In May 2008, I received my Aarn bodypack “Natural Balance” (new 2008 version). The following are some observations regarding the pack’s performance.
Tested: June 2008, northern Australia, solo walk over 23 days (full pack, no re-supply possible)
Environment: tropical; dry season; slow country = deep gorges, loose rocks, exposed ledges, spinifex/sandstone ridges, screw-pine cluttered valleys, open woodland, vine thickets, speargrass hells
Exposure/time (from Easiest to Hardest): strolling over horizontal, open, flat ground (1%), walking in woodland, feet mostly visible (25%), rock-hopping along creeks, feet visible (35%), river crossings (1%), high-stepping through over-head-high vegetation, feet not visible (25%), pushing/scraping through distorted spinifex/sandstone labyrinths, feet often not visible (7%), gorge climbing (6%)
Weights:
body: 64 kg (141 lbs)
skin-out at start: 24 kg (53 lbs) (of which 2 kg clothes/shoes/hat)
complete pack at start: 22 kg (46.3 lbs), of which Aarn pack’s
(a) front “Balance Pockets” = 5 kg (11 lbs)
(b) rear backpack = 17 kg (37.5 lbs)
Above weights consisting of:
food: 15 kg (33 lbs; consumed 650 g/day; (+some fishing with a handline helped)
gear: 7 kg (15.4 lbs) (incl. pack weight of 1.9 kg (=4 lbs)

[A] Other pack used on previous walks:
On earlier walks (over 14/20/21 days) in various parts of the Australian Kimberley, I used a very light (710 g = 25 oz) frameless pack, the “Starlite” (Six Moon Designs, 2004 model, recommended for 16 kg/35 lbs loads max; I carried 16-19 kg), which at that time came with the option of a wonderful mesh “vest” (4 mesh front pockets). During those 3 walks, obsessed with the idea that “light is always better than heavy”, I pushed myself through difficult country (with stays added to the pack on the 3rd trip). I took it for granted that my daily exhaustion, especially during the first 2 walks, merely reflected the hard terrain. After all, I was physically in above-average condition, no?
Trip #4 (2008) changed my mind: I now had an Aarn.

[B] Regarding Aarn’s concept:
The concept of the “Natural Balance” and other Aarn packs is described in fair detail on the manufacturer’s website http://www.aarnpacks.com/features/multifunction.html#fh.
The 2 main features:
a) No weight on shoulders/back (all weight on hips)
b) “Balance Pockets” added for front/back balance.
Re (a): Weight is NOT carried on the shoulders (=almost zero) but on the hips. Using stays and clever sliding connections, the weights of both front and back rest on the hip belt. Claimed advantages: low center of gravity (safety), no shoulder/back strain. Neither the back nor the front packs touch the body.
Re (b): Weight on the back is balanced by weight in front (via “Balance Pockets” which also rest on the hip belt). The walker’s posture is always upright.
(3) Various sliding parts prevent that the pack swings during hip and shoulder movements. The pack remains centered while hips and shoulders are free to move.
(4) *Every*thing is adjustable. (For example, not only length but also angle of hip belt, for any hip shape.)
(5) The Balance Pockets (each also having 2 outer stretch pockets), removed and linked together, make a nice daypack.

[C] My experience:
At first, I felt like a bicycle rider in the seat of a Ferrari (“Focus, old man! Now, what happens if I pull this thing here?”). The designer’s instructions on the website, though detailed, were not quite detailed enough to give me a good grasp of the pack’s versatility and usage and needed updating to match the 2008 model more exactly (strap colours etc).
Starting out with the “Natural Balance” crammed and heavy (=1/3 of my body weight), I spent the first 2+ days fiddling with adjustments; numerous possibilities meant that I had to *learn*.
I carried most of the dense, heavy stuff in the front Balance Pockets (satphone, camera, GPS, lots of lithium batteries, muesli bars etc). These pockets hold max. 10 L/pair (=22 lbs/pair).
The rear pack:
It is divided into top and bottom loading sections. The top section contains a removable dryliner with a vertical divider making 2 cylinders; these parallel cylinders keep the cargo close to the body, i.e. prevent weight from bulging out and away from the back (the stressful lever action I knew well from my previous packs). Excellent solution! -- with one disadvantage: loading requires *thinking*. For the upper half of the top section, the 2 cylinders open into one single tube (like a pair of trousers).
For example, my closed-cell foam mat, cut up, taped and zig-zag-folded into a parcel 30 cm (=12”) wide, was light (200 g/7 oz) but of course bulky. Placing it in one “cylinder” in such a position/angle that the much heavier food stuff etc could be distributed for optimal left-right balance proved to be a challenge. In the first week, I sometimes didn’t achieve correct left/right balance and had to repack.
The front Balance Pockets:
Each contains a bendable alu stay which is seated in the front hip belt. Meaning, the “Balance Pockets”, too, do not weigh on the shoulders at all but only on the hip. Since there are 2 front packs and they are angled in “V” -- i.e. the tops are wider apart, the bottoms sit closer together -- the center chest gap lets me see my feet while walking. Also, I can use my arms freely.
Although the Balance Pockets were packed full, and are designed to lean away from the chest (bendable stays = no sweaty contact with body), I had no problem seeing my feet while on the move. Only when standing still could I not see my feet comfortably. This rarely posed a problem, though.

