Aarn pack frame customisation problem

[Overloaded]

Last week I made a six-hour (return) trip to Melbourne in order to buy an Aarn Peak Aspiration pack. I came home empty-handed because we (the staff at Backpacking Light and I) could not get the pack quite comfortable - and we must have spent over an hour trying (my thanks to the very friendly and patient staff who tried to help me)!

The problem was essentially a mismatch between the shape of my back and the shape of the pack. My lumbar region was closer to vertical than the bottom section of the pack (the part where the hip belt joins) and so instead of the hip belt load being spread over the full height of the belt, I felt the top of the belt digging in to my back. Loosening the upper belt strap and tightening the lower belt strap made little difference, nor did pulling the top of the pack closer to my shoulders help much; it was the frame angle that was the problem.

I had seen YouTube videos showing people removing the centre frame and bending it to match the wearer's spine, but when I asked the staff about this they told me that Aarn no longer recommends bending the frame (or maybe says it is no longer supposed to be necessary), and that with the current release of the Peak Aspiration pack it would be impossible to get the frame back in if we took it out!

I went back to check this on the Aarn web site, and certainly all the fitting videos (which might once have shown frame bending) are currently unavailable.

It seems a backward step if the revised pack design makes the packs less customisable.

I contacted Aarn via email (about a different question) a week or so ago but have no reply yet, otherwise I would have tried that before posting here. Presumably he will update the fitting instructions on his web site in due course, and it would obviously be a better use of his time to update the instructions there for everyone rather than answering lots of individual questions.

In the mean time, does anyone have any suggestions? If not I guess I have to wait for revised instructions in the hope that there is a new fitting method that the staff at Backpacking Light had not been told about. Or I can try to find somewhere with old stock that still supports the frame bending method. Or I can look at other brands, possibly in conjunction with Aarn pockets...

[kitty]

Keep an eye out on gumtree and ebay for a slightly older version if you dont mind second hand. Put a WTB in marketsquare.
I have not tried the new version so cannot comment on that sorry, I have the older version with bendable stays.

[tasrider]

I have an ancient version of this pack.

Yes, I bent the frame to fit.

But also, on my version, each half of the hip belt could be attached to the pack at different angles using the giant Velcro tabs. This allowed me to adjust the overall angle of the hip belt so it fitted the angle of my hips. Is this no longer possible too?

[Overloaded]

But also, on my version, each half of the hip belt could be attached to the pack at different angles using the giant Velcro tabs. This allowed me to adjust the overall angle of the hip belt so it fitted the angle of my hips. Is this no longer possible too?

That is still possible, but it only seems to affect the angle of the belt at the hips, not the angle at the back.

[peregrinator]

Yes, the staff at Backpacking Light are extremely helpful, therefore you may have already tested this, but did you try the options of various sizing combinations for the two main components? I.e., to include Large backpack/Small hipbelt or vice versa. If your physical dimensions are near the thresholds of the suggested dimensions regarding sizing, it it is worth checking out all the possible combinations.

[Overloaded]

Yes, the staff at Backpacking Light are extremely helpful, therefore you may have already tested this, but did you try the options of various sizing combinations for the two main components? I.e., to include Large backpack/Small hipbelt or vice versa.

Thanks for the suggestion!

My back length was clearly into the L range (cutoff is 38cm, mine is about 40cm) so we only tried the L pack.

I needed the S belt; we ran out of adjustment on the M.

We also fiddled with the Velcro to fine-tune the belt length, but that was more to change the separation of the balance pockets.

[cams]

I can't quite figure out if it's a similar issue. Or if the packs even have a similar frame, but my wife has the Featherlight Freedom and loves it except for a weird little issue with the back comfort. There is a hoop that comes up from the bottom and where that attached at the top forms quite a distinct lump/hard point. Maybe this wouldn't be an issue for most people, but Maree has a back bone that sticks out around there. Anyway, she has added an extra piece of foam which she says makes it ok. We haven't really considered bending the frame or looked into whether this could help.

[Overloaded]

We haven't really considered bending the frame or looked into whether this could help.

You may have already seen it, but there is a YouTube video of the frame bending process for the Featherlight Freedom, though I have no idea if this is possible/recommended for your vintage of pack:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCYHlFPBdqo