Aarn Mountain Magic 50 Pro Review: Throw Out Everything You Knew About Backpacks

Probably the most modern backpack on this 12 months’s backpacking gear check wasn’t from an up-and-coming cottage gear firm, however from a decades-old firm out of New Zealand, Aarn. The place most backpacking backpacks are fiddling across the margins of design — somewhat extra padding within the shoulder straps right here, somewhat extra air flow within the again panel there — the Aarn Mountain Magic 50 Professional takes a very completely different method to the important problems with match, load bearing, and pack group. Whereas it’s not completely clear why this fashion backpack hasn’t caught on in the USA — it’s a comparatively frequent sight throughout the ocean — a number of the concepts behind this backpack are beginning to catch on with ultralight backpacking firms. That is one which’s nicely overdue for a contemporary look.  

Buy from Aarn

• Capability: 50 liters
• Unisex Torso Match: 16 to 22 inches
• Pockets: High zip pocket, two aspect stretch pockets, again mesh pocket, with two inside mesh pockets, two hip belt zip pockets, two oversize shoulder strap zip pockets with exterior mesh pockets
• Adjustment Factors: Hip belt, shoulder straps, load lifters, adjustable again panel, two sternum straps
• Guarantee: One 12 months

Most backpacking backpacks have one overarching purpose: Switch the burden out of your shoulders to your hips. Even with right now’s internal-frame designs, meaning a inflexible construction and aggressive hip belt that locks into place in your physique. Now, in case you’re carrying a monstrously heavy load — comparable to with one of many best hunting backpacks — or have particularly weak traps, that is in all probability a greater backpack fashion for you. However for many backpackers, this could result in a medley of pointless points, starting from bruised hips to tight shoulders. 

Learn Subsequent: The Best Backpacking Backpacks

The Aarn Mountain Magic 50 Professional takes a unique method, distributing the burden of the pack throughout your total physique. This implies your hips are a lot much less restricted than with a conventional backpack. The Mountain Magic then takes this a step additional by decoupling the shoulder straps from the again panel, which frees up the vary of movement in your shoulders. The impact is akin to carrying a heavy coat: You’re feeling the burden, however as a result of it’s not focused on one level of your physique, there aren’t any ache factors and you may transfer freely. 

There are three primary variations in design that permits Aarn to tug off this magic trick: outsized shoulder strap pockets, a again panel adjustment strap, and free-moving shoulder straps that you would be able to entry whereas carrying the backpack. 

Outsized Shoulder Strap Pockets

Lately, capacious shoulder straps pockets have develop into pretty ubiquitous on the best ultralight backpacks popping out of the cottage gear world. This makes a world of sense. Shoulder straps have been beforehand underutilized actual property; having a pocket there lets you entry gear with out stopping to take your backpack off. However the Aarn shoulder straps pockets are completely different. Mixed, they maintain a whopping 7 liters of substances, much like what the highest pocket (sometimes called “the mind”) would maintain on a conventional backpack. 

Regardless of its ubiquity, there are a number of points with each the position and the utility of the highest pocket. The primary is that you would be able to’t entry something in it if you are mountain climbing — it’s a must to cease and take it off. The second is that backpackers are likely to overload it with small, dense objects: satellite tv for pc messengers, energy banks, sunscreen, toiletries, and the like. High-loading your backpack like this isn’t advisable, as it could have an effect on your steadiness.

However placing all these small fiddly heavy objects that you really want simply accessible on the entrance shoulder straps is one other matter totally. Now the burden of that gear is counterbalancing the burden of the principle compartment on the backpack. Whereas conventional backpacks considerably change your middle of gravity — one thing anybody who has tried to rock-hop throughout a mountain stream can attest to — with the steadiness pockets it stays a lot nearer to its pure place in your physique. Additional, having weight knocking down on the entrance backpack reduces the extent to which the shoulder straps are pulling again, noticeably decreasing stress in your clavicle.

Outside Life examined the Stability Pockets Multi Professional, which have a zippered inner compartment, in addition to a mesh pocket on the entrance, however Aarn has eight completely different variations of those pockets, together with one geared specifically at fishermen. 

Again Panel Adjustment

To actually profit from the steadiness pockets on the Aarn Mountain Magic 50 Professional, the pack has to suit in order that it’s hugging your physique. To make sure that’s true for people throughout a variety of torso lengths, Aarn takes a unique method to the order of operations for becoming a backpack. 

Sometimes, to suit a backpacking backpack, you first begin with the proper again panel size to your torso dimension, or alter the again panel to the proper size, then alter the hip belt, shoulder straps, sternum strap, and — lastly — the load lifters. Nonetheless, it’s surprisingly arduous to get the precise proper torso dimension on a backpack. It’s important to first know what your torso measurement is, which entails explaining to a good friend what the iliac crest is after which hoping they get the measurement proper. Then it’s a must to discover the backpack dimension that the majority intently matches that measurement. Some backpacks have adjustable again panels, however they have an inclination to both solely change in increments of 1 inch or use industrial-strength Velcro, which is a royal ache within the ass to get into the proper place. 

The upshot is that loads of individuals aren’t beginning with the proper torso size after they transfer onto step two of becoming their backpack. This throws the entire different adjustment factors out of alignment. By the point they hit the ultimate stage of adjusting the match of their backpack, there may be both an excessive amount of pull from a too-tall backpack body or an excessive amount of drag from one that’s too brief. In each circumstances, cranking down on the load lifters so far as you may helps to get rid of discomfort (most backpack producers advisable a 45-degree angle to optimize load-bearing). However this will increase stress on the clavicle, sternum strap, and hip belt, which is able to finally result in different ache factors. 

The Aarn Mountain Magic 50 Professional fixes this subject neatly by making the again panel adjustment one of many remaining steps in becoming their pack to your physique. Earlier than you set the Mountain Magic on, you pull up on the blue twine working the size of the backpack till the shoulder straps are on the prime of the body. Then you definately put the backpack on, tighten the hip belt and pull on the shoulder straps. If you get to the double sternum straps, Aarn recommends criss-crossing them for max stability.

Then discover the blue loop on the backside of the pack that connects to the highest of the body, such that if you pull down on the backpack, it pulls the body down till the shoulder straps are resting securely and comfortably in your shoulders. All because of this if you lastly get to utilizing the load lifters, they’re functioning as load stabilizers and also you gained’t be tempted to overcrank them. And one of the best half is you don’t must know your actual torso size to make use of this technique.

Free-Shifting Shoulder Straps

Sometimes, when you’ve received an inner body backpacking backpack strapped on, your vary of movement goes to be considerably restricted. Attempt to swivel your hips, and the pack will resist you. Attempt to transfer your shoulders up and down, and the pack will resist you. That’s partly why frameless packs have develop into so in style with the fastpacking set — they permit for the higher vary of movement wanted to run and scamper and break FKTs. 

However the Aarn Mountain Magic 50 Professional permits for the same vary of movement, whereas nonetheless transferring loads of weight to your hips by way of metallic stays within the body. That’s as a result of the shoulder straps aren’t stitched into the again panel. As a substitute, the highest of the shoulder straps are hooked up to the again panel adjustment mechanism on the prime and a nylon twine working between the underside of the shoulder straps that’s tucked into the underside of the again panel. If you swivel your hips, the pack strikes with you. If you transfer your shoulders up and down, the pack is alongside for the trip. In the event you’ve been tempted by the liberty of a frameless backpack however aren’t prepared to surrender the hip belt, this can be a actually distinctive characteristic.

Testing the Aarn Magic Mountain 50 Professional within the Area 

The Magic Mountain earned prime marks from our testers on the second Outside Life backpacking gear check, with almost excellent scores throughout all classes. I used to be notably impressed by how straightforward it was to maneuver on this backpack. I’m ceaselessly turning round whereas mountain climbing to speak to the particular person behind me on testing journeys. With the inflexible body backpacks I examined, a nagging piriformis damage would flare every time I attempted to do that, however I used to be fully pain-free within the Aarn Mountain Magic 50 Professional.

Different testers famous feeling equally free: “The way in which the Aarn Mountain Magic strikes with you makes you’re feeling limber, strong, versatile in a means that no different pack has made me really feel,” mentioned Diana Helmuth. The one factor impeding this freedom of motion was the sheer dimension of the steadiness pockets within the entrance, which does restrict your capability to maneuver your arm throughout your physique. However whereas this felt awkward, it didn’t really forestall testers from doing something they wanted to do whereas backpacking. 

The match of the backpack was additionally a standout for our testing staff. Curiously, they famous that they spent much less time adjusting and readjusting the backpack for match all through the course of the day “I discovered that I didn’t must do a lot adjustment to those as a result of the burden was distributed so nicely,” famous Patrice “Regular” La Vigne, who carried one of many heaviest hundreds at 36 kilos and skilled zero discomfort. 