Day 1-2 (v high grass, deep gorge packed with boulders, river crossing): I am amazed, amazed: I am comfortable, despite the heat and the weight. Still, this highly customizable pack demands more than just 1 or 2 hours of initial learning. The most important of all adjustments to be figured out is the *precise* fitting of the hip belt (since the whole pack rests on this).
Day 3 (steep slopes of loose rocks): Problem? The top capping (a tiny rubber/cloth triangle) of one of the frame’s aluminium stays looks superficially frayed. Superficially, I believe, since only the rubber cover has rubbed through but not the fabric underneath; thus the stay stays safe. (And even by the end of the trip, this abrasion has not become worse.) Apart from this, I am much impressed by the quality of workmanship and materials: the pack feels and looks tough.
Days 4-5 (ravines, spinifex thickets): After eating 2 kg of food, I have now achieved a comfortable ratio of body vs. carried weight. The pack’s tough materials seem not to suffer even when I scrape through thorny vines and scramble across huge boulders. And the numerous brushes against bushfire-burnt trees leave hardly a mark.
Packing has become somewhat easier: Tent, sleeping bag etc. in the bottom section, accessible from below; food and mat are in the top section which still rises high enough to bump a little against the rim of my hat.
Day 6 (open woodland): Hot, hot. I keep a full 500cc water bottle in the front outer stretch pocket of one “Balance Pocket”. I am grateful for the 3D “Matrix Mesh” between my back and the pack: it does let the air ventilate nicely, keeping my shirt almost dry.
Day 7 (gorge): Climbing down along a string of waterfalls, I am doubly cautious: loose rocks, partially hidden; few handholds. A few intense stretches, edging along ledges. By now, I have come to love my pack: it seems to move as part of my torso, rather than swinging or jerking away from me; and I feel no fatigue at all.
And yet, on exposed ledges, the bulky front “Balance Pockets” make it impossible to keep kiss-close to the rock face. This awkwardness is mostly compensated by the astonishing overall balance of the pack – the back part never seems to pull me backwards away from the rock. Still, when I find my chest forced away from the rock face by the bulging front Balance Pockets, I sometimes have to retreat and to look for a safer route. (Yes, I could unclip the front Pockets in such a way that they swing – somewhat – towards the sides but even this does not get my chest close enough to the rock face.) On the other hand: a *conventional* back-only pack might let me press my chest flat against a rock face but would pull me more, by lever action, away from the wall. No, sir. Give me my Aarn.
Days 8-12 (screw-pines in flooded deep-grass valleys; then waterless rock labyrinths higher up): On some previous trips, this was when fatigue began to overcome me. But now I feel none at all, despite this being the hardest country I have yet walked. My back, hitherto prone to lumbar pain: no pain. Shoulders and neck muscles: loose. I am no spring chicken but I feel like a spring chicken.
Days 7-23: Houston, we have a problem. On one of the front Balance Pockets, the alu stay’s top keeps working its way out on the side of the upper sleeve top. Sticking out, the naked stay threatens to poke me in the eyes whenever I jump or lift my knees high. Upon examination, the stay does not seem to be twisted along its vertical axis, yet even after I have pushed it back into its sleeve and closed the velcro tab of the sleeve top, it slips out again after a few minutes. Further effect: since the slipped stay does not fully support its Balance Pocket’s weight and motions anymore, the Slic Clip‘s strap above the sleeve is jerked upon by the somewhat sideways stress. This has begun to jerk sideways on the strap’s stitching, which now has become partially undone. This, in turn, has changed the stress angle on the Slic Clip from the horizontal to a slant, *opening* the Slic Clip. This shouldn’t have happened. It is my first and only serious complaint about my Aarn pack. Trying to keep the damage to a minimum, I decide to forego the use of the Slic Clip and its iffy strap altogether: using a light carabiner, I connect the Balance Pocket’s side plastic ring to the connector strap on the pack’s shoulder strap. And to keep the naked stay away from my eyes, I bend its top outward, away from my body. – All in all, this weird disfunction hardly lessens my delight in the Aarn. Yet I keep wondering why the stay twisted out of its sleeve in the first place. And also wonder how I, if I were the designer, would fix this problem… Maybe design a stronger cap pocket for the stay’s top? (When later I called Mr. Aarn, he suggested sewing the stay sleeve’s top opening partially shut. I shall do so.)
Day 23: Conclusion: last week, I slipped and fell once – on flat ground. This is an enormous improvement over previous walks under a conventional backpack, where I took bad falls half a dozen times during the first pack-heavy days. I am balanced now. I am not tired. I am walking free.
No, the “Natural Balance” is not cheap: at NZ$460 or more (US$320+?), you’ve got to need it badly. But as an old chap with a bad back who loves long walks in difficult terrain, under a fair load, I couldn’t sing its praise more gladly.

