Your Backpack..

[sthughes]

Yep it is, but the bottom most position is still fairly high. I have mine in the lowest position possible and it's fine, however I know others who find it a tad too high even at the lowest setting. The silly thing is that the 'highest' position is almost behind your head.
It's not really a complaint, more just an observation that it wouldn't wan to be higher.

[Penguin]

4. Sternum strap would not want to be any higher.

I'm not at home so can't check my Strezlecki (much the same as McMillan), but isn't the sternum strap height adjustable? Maybe my memory is playing tricks on me.

They are adjustable - from near strangling to completely strangling.

I have a MacPac Torro and an OP Shadow. The Torro is very comfortable and I like a single compartment pack. Also a size 2 fits my very small back. It survived the southern range - a good test for a pack is Tasmania with head high scaparia and very narrow to non existent tracks in places. Dangly bits just get ripped off. I try to carry about 18KG max and the pack was great for that. Also not too high.

I recently bought a OP Shadow and loooooove it. It is 56L and weighs 1.5KG. Going to Frenchman's, ie no heavy bush, it was great. Started with 14KG with grog and shelter. So comfortable and fitted neatly on my back. The only down sides were the lack of a bottle holder and the high sternum strap. When the guy in the shop sold it to me he was pushing the next pack up as "the shadow is no good for carrying over 15KG", this pack was 600gms heavier. The whole point of buying the shadow was than I could get into the low teens in weight for a four to five day walk. I do not feel that the material on this pack would stand up to off track walking.

Cheers P

[Ent]

They are adjustable - from near strangling to completely strangling.

Very well put

[corvus]

4. Sternum strap would not want to be any higher.

I'm not at home so can't check my Strezlecki (much the same as McMillan), but isn't the sternum strap height adjustable? Maybe my memory is playing tricks on me.

They are adjustable - from near strangling to completely strangling.

I have a MacPac Torro and an OP Shadow. The Torro is very comfortable and I like a single compartment pack. Also a size 2 fits my very small back. It survived the southern range - a good test for a pack is Tasmania with head high scaparia and very narrow to non existent tracks in places. Dangly bits just get ripped off. I try to carry about 18KG max and the pack was great for that. Also not too high.

I recently bought a OP Shadow and loooooove it. It is 56L and weighs 1.5KG. Going to Frenchman's, ie no heavy bush, it was great. Started with 14KG with grog and shelter. So comfortable and fitted neatly on my back. The only down sides were the lack of a bottle holder and the high sternum strap. When the guy in the shop sold it to me he was pushing the next pack up as "the shadow is no good for carrying over 15KG", this pack was 600gms heavier. The whole point of buying the shadow was than I could get into the low teens in weight for a four to five day walk. I do not feel that the material on this pack would stand up to off track walking.

Cheers P

Penguin 200ml is not a quotable grog carry just as well someone else carried the Drambuie
corvus

[blacksheep]

Penguin 200ml is not a quotable grog carry just as well someone else carried the Drambuie
corvus

sorry for wandering off topic, but you reminded me about the Aussie appreciation of Drambuie.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqEFtz2YGyA

[Son of a Beach]

Yep it is, but the bottom most position is still fairly high. I have mine in the lowest position possible and it's fine, however I know others who find it a tad too high even at the lowest setting. The silly thing is that the 'highest' position is almost behind your head.
It's not really a complaint, more just an observation that it wouldn't wan to be higher.

4. Sternum strap would not want to be any higher.

I'm not at home so can't check my Strezlecki (much the same as McMillan), but isn't the sternum strap height adjustable? Maybe my memory is playing tricks on me.

They are adjustable - from near strangling to completely strangling.

heheh... yeah, OK, I stand corrected.

[Jellybean]

Penguin 200ml is not a quotable grog carry just as well someone else carried the Drambuie
corvus

sorry for wandering off topic, but you reminded me about the Aussie appreciation of Drambuie.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqEFtz2YGyA

Well ... there's Aussie and there's Aussie - there's some choice blokes there - not!

[corvus]

Penguin 200ml is not a quotable grog carry just as well someone else carried the Drambuie
corvus

sorry for wandering off topic, but you reminded me about the Aussie appreciation of Drambuie.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqEFtz2YGyA

He Cam ,
I thought they were KIWI imports in that clip,and who but a KIWI would basterdise Drambuie with lolly water bro eh but!!
corvus

[Penguin]

P

Penguin 200ml is not a quotable grog carry just as well someone else carried the Drambuie
corvus[/quote]

Hey! It was at least 400ml....I am sure the ultra light guys would think 100ml of whiskey a day would be too much .

