Need some help with my AARN pack...

[joshman]

Hey all,
My AARN guiding light arrived in the mail today. And my first impressions are simply, WOW. I've got a small marathon magic for small day-hikes, so getting another AARN pack was a bit of a no-brainer. and after an hour or so of fiddling with it i'm loving it - It's a great, big, (very) comfortable bag to wear. I've done a preliminary fitting, and as soon as i can find a helper to bend the aluminium back frame to suit, i plan on putting some load into it and going for an extended walk to settle it down and get it fitting proper. I got it with the Photo balance pockets, cause I'm a photography nutter.

I've only noticed one slightly concerning thing about it - the aluminium back stay protrudes through the bottom of the pack, meaning that its pretty easy to pull out and it seems to slip out as i wear it around the house and sit down wearing the pack etc. The little plastic cap at the top of the Aluminium frame has cracked and slips on and off with great ease, would a dab of sikaflex to hold that cap there fix my concerns?

is there a fix or a mod i can do to secure this?

thanks.

[ILUVSWTAS]

Hey all,

I've only noticed one slightly concerning thing about it - the aluminium back stay protrudes through the bottom of the pack, meaning that its pretty easy to pull out and it seems to slip out as i wear it around the house and sit down wearing the pack etc.
thanks.

My thoughts, if it's doing this around the house, it'll be a nightmare in the field.

Man up and get a bra-less pack.

[joshman]

but the bra is soooo handy. it lifts and holds in all the right places...

I'm a photography nut, so i need quick access to my SLR, and the thought of undertaking something as iconic as the Overland track without my SLR is purely unconscionable.

[Overlandman]

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=1038&hilit=aarn+pack

Some of the members that have an aarn pack will be able to help you.
Regards Overlandman

[Miyata610]

Yeah they're great packs.

For me it's the only way to carry big loads. Sometimes too big. Lol.

I suggest you call Tim the distributor in Melbourne. I've made a few calls for spare parts and advice and he's always been very helpful.

Make sure you ask for Tim.

Ignore the anti-Aarn lot.... They're just jealous. Lol.

[photohiker]

the aluminium back stay protrudes through the bottom of the pack, meaning that its pretty easy to pull out and it seems to slip out as i wear it around the house and sit down wearing the pack etc. The little plastic cap at the top of the Aluminium frame has cracked and slips on and off with great ease, would a dab of sikaflex to hold that cap there fix my concerns?

Is this a new pack?

I've not used a guiding light, but the aarn packs I have, the back stay is retained by a sewn retaining socket at the bottom and a velcro/nylon retaining cover at the top. No way should it be able to move once inserted.

Have a look at the Aarn fitting video for the Guiding Light to see if the stay is inserted correctly: http://www.aarnpacks.com/use/expand/cus ... stays.html

Good luck with it.

[joshman]

Hey, there's no retaining socket at the bottom, the stay purposely protrudes through the bottom piece of the back frame, it looks as though its supposed to be held in place by the black plastic cap at the top of the stay, which is a bit of a design oversight.

I sent an email to AARN last night after trawling the web for awhile and had a reply waiting for me this morning, he said to wrap the top of the stay with elastoplast tape. Its just gotta stop it from pulling out no fun then little Velcro pocket at the top.

I still love the pack, and now I'm even more tempted to get the peak aspiration for shorter duration hikes. But that's a ways away.

[joshman]

actually, scrap that last one, i've just had a look this morning in the light of the day and there is a socket at the bottom of the pack for the aluminium frame, it's just attached to the plastic lumbar support, now its all good.