RIBZ front pack

[ninjapuppet]

As a chiropractor and physiotherapist, i can certainly see the benefits of aarn packs designs.

However If you're like me and already have several packs for a different purposes , it wont make much sense to fork out cash to get another 3 or 4 aarn packs when most shops here dont carry them. Only 1 shop on Kent st in sydney had them and they only had 1 model in stock for me to try on which was too small so I cant really make any real comment on how good they are in practice yet.

I came across these Ribz packs, which are a much cheaper alternative plus they can be used with my other packs, whether it be
- mountaineering,
- fast and light trips
- fishing trips
- short walks with baby (its a pain to put baby carrier down just to get something small out)

My current favourite pack is the Exos 58 due to its many features not available on aarn packs so with the RIBZ combo, i get the best of both worlds. I'm starting to get into fly fishing, where carrying a separate fishing vest seems to be abit heavy and not in line with lightweight philosphy.

http://www.ribzwear.com/brochure/

They're such a good idea I bought 10 of these so i am going to recommend to my patients with bad backs who enjoy hiking. they're US $65 each
heres a few reviews
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1r_cGe9wpM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iU8ejPKv1sI

and i will give my own review when it arrives. if someone wants one, please let me know. I'll just charge their cost price once I figured out how much i got charged for the 10 delivered.

[Franco]

I don't want to sound like an Aarn commercial but...
OK, I will sound like an Aarn commercial.

The Ribz uses one of the Aarn's advantages, that is shifting the center of gravity back towards the center of your body by adding weight at the front.
The other advantages of the Aarn are : weight fully on your heaps (can be on your shoulders if you prefer...)
air gap between the pocket and stomach (not so much if you have big stomach bones)
gap between the two pockets to see where your feet are.
Of course as you stated it may be hard to find an Aarn to try out and more expensive if you already have a pack you like.
And they do share the convinience of having stuff you want fast right there.

BTW , there is another version :
http://www.thesyncpack.com/biomechanics.html
Franco

[Lizzy]

I love my Aarn 'Guiding Light'- as Franco said the weight sits on your hips- yes it really does and I find I do not get the usual sore back/shoulders. I also wonder how much vision would be obstructed with a pack across your chest unlike the balance pockets which are 2 seperate bags and therefore no obstruction. But hey- they are cheaper and can be used with your own pack so might be handy for people to put a few goodies in... but I'll definitely be sticking to my Aarn and continue raving about its benefits.
Lizzy

[alliecat]

Hi NP,

There was a little bit about these earlier.

I think they are a neat idea. I could definitely see myself using one of these. Let us know when you've got them 'cos I'd be happy to take one off your hands

Cheers,
Alliecat

[ninjapuppet]

OK, i just picked up an aarn natural balance from backpacking light. Old models are on sale now.
Funny enough the RIBZ arrived on the same day so i can now make a direct comparison.
The aarns were ok after 10 mins fiddling, but no where near as comfy as my osprey, so i figured out something was not right for a pack with so much hype behind it.
I spent a few hours fiddling with the aarn, lost hope in them, 3 phone calls with the retailer, another few hours and finally managed to get it to fit perfectly! ie, they are not straight forward! ..... and WOW, they're awesome
My friend comes along and bends the aluminium stays to his back without asking and now i have to re-bend everything again!!! Only aarnpack owners will know how frustrating this is.

Anyway there is already much info on the aarns so I will focus on the ribz.
Firstly, there are 2 models: an ultralight model and a regular model.
Ultralight: 302 grams, each pocket measures 34x23cm, 6.5L
regular: 336 grams, each pocket measures 39x25, 10L
I find the ultralight fit me better sine I'm only a small person at 170cm
By way of comparison, my aarn expedition pockets store (9L each, 20x39cm - abit hard to measure)

Despite my initial concerns, here are some thoughts

1 RIBZ do not place weight onto your shoulders. infact, it transfers weight to your body and hips better than any other pack i have ever tried including the aarns. this is because the whole thing is like a massive hip belt with shoulder straps only for slight stabilisation puposes. i could happily wear them even without the neck and shoulder straps but this is not recommended. i put 5kg of weight lifting plates in each side, and could not feel the 10kg onto my shoulders at all. They took 2 mins to fit properly as opposed to hours.