Solely the tester with the shortest torso, Jac “High Shelf” Mitchell, deducted one level for match. She has a 16-inch torso which is true on the backside of the prompt vary for this backpack — when you’ve got a equally brief torso it might be value trying on the Aarn Featherlite Freedom, which is available in a smaller torso dimension. 

Many of the testers for the Magic Mountain 50 Professional struggled to make a dent within the 7-liter capability of the steadiness pockets. “With three separate compartments on either side — one mesh and two inside zippered pockets — I might have the ability to entry absolutely anything rapidly,” mentioned Regular. “A few of the issues I want to have extra accessible in my each day guiding can be my binoculars, wildflower discipline guides/books, studying glasses, sat system, bug spray, sunblock along with the issues I normally put in my hip belt pockets like snacks.”

To actually check the utility of the Aarn Magic Mountain 50 Professional’s shoulder strap pockets, I took it out for a three-day backpacking journey with my household. My child is 5, which suggests she isn’t going to hold a lot past her coat, and her capability for snacks is each limitless and important for morale. We’d have been struggling to replenish the Aarn’s shoulder strap pockets with our light-weight backpacking kits through the Outside Life discipline check, however I had no drawback filling up these entrance pockets with goldfish crackers, further child-sized base layers, gummy worms, sunscreen, and fruit snacks. I believed I had reached the outer limits of the pockets’ capability till my child requested if I may carry her stuffed dragon for her. One way or the other, the Aarn Magic Mountain Professional nonetheless had area. 

What the Aarn Mountain Magic 50 Professional Does Finest

Each single one of many options listed above — the shoulder strap pockets, the again panel adjustment system, and the free-moving shoulders traps — delivers on its promise. The match is gorgeous every time, the burden is comfortably distributed throughout your torso, and the vary of movement is phenomenal. That is simply essentially the most snug backpack I’ve used and testers throughout a spread of physique sorts expressed comparable sentiments. This was very true on the vary of hundreds most typical for backpackers within the 25 to 45 pound vary. 

After I received used to them, I additionally loved how accessible every thing was in my entrance shoulder strap pockets. As a result of it was so completely different from each conventional backpacks and ultralight backpacks, I struggled some with determining the place I had stashed one thing. After a number of journeys, I’m beginning to determine the best packing system for this backpack, nevertheless it’s going to take extra time. 

What the Aarn Mountain Magic 50 Professional Does Worst

Simply the largest strike towards the Aarn Mountain Magic 50 Professional is that the steadiness pockets look bizarre. My sense is that in its native New Zealand — the place the Aarn is considerably extra in style — this pack doesn’t warrant a second look. However within the US, carrying this backpack made me oddly self-conscious. A number of members of our backpacking gear testing staff acknowledged they’d not use the steadiness pockets due to this aesthetic subject. 

The opposite drawback with the steadiness pockets is that they make it tough to placed on the backpack as a result of, totally loaded, they crush the shoulder straps, narrowing the hole that it’s a must to shimmy your arm by means of. 

Whereas testing, I observed that as a result of the adjustable again panel can transfer round fairly simply; to get one of the best match (versus a fairly good match, which our testers have been a lot impressed by) it’s a must to readjust the pack from scratch every time. Some testers responded to those two points by merely not taking the pack off at breaks, together with when relieving themselves, and located that the pack’s flexibility made this a viable possibility.

Lastly, the Aarn has a reasonably restricted warranty, overlaying defects in manufacturing for under a single 12 months. 

Closing Ideas

After testing the Magic Mountain 50 Professional, I’m shocked that Aarn doesn’t have a much bigger following in the USA. Their method to design has vital advantages, notably for people accustomed to carrying substantial hundreds and whose bodily frames don’t pair nicely with extra typical backpacks. 

Curiously, you may see a number of the driving concepts behind the Aarn backpack system beginning to creep their means into the mainstream by way of the cottage backpacking gear manufacturers. The place shoulder strap pockets have been nonetheless pretty uncommon 10 years in the past, they’re now a standard sight amongst ultralight backpackers — and in lots of circumstances they’re additionally larger than they was once. Equally, the rise in reputation of frameless ultralight backpacks has showcased the advantages of releasing up your hips. Aarn’s distinctive (and on this gear tester’s view, higher) method to suit, nevertheless, continues to be distinctive to my information amongst backpacking firms.