This is a common worry. Your vision is not obstructed because you can see your feet in the gap between the pockets. Using Balance Pockets in rough terrain greatly improves your balance, stability and safety.
Balance Pockets naturally hang away from the body at the top. They should not touch your body. If you find they touch your chest or your tummy, you will bend the frames to produce a ventilation gap.
The sliding connection to the shoulder straps allows each Balance Pocket frame to transfer all its weight to the front of hipbelt.
Yes! Women with large busts find the pockets work well after custom bending the frames to fit their contours.
Initially, a Bodypack may seem more cumbersome to put on than a backpack. Correct technique and a little familiarity make it easy.
For optimum arm clearance, adjust the gap at the top of the Balance Pockets by the top straps and at the bottom by adjusting the hipbelt length.
With the sloping bottom of the Pockets and the hipbelt attachment system, the pockets are high enough for leg clearance.
With a load in front your pack doesn't project so high - a high pack can be more of a problem in penetrating scrub than pockets in front. Except in the very thickest scrub, Balance Pockets will not be a problem, and will protect your chest.
Absolutely! Equalizing weight front and back is even more important for the back than reducing weight. Sports Science findings confirm this. Physical Therapists and chiropractors now recommend Bodypacks to strengthen the back.
Balance Pockets are the only solution. The Balance Pockets pull the shoulder straps forward and away from your body at the sides of your chest, eliminating the pressure precisely where needed.
We have extensive experience with river crossings using Aarn Balance Packs. The Balance Pockets act as front flotation devices if swept off your feet helping you to stay face up. Before crossing the river, unclip the chest straps from the X-configuration and re-clip the Balance pockets together at the top, keeping the sternum straps undone.
With the pack standing on the ground, clip the top buckles of the Balance Pockets together after passing through the haul loop.
Balance pockets can be left permanently attached to your pack and larger models can be removed and used as a daypack.Balance Bags attach quickly after putting the pack on and unclip even faster before taking the pack off. They can be used separately as a shoulder bag.
When your chest needs to be close to a rock or ice face, Balance Pockets hinder movement and balance. Therefore we do not recommend them for technical climbing. Instead, use our Pivoting Balance Pockets. However, regular Balance Pockets have been used successfully for mountaineering on less technical terrain, such as the west ridge of Denali in Alaska.
For a climbing trip, use the Balance Pockets for the approach and remove them for the climb. You can substitute Balance Gear Racks to carry heavy climbing hardware, taking the weight off your shoulders and balancing weight in the pack.
For short moves around a vertical obstacle, the larger Balance Pockets unclip at the top and swing out of the way to the sides underneath your arms. Your chest can now be close to the face. Re-clip them together when the obstacle is passed.
They work better than other backpacks due to the slim side profiles.
Rather than Balance Pockets, use one of our Universal Balance Bags, which may be used very successfully with other brands of packs that have a hip belt and sternum straps. The Universal Balance Bag attaches using our patented universal attachment system.