2. secondly, they do not appear obstruct vision. This may require further field testing. Infact my aarn expedition pockets bulge out further like 2 man-boobs and if anything, they will obstruct vision more so when climbing. the Ribz wrap around the body to the side of your waist so spread the volume over a larger area.
with them filled all the way up with inflatables, they obstruc vision less so than aarn balance pockets.

3. i am abit skeptical of the quality of the fabric. as can be seen below, some of the end straps are frayed. this can easily be burnt off but there are some reviews online whereby the material next to the zips have frayed. Due to this flaw, I am not confident of its longevitiy, despite its claims of being tough. again, only time will tell. I remember my ititial thoughts to silnylon being flimsy, and this has also surpassed my expectations so hopefully these can aswell.
However, My main reasons for these was for the purposes of flyfishing. In that respect, they excel greatly as there are many pockets conveniently located with separate compartments. (all fly fishermen should get one if hiking long distances and do not yet have an expensive fishing vest). You wear it under your pack and as you want to quickly go somewhere or spend 5 mins fishing a hidden water hole, just dump your pack and the ribz stays with you.

4. As a packrafting PFD, this will unfortunately not work. Think of the compartments as a massive waist belt around your body. packrafting PFDs will require the floatation high up in the chest due to the spray deck wrapping your stomach. This is a huge disapointment for me but I cant complain as this was not what its designed for. It may work without the spray deck for docile lakes, since i can fit 4x2L platypus in, and this is compabable to most other flotation devices.

5 as a comparison to aarnpacks after getting one, I would say aarn is better than Ribz as a pack carrying system. This is not due to it's use of the forward weights because i feel Ribz does this better. Aarn is better due to its material quality and its flo-mo system swinging side to side, and it's balance pockets are also drysacks. I dont know if this is applicable for other models, but they are interchangble and you can also get photography balance pockets for them. my camera kit does not fit into the Ribz (well it can, but not not easily)

6 the ribz however is not intended to just compete with the aarn. it serves the fishing aspect, and i can wear it under a jacket without looking too out of the place when i want to wander around town. The aarn balance pockets can double up as day packs but this requires abit of fiddling around. I think the ultralight model will fit everyone except the obese, however the regular model will not really fit the smaller people comfortably, and I normally wear size 32"-34" pants. If your waist is around 36" then either model would be fine. I tried to put it on with the aarn at the same time but this will not work as it impedes the flow-mo swinging action of the aarn pack.

Apologies to alliecat and anyone wanting one, as all of them from my initial order have been snapped up. However Raymond from Ribz is awesome and will help any of your queries. they are $65 each and postage is $20 for initial one, and $10 each therafter.

[alliecat]

Thanks for the detailed review NP - and no worries about the initial order all being taken already, I'll survive

I think I will go ahead and get the Ribz - I've found myself lately stuffing ridiculous amounts of gear into my shirt pockets (not exactly secure) and my trouser pockets too (not the most comfortable). I can certainly see myself using the Ribz. I think it'd be handy to wear around camp too, with gloves and camera and so on (ie. snacks )stuffed into it rather than into pockets.

I think your experience with the Aarn pack matches most people's - fiddly to set up, but really really nice once that's done. Just don't lend it to other people!

Cheers,
Alliecat

[crockle]

I think your experience with the Aarn pack matches most people's - fiddly to set up, but really really nice once that's done. Just don't lend it to other people!

alliecat, you have it perfectly there.
(OK, I added the bold-ing )

Thanks for the rundown on the Ribz, ninjapuppet - very interesting.

shifting the center of gravity back towards the center of your body by adding weight at the front.

This is so simple, and so 'right' that more manufacturers (besides Ribz, Syncpack & Aarn)*are* going to produce designs working with this principle. It may take a L-O-N-G time for it to happen - but it will happen, I am convinced.

[CenVicCharlie]

I have been using the Ultralight RIBZ for about a month now at work and can't rate it highly enough. It's is a comfy as to wear even with a pack, currently doing heaps of trail maintenance on the Great Divide Trail and have no problems using any hand tool or even a chainsaw whilst wearing the RIBZ, have just ordered another 6 for the volunteers to wear as well.