FAQ

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

ABOUT US

1. Who is Aarn Design?

The Directors of Aarn Design are partners Aarn Tate and Devi Bension. Aarn has designed outdoor equipment for a living for over 30 years: in NZ, Australia, UK & USA. He holds 8 patents on packs, and 4 on tents.

Frustrated by clients unwillingness to risk adoption radically different and more efficient carrying systems, Aarn and Devi set up their own company in 2003. This has allowed them to fully explore the findings of Sports Science, and develop the worlds first body centered load carrying systems.

Aarn and Devi have been outdoor enthusiasts all their lives:

tramping, rock climbing, mountaineering, skiing, kayaking, cycling. Aarns favourite activity is long distance walks- his favourite trip so far was a 3 month traverse of the Southern Alps in NZ, following a route close to the divide. Aarn and Devi test all new developments first, before handing on for other testers to try. Aarns other design passion is recumbent bicycles.

ABOUT BALANCE POCKETS

When people first see the Balance pockets in use they often expect them to be restrictive. The first questions address these doubts.

1. Won’t they prevent me seeing where I am going?

No. This is why there are 2 Pockets. Adjust the gap between the top of the two Pockets so that you see your feet easily. Balance pockets improve your stability and safety in rough terrain.

2. Don’t the pockets put more weight on the shoulders?

 A sliding connection to the shoulder straps allows each Balance Pocket to transfer all its weight to the front of hipbelt.

3. Won’t I get hot under the Balance Pockets? 

 Custom-bend the frames to produce a gap between the Pockets and your body for ventilation.  The Balance Pockets should not touch your body.

4. Can women wear them comfortably?

Yes, and women with large busts have found the pockets work well after custom bending the frames to suit their contours.

5.  Won’t they restrict my arm movement?

The Pockets are slim so you can swing your arms freely. Adjust the size of the hipbelt, or the hipbelt length to create a gap between the bottom of the pockets of about 5cm (2").

  New for 2008: The Balance Pockets attach to the sides of the hipbelt buckle, which sets the gap at the bottom of the Pockets to the optimum spacing for both arm movement and feet visibility, no matter what your hip size.

6. Won’t they restrict leg movement when climbing?

 Lift straps allow you to raise the pockets for leg clearance when climbing.

  New for 2008: Hipbelt Holsters hold the pockets high enough so leg movement is unrestricted. No lift straps are necessary.

7. What about steep climbs where your chest needs to be close to the face?

If it’s just a short move around an obstacle, you can unclip the pockets at the top and let them swing to the side for the move. (You can clip the sternum strap together to keep the shoulder straps stable). For sustained steep climbing, the Balance Pockets should be unclipped and stored in the pack. We do not recommend using them for steep technical climbing. They have been used successfully in mountaineering, such as climbing Denali in Alaska.

8. Aren’t they difficult to put on?

   At first, a Bodypack feels more cumbersome to put on than a backpack. Familiarity and correct technique make it easy (see User Guides).

9. How do your packs perform without the Balance Pockets?

    Better than others for 3 reasons: our frames bring the load closer to your back for less strain; the harness shapes can be customized for a perfect fit, and our FlowMotion systems allow free body movement for greater agility and less fatigue.

10. I have had surgery in the lymph node area. Will Balance Pockets help me to continue backpacking?

11. I have back problems but love backpacking. I have had to reduce my weights and the length of my trips because of back pain. Will Bodypacks help?

Although we are strongly focused on reducing the weight of our packs, we have the experience from people with back problems that equalising weight front and back is much more important than reducing weight. In fact we have had reports from some people with back problems who are carrying loads more often in their bodypacks, specifically to strengthen their backs, encouraged to do so by their physiostherapists.

12. Why don’t you make Balance Pockets fit on my brand of pack?

   This is like asking why Porsche do not design their gearboxes to fit on other brands of cars! The Aarn Balance Pockets and pack are designed as an integrated system. The Balance Pockets need to:

• allow arm movement and forward vision for all body sizes.
• have a customizable air gap for all body shapes.
• be easy to put on and remove.
• allow the Flow-motion systems of the pack to work.
• be stable for high movement sports.

Years of refinement have gone into achieving these objectives in a body centered load carrying system. Other packs are not designed to achieve these objectives.

13. How do your Flowmo Bodypacks compare with a backpack mounted with a Syncpack front pack?

  The Syncpack (www.thesyncpack.com) is a front pack system which will fit on any pack. Its purpose is to partially counterbalance the load on your back. It uses a clever quick release system for quick removal and attachment. It is a excellent place to start if you want to evaluate the benefits of partial counter balance without purchasing a new pack, and we thoroughly recommend them.

   The full benefits of a body centered load carrying system can only be achieved when the pack and counter balancing system are designed as an integrated unit: a FlowMo Bodypack. Therefore compared to a Flowmo Bodypack, an add on solution like the Syncpack you will have limitations from both the backpack and the Syncpack.

   The backpack:

  * Limits your freedom of movement

  * The center of gravity of the load is further from your back due to the deeper side profile of the pack, reducing the effectiveness of the counter balance system.

  * Harness not fully customisable to create a mirror image of your body shape.

   The Syncpack:

   * Prevents you seeing your feet as you walk, making it unsafe in challenging terrain.

   * Has a smaller capacity, so you cannot achieve a fully body centered load.

   * Is over 0.5 kg heavier than our Balance Pockets .

   * Even though it is easy to do, the Syncpack has to be removed before you can take the pack off, and has to be clipped on after you put on the pack.

See the New York times review discussed in the Dec 06 blog on our news page. Outdoor guide Kurk Wedburg tested most of the front pocket systems on the market.

14. If Balance Pockets are so good why haven’t other    manufacturers adopted them?

  Large companies will not risk losing market share on a radical new carrying system. Once we have successfully established the outstanding benefits of Bodypacks on the market, and our sales are impacting the traditionalists, then other companies will want to follow.

ABOUT THE PACKS

1. Why don’t you make the vertical dividers on Featherlite Freedom and Natural Balance with a zip on 1 side, so you can undo the divider to make a single compartment for easier packing?

 The vertical divider is a very light way of giving a slim profile and concave back shaping, and is used on our large Ultralite models. Undoing it would distroy the backpanel shaping and allow the pack to round out, decreasing pack stability, and forcing the load to hang further from your back. This would increase forward lean and back strain. Not advisable.

Its easy to adapt your packing to the divided configuration, and often people remark on the extra load organisation it brings. If you prefer not to have a divider, choose a similar size model from the rest of our range (with a small weight penalty). Other models use horizontal frame members to create the slim profile and the concave backpanel shape.

2. If my pack is 20 years old, is it still under warranty?