Once we balance the weight of your Aarn Balance Backpack around your centre of gravity by aligning the horizontal and vertical forces we need to connect to the harness, hip belt and Balance Pocket system to allow free movement in the body.
This is what we call the Aarn U-Flow System.
Imagine a pack where the shoulder straps and hip belt move freely with body movement while the pack remains glued to your back – this is a U-Flow system.
Our patented U-Flow system links the shoulder harness and hip belt on each side of the pack to each other with a cord (or web) that passes through a U-shaped tube with a pivoting hip belt connection. Not only will this reduce the buildup of fatigue and increase your performance under load, but it will allow agility and freedom.
Our U-Flow systems give you an amazing ability to twist, rock, stretch and bend forward under load - to move your body freely and naturally while the load stays flush to your back. You can even dance with an Aarn Balance Backpack on!
Yet you don’t have to be doing extreme moves to experience the benefits and freedom that U-Flow brings. Even when walking, you will feel the shoulder straps and hip belt move with each step, reducing the buildup of fatigue.
Research verifies that our U-Flow systems enhance balance and make your pack more stable.
Linked bottom tensioners
The lower ends of the shoulder straps are linked together by a low-friction web or cord that slides freely through a slot in the bottom of the pack when the shoulders move up and down.
Forward pivoting hip belt
Daypack : The bottom of the back panel flexes as you bend forward.
Larger Packs: The bottom of the hip belt is linked by an elastic connector which allows the bottom of the hip belt and the pack to move further apart when you bend forward.
Linked Stabilisers
The top stabiliser straps are linked together by a web which slides freely through rings at the top of the pack when your shoulders twist relative to your hips (daypacks).
Linked side connectors
The sides of the hip belt are connected to each other by a cord which runs through a U-shaped low friction tube at the bottom of the back panel. The cord runs freely through the tube when the hips rock or rotate (large packs).
"The Flow Motion systems work! The pack hugs the back closely and moves with the body without the feelings of restriction and discomfort. Stability is much better than with an ordinary pack on. I was skiing down from Cairngorm in a high wind; conditions were icy and darkness was falling – the pack was like a limpet, not swaying or moving at all, yet I had complete freedom of arm and shoulder movement."
- Chris Townsend, Equipment Editor TGO Magazine and Author “The Advanced Backpacker
"I have a cervical slipped vertebrae and suffer way less problems with my neck using your packs due to the Flow Motion systems. I really dread having to resort to another kind that locks my shoulders stiff since these often has caused my traps to go into spasm. Can I also just say how massively I appreciate your invention and very grateful to you for making it possible for me to hike and carry again with my neck the way it is. I would never have been able to experience the incredible mountains of the French Alps and Norway last year in the way I did without your pack, and it was a really unforgettable and sublime. experience."
- Alison Moore, Sydney, Australia