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1. BACKPANEL BACKPANELBACKPANE FRAMES Why have a frame? The frame holds the blueprint of your back shape. Our frames are easy to remove and bend to your unique shape. The frame’s job is to maintain this mirror image shaping when the pack is loaded and to bring the load as close to your back as possible. WHY OTHER PACKS ARE A BACKACHE WAITING TO HAPPEN The most common internal frame system, twin vertical stays, gives the worst possible shape for back comfort. When these packs are stuffed tightly, the backpanel rounds out to a convex shape horizontally (A)—the opposite of the natural structure of your back. The same happens with packs using a closed cell foam pad as the frame. Both these systems position the load far from your back , concentrating pressure down the spine and causing a primitive stooped posture. This results in backstrain! WHY OUR PACKS ARE BACKSAVERS The addition of a plastic framesheet was a step forward as it kept the backpanel flat horizontally (B), bringing the load closer to the back. We take pack design further with the concave backpanel (C)—a custom mouldable shape- which brings the load close to your back. The vertical divider further narrows the profile (D). The result is the most upright posture and the least back strain. This combination of a backpanel with a concave horizontal shape and a shallow “S” vertical shape enables our packs to fit as if moulded to your back, dispersing the load over the largest possible area of your body, and increasing comfort and stability.
Even with Balance Pockets, it remains important to keep the load close to your back. This is because the smaller volume in the front pockets cannot adequately counterbalance a pack that hangs far from your back. POSITION OF POCKETS FRAME SYSTEMS Our Auto Mould Frames mould to your back shape automatically when the hipbelt is done up and flex when you bend forward. An upper section of aluminium stays maintains the concave shape. A lower section of nylon rods allows the flexibility. Used in our daypacks for loads up to 14 kg. Our U-Lite Frames use a lightweight vertical divider to create the concave backpanel shape so that no horizontal stays are needed. Balance Pockets are used to transfer weight to the front of the hipbelt eliminating the need for the sub-frame. The result is super light frames without compromising performance. These frames will carry loads up to 22 kg. Our Custom Mould Frames combine four elements into a functional unit: a core of crossed aluminium stays; a perimeter arc-shaped nylon rod; a Matrix Mesh backpanel and a U tube sub-frame. The Matrix Mesh backpanel forms the ventilating air-gap between the frame and your back. The aluminium stays can be custom-moulded to the curves of your back both horizontally and vertically. The arc shaped nylon rod at the sides of the backpanel prevents distortion of the backpanel shape under load and when the compression straps are tightened. The U tube curves forward around your hips to transmit load to the front of the hipbelt. This tube creates the tripod frame base, which allows the pack to stand by itself for easier packing. This frame is used in our largest packs for loads up to 35 kg.
Why have a hipbelt? Research shows that the pelvis is more suited to load carrying than the shoulders. The hipbelt’s job is to transfer the weight in the backpack to the hips. Just as you have to balance weight in front and behind for comfortable load carrying, you need to transfer the weight equally to the front and back of the hipbelt to maximize comfort and minimize strain on the hips. Research at Queens University, Canada has shown that even loading of the hipbelt front and back reduces strain by 10%. Putting weight on the front of the hipbelt is the job of the Balance Pockets. This balances the weight transferred to the rear of the hipbelt by the pack. Our largest packs also use the U tube sub-frame to transfer weight to the front of the hipbelt. Because the frame ends at three equally spaced points around the pelvic girdle where it attaches to the hipbelt, weight is transferred equally to the front and rear of the hipbelt. This allows our hipbelts to carry more weight in comfort. With traditional packs, only the rear of the hipbelt carries the weight of the pack. This uneven loading on the hips generates strain and fatigue.
Our Auto-form hipbelt is used in the smaller packs. The bottom part of the hipbelt wraps around your pelvis. The top part of the hipbelt is made of stretch fabric that automatically moulds over the top of your hips. Our Custom-fit hipbelt is used in our mid- volume packs and our Ultimate-fit hipbelt is used in our largest packs. Both have the following features: Dual-Adjust Our hipbelts come in three sizes. Each size is Dual Adjust—this means you can fine-tune the length and angle of the hipbelt at the back as well as the front to your size and shape. Line up the join between the hipbelt parts to precisely follow the edge of your hipbone. Adjust the angle between the parts to equalize the load at the top and bottom of the hips. (See red arrows below)
Auto-mould Shaping Because the hipbelt takes most of the load, its comfort is critical. We don't use thick padding to approximate to your hip shape. Instead we use thin, precisely shaped hipbelt parts to achieve the perfect fit. The central parts match the shape of your pelvis. The Auto-form ends, made of breathable and stretchy Matrix Mesh, naturally mould around the edges of your hipbone when the buckle is tightened. Because our hipbelts are thin, they work better over your climbing harness. V-Tensioning Our hipbelts use V-shaped webs to connect the center buckle. This distributes the load over a wider area of your hips by moulding the stretchy Matrix mesh ends around the pressure sensitive front edges of your hipbone. Separate buckles are used to tighten and to release the hipbelt. This creates a pulley system, giving you a 2:1 advantage for easy tightening of the hipbelt and reduced buckle slip under load.
Auto-mould Shaping Our shoulder straps are made of Matrix mesh, a fabric with a wonderful 3-D structure and the following characteristics: Air permeability, heat exchange, shock absorption, resiliency, stretch and low weight. This 3-D spongy lattice stretches to mould to your exact shoulder shape. It is slim to prevent rolling and soft enough to cushion the load. Our shoulder straps come in 3 sizes. They are gently S-curved to match the contours of your shoulders. Adjustable back-lengths allow you to position the V of the shoulder straps at the most comfortable width between your neck and the outside of your shoulders. Our X Flow chest straps eliminate the breathing restrictions of a conventional sternum strap, and lightly disperse the load over the whole chest area for the greatest comfort. “The wide shoulder straps are comfortable, pliable, and not bulky. Some of the most comfortable I’ve ever worn.” —Ryan Jordan, Backpackinglight.com USA. Test Review 2005
We don’t make separate men’s and women’s packs. We believe it is marketing hype to say one shape fits all men and another fits all women. This is because there is as much variation in the shape of backs, shoulders and hips within each sex as there is between sexes (chests are another matter). Our solution is complete adjustability for a precision fit. The following features allow complete customization: all but our smallest daypack come in two back-lengths; within each back-length the height of the shoulder straps can be fine-tuned over a range of 10 cm; the vertical frames are easy to remove to bend to your back shape while our smaller models have frames that automatically mould to your shape; our stretchy shoulder straps auto-mould to your shape, the top stabilizer straps auto-adjust to the right height and the X Flow straps can be adjusted in height so they cross between the breasts; our Dual Adjust hipbelts can be adjusted in length and angle at the back as well as the front, allowing men and women to customize fit to their different hip shapes.
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© Aarn Design Ltd. 2006