Hi guys, I have just walked the Via Gebenennsis and the Robert Louis Stevenson trail 630 km total with the Aarn Liquid Agility Small pack with front pouches. Previously I walked the
Camino Frances and Jakobsweg in Austria etc and the Le Puy route with a 32 litre Vaude( the back collapsed after 800 km) and 34 litre Deuter ( too heavy at 1.65 kg) pack. With both packs I adopted a slightly stooped posture and always ended up with burning soles of feet and chronically tight muscles in my legs.
For the first time ever, and I put this down to the Aarn pack and the fact that the weight is more balanced, I had no footpain and no leg pain/ muscle stiffness whatsoever. I just fitted everything I needed into the pack, including a lightweight down sleeping bag. It is waterproof and has lots of good adjustments. You can find a few photos of me wearing the pack on
http://www.picasaweb.google.com/JohnHarre
look at the pics of the via Geb and the RLS trail. One thing I can't work out is the fact that I had the odd pain across the upper part of my back for a while. I started the walk with inflammation in both shoulders and the upper back issue may have been related to that rather than the pack.
I was able to walk upright, my water bottles were right in front of me, so was the camera and my guidebook. Very practical. When my shoulders have come right, long slow process, I will re-test the Aarn. Basically I think it is superb and I loved the upright factor. It is superbly made. My husband has bought the larger size which is longer in the back, but has not tried it out yet.
Hope this helps you, Gitti