I thought I would help Brett have an easier trip out by lightening his load of Drambue???? It was nothing to do with drinking

Now we just need to find out to dehydrate whiskey to join the UL club

P

[corvus]

P

Penguin 200ml is not a quotable grog carry just as well someone else carried the Drambuie
corvus

Hey! It was at least 400ml....I am sure the ultra light guys would think 100ml of whiskey a day would be too much .

I thought I would help Brett have an easier trip out by lightening his load of Drambue???? It was nothing to do with drinking

Now we just need to find out to dehydrate whiskey to join the UL club

P[/quote]
400ml Penguin that is more than a half bottle and just under 300ml of a full one I am certain you said 200ml and if you had that much why did you not share
corvus

[Ent]

Not that this has much to do with the thread except to point out that the McMillan has the Exact Fit Plus harness that can neatly hold two Sig bottles so one is used for a 1 litre of water and the other was spare so it was holding a 600ml Sig bottle which inturn holds 640ml of Drambuie, or more accurately did It was the emergency rations in case the wine supply rationing was misjudged but Sthughes in a sterling effort to achieve UL status by buying a Nemo air mattress then managed to fit a 4 litre box monster into his McMillan so rationing became unnecessary so my 750ml of port in a Playtpus container was more than adequate. However, as mentioned on the Frenchmans Cap thread there was a shortage of water on the track coming back from Tahune to the Needles but I survived on 1 litre of water but Pengiun due to lack of water storage options on the Shadow was limited to 600ml so I assume that when we got back to Vera due to dehydration delirium mistook my 600ml Sig bottle for an emergency water supply Penguin your ability to get moving at 6.45am shows great DNA

Wow managed to get back on thread. But let this be a lesson to all people who travel by foot rather than by wagon, the McMillan is a better pack

Cheers Brett

[Rick]

I really want to thank you all again because your input into this thread has given me plenty to work with!! Now I'm spoilt for choice!!

I will let you know what I settle on once I get the nod from the leader of the opposition!!

Cheers
Rick

[Xtreme Earth]

The Aarn packs 'Photohiker' taks about are very good and lightweight but they're not easy on the pocket!
The Xtreme Earth XE75 is made from similar materials (1000d & 500d Cordura and 500d High Tensile Rip Stop nylon) and only weighs 2.55Kg. It's also very rugged for what ever you want to through at it and the harness is capable of carry loads up 25Kg without any issue.
The sternum strap is highly adjustable with 12cm of vertical adjustment as well as plenty of horizontal play (With elasticated area for comfort).
With packs like these around I don't know why you would go for a canvas pack unless you were carrying serious loads of over 25Kg, at which point I would have to say you might as well be in a caravan!
All that said though... The OP packs are very good and well designed. hehehe!

[sthughes]

Actually as it turns out the OP sternum strap issue is actually a symptom of a pack that is too small. As I said, on mine it is okay but only just, I have the "exact fit" straps all the way out and the pack is very comfy, albeit with the sternum strap as high as I would want it.
If it is too high, you should consider a large version of the harness, which should apparently solve the problem. Unless you are barrel chested, in which case OP can do longer arm/chest straps for you.

I also noted the poor fixing of walking poles on the McMillan, as it turns out I have been doing it wrong. The correct way, while a little fiddly is actually quite effective (or at least appears so, I haven't tried it yet).
So now if OP made the top compression strap just a smidgen longer to more easily accommodate snow shoes, it would be perfect!

[photohiker]

The Aarn packs 'Photohiker' taks about are very good and lightweight but they're not easy on the pocket!

Well, talking as a consumer of outdoor gear, rather than a manufacturer such as yourself, I have a different viewpoint. I'm prepared to pay the asking price for my gear if it represents value to me, and I tend not to buy something just because it is cheaper. If it is cheaper and as good or better than the other offerings it might attract my interest. For a pack, it would have to have technology that put it on a par with the pack I currently use, something you don't currently offer.

Aarn come with a lot of embedded background R&D and product development, and I wouldn't be surprised to find that they cost more to make than a standard backpack because of the various features and fiddly sewing details built into the pack. From the look of it, a 70L Aarn is in the same ballpark price as an equivalent sized OP or MacPac. That's reasonable value IMO.

Good luck with your business, it's good to see someone having a go!

