aeronaut question

[itonio]

Hi folks,

Forgive me if I am repeating myself. My earlier attempt at posting did not work. I just bought an aeronaut bag. It is a unique bag, and I like it very much so far. There is, however, something in the bag that I am a bit concerned about. I am talking about the pair of thin plastic clips that connect/disconnect the backpack straps to the bag. They seem flimsy, compared to the rest of the bag. Has anyone experienced problems with them? Can they hold over 20-25 pounds of weight? I will use the bag as a backpack often, and I do not want the straps to break in the middle of my trips. I look forward to reading your responses. Thank you.

itonio

[Just]

Gods, I've probably lugged closer to 50 pounds with those clips (bottles of water, etc.) They don't seem flimsy to me at all!

[gmich]

I've packed my Aeronaut to the gills and lugged it on my back for blocks and blocks many times -- never had a problem.

[Tom Bihn]

The Aeronaut's shoulder straps attach with 1" side release buckles that are pretty much the industry standard. Care should of course be taken not to slam the buckles in car doors or stomp on them while wearing wooden clogs, but otherwise I wouldn't worry too much about them.
If, however, you are inclined to worry about such things, I have a solution: always carry one or two large (1-1/4 - 1-1/2", 34 - 40mm) stainless steel split rings with you. The kind you can buy as key rings at a locksmith's or hardware store. These are great for emergency repairs and could replace a broken buckle in the very unlikely event one should fail. I replaced a broken buckle on my snow shoe binding with one of these rings and it's still going strong!

[brainus]

I lugged the Aeronaut throughout Western Europe and into the Sahara with huge amounts of gear on those buckles with no issues at all.

[pretzelb]

I hadn't noticed they were plastic. No problems for me yet but I haven't used my all that much.

[bbcamp]

This is something I worry about, too--I once had the waist-strap buckle of a backpack go bad.

My solution is to always carry a hank of nylon rope ("parachute cord") in my suitcase. It can be a clothesline, bootlace, or in this case, it can replace the buckle if it breaks. It is also pretty light.

bb

[PM4HIRE]

I would just carry duck tape, if I was concerned.