OP Strezlecki or McMillan?

[ULWalkingPhil]

I went and had a look at some Aarn bags today out of curiosity, not impressed. The construction appeared cheap and padding a bit scarce too when compared to One Planet.


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I have not seen the new model Aarn packs, but I do own a Aarn Load Limo I purchased for a great price on eBay recently. The Aarn pack I own, I believe is apx 3 years old. Quality on it is superb.

I agree the padding is a lot scarce compared to a OP pack, personally I find the harness and pad thickness on the Aarn pack a lot more comfortable to wear than a OP McMillan. My OP McMillan pack causes me major chaffing on the thick padding, particularly if carrying 20kg. I'll never forget a recent hike over at Fraser Island just before purchasing my Aarn pack, by the time I arrived back home, it looked like someone had repeatedly whipped me around my waist, very painful.

I can't remember where I read this, it might have been in a backpacking magazine, I remember reading a article a while back on packs, in particular padding thickness, in the article they mentioned that thick padding is not always the best on a backpack. I found this odd, as how could all that padding not be beneficial, i now believe this article.

The OP McMillan is a great pack, but for me I find the Aarn Load Limo a much better pack. So far durability on my Aarn pack is not a problem, I don't think it ever will be. I have not attempted any serious off-track hiking with the Aarn pack. When I do, I'll probably will take the OP pack, just to be on the safe side, as the OP pack looks like it will probably handle thick sharp vines better than a Aarn pack.

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[axel]

I also have a Tasman, albeit a very old model. Great pack, but WAAAY too massive, complex and heavy for walking.

In my opinion, nothing beats the Mungo. Simple, great harness and tough as nails. If you are worried about the lesser volume, grab yourself a couple of the 12L balance pockets from Aarn which work really well in conjunction with this pack. I'm going to write a new thread on this setup with pictures shortly if you are interested.

I think the Tasman is more suitable to backpacking rather than hiking, the extra zips, handle and harness cover obviously do add some extra weight. The option to hang some packs on the front is a good idea & don't see why this should be specific to Aarn only, interested to see how it goes...

I agree about the Tasman, hence my comments and the reason why I bought the mungo for walking.

I took some pics of my Op/Aarn setup yesterday and will upload them hopefully in the next couple of days.

I think someone may have hinted that attaching a standard small daypack to the front of your pack would be a good idea, it's not. Maybe for travel where you want your most precious items where you can see them, but not whilst on a trail where you need to see your feet, not too mention how hot you would get. The balance pockets are brilliant.

One Planet Mungo with Aarn sport balance pockets

[Wingnut]

Looks great axel!

[north-north-west]

Does it? Mine's looking a little scuffed around the edges, but it's still intact. Or do you mean a Leillateah still walk?