With load on the head, shoulders and hips are weight free and the hips can move freely. This is a very energy efficent way to carry a load, but as you can see from the photo, stability of the load is the problem. This makes it impractical for backpacking and other rucksac sports us westerners like to do.

With a body centered load carrying system, all the load can be carried on the hips and the shoulders can be weight free. Because the center of gravity of the load can be matched to the center of gravity of the body, both vertically and horizontally , the load is very stable making this carrying system the optimum for dynamic movement and all rucksac sports. Because there are two separate front pockets rather than one, your vision is not restricted-you can see your feet in the gap between the pockets. Front pockets allow instant access to items on the move- no need to stop and take the pack off.

THE SCIENCE OF COMFORTABLE LOAD CARRYING

Our key insight into the biomechanics of pain-free and efficient load carrying is amazingly simple.

Create a load-carrying system that does not disturb the natural biomechanics of the body.

The importance of an upright posture and free body movement in load carrying is not even recognised let alone addressed by all the worlds leading pack brands. Sports Science findings have been ignored.

  “For over 25 years I have been conducting international research on load carriage in military and leisure settings. This has involved a wide range of laboratory and field studies of many types of load carriage systems. Our research identified the principles of load carriage. As far as I am aware FlowMo Bodypacks are the first to really put the principles into practice.”

Professor Stephen Legg, Centre for Ergonomics, Occupational Safety and Health, Massey University, NZ

For a summary on the Sports Science findings on load carrying, go to our Sports Science page.

Backpacks strain the body because they significantly alter the balance, posture, movement and shape of the body.

All gear behind in a backpack also means that you have to stop and take the pack off to access most items.

Aarn FlowMo Bodypacks overcome the disadvantages of backpacks.

For people with a short torso length the pull back on your shoulders from a backpack is even more pronounced because the same size lever is acting over a shorter length of back. Hence the growing world-wide problem of back injury in school children carrying heavy loads in backpacks.

NATURAL UPRIGHT POSTURE

  The deeper the side profile of the pack, the further the load sits from your back, and the greater the forward lean induced by the load.

Discomfort and effort have been found to be proportional to forward lean.

  With this understanding, you now have a simple way to compare the comfort of different packs in any outdoor store. You can instantly tell how much pain and discomfort a pack will produce by the depth of the side profile.

 The deeper the side profile, the bigger the leverage on your back, the greater the pressure on your spine, the greater the pull back on your shoulders, the less stable the load, the more unweildy your movements and the greater your forward stoop.

 There are famous brand packs out there with a distance from front to back of half a metre! Walking all day with a bent posture strains and pains the body. No wonder most people will not carry a large backpack! 

Research shows that nearly all body-pain caused by using a backpack is due to the stooped forward posture, not the weight itself.

A FlowMo Bodypack solves this situation by keeping the side profile of the pack slim, and balancing the weight behind with weight in front. You maintain your natural upright posture. This upright posture eliminates neck, shoulder, back and thigh pain even with heavy loads. It minimises the energy necessary to carry a given weight. Its the optimum load carrying system. The testimonials confirm that the benefits of a body centered load carrying system are real and substantial.

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The different movements of shoulders, hips and waist which must be facilitated by the packs harness and hipbelt system.

NATURAL BODY MOVEMENT

Unless the centre of gravity of the load corresponds to the centre of gravity of your body, the lever-like load on your back makes body movements unwieldy. So creating a natural posture by balancing load front and back is the first step in facilitating natural movement.

The second step is to allow the shoulder straps and hipbelt to move freely with the body while the pack remains glued to your back. Then your agility and performance under load will approach the pack-less state.  This requires unique systems that interlink different parts of the harness and hipbelt of the pack- we call these Flow Motion systems.

Awareness of your pack dissapears when the harness moves naturally with body movement.

Its a striking contrast between the balance and free movement of a FlowMo Bodypack and the altered balance and restricted shoulder, waist and hip movement of a conventional pack. A conventional pack is like strapping yourself into a frame. Your muscles cannot move or stretch to release tension; tiredness accumulates; and your ability to perform high action sports is inhibited.

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MIRROR IMAGE HARNESS SHAPING

Everyone has a different body size and shape. Unless all the body-contact parts of the pack can be precisely customized or automatically mould to a mirror image of your body shape, pressure points will be created, leading to pressure or pain. 

Thirty years of designing packs has allowed us to develop    the simplest systems to precisely fit the widest range of body forms. The key components are:

* Two sizes each with adjustable back-length

* Auto moulding or customizable frame shapes (both horizontally and vertically)

* Auto-mould shoulder straps in three sizes

* Adjustable shape hipbelts in three sizes with auto-mould ends.

The bigger the pack and the bigger the load the more important these features become. Omit any feature and you cannot achieve the mirror-image perfect fit. We call this Natural Shaping.

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NATURAL BALANCE

Balance becomes more important the faster you travel, the more dynamic your activity and the more uneven the terrain.

Natural Balance requires a synthesis of the previous 3 principles: a natural upright posture, free body movement (with complete pack stability), and your pack fitting like a glove.

The combination of these three principles means that

FlowMo Bodypacks are the only packs where it is possible to have the same balance with the pack on and with the pack off.

This facilitates the maximum performance in high motion sports such as running, skating, climbing, skiing and hiking in rough terrain.  A natural balance means that you are safer moving in the mountains carrying a FlowMo Bodypack than a backpack.

NATURAL BALANCE

= GREATER SAFETY

LIGHTWEIGHT

Weight becomes the biggest killer of comfort once all the above biomechanical principles are addressed. Research shows that reducing the weight of a backpack is of small benefit compared to switching to a load carrying system which keeps you standing upright. However, once you have the most efficient carrying system- a FlowMo Bodypack, then your energy expenditure is directly proportional to the weight being carried. So now reducing the weight of your load produces the greatest benefits.

Your pack, which is only a device for carrying your other gear, is often your heaviest bit of kit.

We prioritize low weight. We do this not by omitting the frame or the hipbelt, which would compromise performance, but by selecting every component and fabric for the highest performance/weight ratio.

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