides are relatively tangle free, encouraging all items to be stored inside. That's the style.