P.S. Lest anyone accuse me of bashing Six Moon Designs “Starlite” pack: where balance is not a matter of life and death, and where carried weight is lower than the recommended max, it can be a fine pack. (I loved its backpanel pocket where I could stuff my mat). It weighs nothing.
And mind you: as far as *tents* are concerned, I continue to enjoy Six Moon’s very light “Lunar Solo”.

Anchan,

Thanks for the report, I seriously considered an Aarn before choosing my ULA Circuit. I may still get one as the new Mountain Magic can take the larger front pockets- giving a volume of about 40 litres, which is where I am for a week or so.
I used to work in the Kimberley, so know the country- you are a lucky man to be able to walk around there.
I would also put the review in the Reader Review section, if I were you. That way others can read it after it drops off the front page in the Gear Forums.

cheers,
fred

Having read Anchan's report I would like to add to my review of last year. I took my Natural Balance to the Pyrenees loaded to the same sort of load as Anchan. I recognize all the good things he says about the pack. I have only had a front stay pop out once and it just went back in again. I have had the pack for nearly 3 years now. It does sit awkwardly if it is not packed evenly left to right. It will be blown to one side by a very strong side wind as the system that allows you to lift an arm without the pack moving, does not restrain sideways movement very well.
These things, and the weight penalty, are worth putting up with for the balance and lack of fatigue advantages.

John I was asking Aarn about the new Mountain Magic which I understood was 40 back 4 litres front. I am interested to know that you can swap the front pockets for standard pockets. I think I am in the queue!

Excellent review of an intriguing product. I thought this concept made a lot of sense, but never did the work necessary to make it happen (there are probably a lot of people who did the same). The hard work here is in making a solid product from the idea. Nice to know the Aarn folks have done that. I wonder if any pack makers out there have experimented with similar packs (or currently make them). I know we have a few who read this site, so I would be curious as to their thoughts on this design.

I'm about 5' 7", and I do have one of the Aarn packs - the Peak Aspiration. It's well made.

The idea of load balancing is very good, but I found that the model I have is just too tall for me. None of the available front pockets seem to be short enough to fit in the distance from my waist to my shoulders. A tall person - over 6', will have a very different impression imho.

Having the pockets out front does make for problems when scrambling, in my experience. And in hot humid weather (we get a lot of that) the front bags severely limit sweating and cooling - on me at least.

Also I found that the pack body was very tall and narrow, and that made getting stuff in and out difficult. The dry-bag liner and throat is a nice idea, but it compounded the problem of the narrow tube. Also the throat wasn't very long.

I think the pack is highly tuned to what Aarn likes. Some will like it; others won't. It's one of those bits of specialised gear which really does need trying before buying.

Cheers

Ross wrote above "I wonder if any pack makers out there have experimented with similar packs (or currently make them)."

No direct experience whatsoever, but LuxuryLite packs have an optional front hydration pouch that holds water bladder/bottles -- which essentially performs a similar balancing act.

Edited by ben2world on 10/16/2008 19:46:00 MDT.

I was wrong. Aarn tells me that the mountain magic 44 is 32litres plus 12 litres front pockets, the MM55 37 litres plus 18 litres front pockets. These packs should balance completely with only slightly denser front loads.
I can get my 65 litre plus 12 front pocket Natural Balance to neutral balance more often than not.
I am 5'6" I find the front pockets suitable.I have a friend Barbara who is 4'11" who has fitted some 10 litre Aarn front pockets to her ULA Catalyst. As Roger says it may well be a personal thing.
Ross
Aarn would say there is more to his rucksacks than the balance pockets but to experiment he would sell you front pockets and it would not be too difficult to stitch loops on your rucksack to add the front pockets.

This looks like a great pack idea. Without trying to be rude to the developers, is there a source or a MYOG way to retrofit your existing pack to a balanced pack. Not all of us can shell out $350 for a pack each year!! I can envision several sizes of interchangeable front packs that hook into your hip belt (weight transfer). Just hanging the packs from your shoulder straps would just add fatigue to your shoulders. We could either buy the existing pouches with a myog converter for the weight transfer, or make the pouches in total --or maybe the current manufacturer could develop/sell the converter packs for those of us that want to try the concept before buying.