[north-north-west]

Osprey . . . errr, what model is it? The Aether is the new version, I believe. 85L. Because I do a lot of solo walking and like to be prepared - though I am packing less these days (during summer, anyway).
Bought it because it's the only pack I've found so far that more or less accommodates my physical peculiarities - short, slim, short waist, dodgy hip, dodgy shoulder, ongoing neck problem. It's not perfect but it's better than anything else I've tried to date.
I do want to have a go at the Aarns, though. The balance system makes sense and it may work better for most of my walking, though might be a problem with the rock-scrambling.

[bushrunner]

Bought an Osprey Talon 33 today. First impressions are very positive. Will post a short review in a couple weeks after I have had a chance to properly test it out.

[MJD]

I've currently got a One Planet Shadow and a Macpac Cascade 65.

Shadow: weighs 1.5kg, is really comfortable and excellent for up to 15kg loads that gets me by for 1-4 days. Has done well off track apart from the side "pockets" wearing away as soon as they touched any rock.

Cascade: weighs over 3kg, more robust material, carried over 20 kg, seems to be doing really well in rough off track walking. Used recently in the Wilmot-Franklands over 8 days. Found the bottom opening very useful on the long walk - kept my sleeping bag, mat etc in the bottom and could get them out without having to unpack food bags that I didn't need to see for days. More waterproof than the Shadow.

Prefer to use the Shadow if my load is less than about 18 kg, the walk wasn't in really rough off track terrain, and the forecast wasn't abysmal.

[Chris]

sorry for wandering off topic, but you reminded me about the Aussie appreciation of Drambuie.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqEFtz2YGyA

What sacrilege! How could they contaminate one of the finest liqueurs made by diluting it with heavens knows what?
Thanks for the laugh though blacksheep.

[Penguin]

I've currently got a One Planet Shadow and a Macpac Cascade 65.

Shadow: weighs 1.5kg, is really comfortable and excellent for up to 15kg loads that gets me by for 1-4 days. Has done well off track apart from the side "pockets" wearing away as soon as they touched any rock.

Cascade: weighs over 3kg, more robust material, carried over 20 kg, seems to be doing really well in rough off track walking. Used recently in the Wilmot-Franklands over 8 days. Found the bottom opening very useful on the long walk - kept my sleeping bag, mat etc in the bottom and could get them out without having to unpack food bags that I didn't need to see for days. More waterproof than the Shadow.

Prefer to use the Shadow if my load is less than about 18 kg, the walk wasn't in really rough off track terrain, and the forecast wasn't abysmal.

Hey that is exactly my experience except I have a Torre rather than the Cascade. Working on trying to get five days into a Shadow at the moment. The side pockets on the Shadow are fragile and not very useful. The pack is very comfortable for under 15kg's. Aiming foor 14 for five days - no sure if I will make it though. If only you could get light weight gortex top and bottoms......

[Ent]

Hi Penguin

Remind me next time to bring along a light weight English brand breathable long walking coat. It is about 1/3 the size of the Gore-tex one but not so sure on the robustness so have not gone bush with it in true winter conditions or where the track is not clear. Must try it out. It is the DWR rather than membrane type I think. Not too sure for bush bashing I would like to surrender the safety of my PP Vista Gore-tex coat though.

Cheers Brett

[Area54]

So now if OP made the top compression strap just a smidgen longer to more easily accommodate snow shoes, it would be perfect!

I was given a small OP bag to suit crampons, it clips low to the back of my Strezlecki. I have no need for crampons (QLDer ) so I use it on the front for food and other ready to hand stuff.

[Xtreme Earth]

The Aarn packs 'Photohiker' taks about are very good and lightweight but they're not easy on the pocket!

Well, talking as a consumer of outdoor gear, rather than a manufacturer such as yourself, I have a different viewpoint. I'm prepared to pay the asking price for my gear if it represents value to me, and I tend not to buy something just because it is cheaper. If it is cheaper and as good or better than the other offerings it might attract my interest. For a pack, it would have to have technology that put it on a par with the pack I currently use, something you don't currently offer.

Aarn come with a lot of embedded background R&D and product development, and I wouldn't be surprised to find that they cost more to make than a standard backpack because of the various features and fiddly sewing details built into the pack. From the look of it, a 70L Aarn is in the same ballpark price as an equivalent sized OP or MacPac. That's reasonable value IMO.

Good luck with your business, it's good to see someone having a go!

I certainly wouldn't disagree with your sentiments! And thanks for the good luck message too!

[One Planet]

So now if OP made the top compression strap just a smidgen longer to more easily accommodate snow shoes, it would be perfect!

Hi sthughes.
I have increased the top compression strap from 380mm to 420mm.
Thanks for the tip.
Cheers
Andrew King

[sthughes]

Awesome, that should do it nicely, great to see some manufacturers are listening