Dave

Edited by dmgoody on 10/17/2008 09:59:25 MDT.

I have spliced on Aarns pockets before I bought his hole pack. The old Aarn pockets used to clip onto a webbing loop on the top edge of the hip belt. My Macpac pursuit was easy to convert. However the new pockets have an extended aluminium bone that clips into a holster on the Aarn belt buckle. I have not actually seen one and I dont know how you would add one to a normal hip belt. On my 2006 pockets there are 4 fixings per pocket I am sure a MYOG person would have no trouble. If you want to make your own pockets a single central pocket is likely to stop you seeing your feet.As you say they need to stand off the hip belt with a bone rather than hang on the shoulder straps.Any other questions, just ask.

I wonder if you could retrofit these clips? They are only $13.

link: https://store02.prostores.com/servlet/syncpack/Categories?__utma=1.276329414635327420.1224261082.1224261082.1224263979.2&__utmb=1.14.10.1224263979&__utmc=1&__utmx=-&__utmz=1.1224263979.2.2.utmcsr=store02.prostores.com|utmccn=(referral)|utmcmd=referral|utmcct=/servlet/syncpack/categories&__utmv=-&__utmk=57885482

Dave

Or click here instead.

Edited by ben2world on 10/17/2008 11:57:53 MDT.

Ben,

what would be the weight of that front pack?

Anybody see any real specs on that site? I saw the 400+ cubes...but no weight. Has anybody used it?

Edited by anywayoutside on 10/17/2008 13:10:44 MDT.

The syncpack may achieve a similar "balance" to the Aarns, however I can see two major differences.
First the Aarn pockets rest on the hip belt , so there is no (or very little) extra weight on your shoulders ( Same for the rear part of the pack...)
Second, having two separate pockets allows you to see were your feet are at least most of the time. ( I tend to look a few feet ahead but i have checked this a few times).
Franco

Since I didn't know the configuration of the stays on the front pockets or the aarn pack, I wondered if you could retrofit/fabricate a stay to fit into the syncpack's extra connector set. This would be a sure and cheap ($13) way to transfer weight to the hip belt. I also like to see where my feet are going. I don't like the configuration of the syncpack. I would prefer to swap out front pockets- depending on what trip I am planning. I just recently bought a mid-range pack and I can’t justify another $350 purchase.
Thanks Ben I don't know how to post a link in such a clean fashion.

Dave

Thanks for the great post Anchan...I have a Natural Exhiliration with balance pockets (for shorter walks)...and really happy with it (and have a lunar solo too as it happens) and have been thinking about a bigger version of the NE for longer trips- to replace the Wilderness Eqt Freycinet- great pack, very comfortable, absolutely bomb-proof, but a heavy monster. Been looking at an Aarn Effortless Rhythm...wondering if you checked it out and reason you went for the NBalance. I have decided that I like the balance concept and can see the benefit of a slight weight impost over the ultra-light packs for endurance and physiological gains...given my age and the state of my knees...

Edited by david.fulton on 10/17/2008 23:21:50 MDT.

The syncpack clocks in at a 2.2 pounds.

Sign me up...

Another over 50 Aarn Natural Balance lover here. We'll be seeing more of this front balance concept.

The future of backpacking IMHO.

Another front pack is the Ribz

http://www.ribzwear.com/product.htm

It only weighs 10 oz if the removeable front strip is removed:

"The double thick nylon stitching at the base of the pack is for individual customization. This extra durable nylon strip allows for not just protection but a stronghold to where additional equipment can sewn. For the serious ultralight backpacking enthusiast, this strip can be removed decreasing the overall weight of the pack to approximately ten ounces. "

It is much, much cheaper, only $65 too.

Has anyone tried it?

What I have used for a front pack is a camelbak pakteen which clips on the chest sternum strap and the weight of this (9.6 oz) plus 1.5 liter of water is offsetting the weight of what otherwise would have been behind you. I find this very comfortable, and it does not prevent me from seeing what is beneath me, it does not hinder my vision. I tried the luxurylite front pack for one day and disliked it as I felt blind. The syncpack weighs too much and blocks your front vision too much in my opinion.

http://www.lapolicegear.com/capa50oz.html

Edited by marti124 on 03/20/2009 14:01:37 MDT.

Hi Anchan,

Can you elaborate on the idea of the balance pockets acting as a day pack?
What do you use as shoulder straps?
You wouldn't happen to have a photo would you?

Cheers,

Dan Baker.