Help! What am I doing wrong? Aeronaut rolls at the bottom in backpack mode.

[jagmuse]

Okay, a plea for help from a newbie. I just got my absolutely beautiful Dyneema/Island A45, did a test pack (it's HUGE!!!), but when I put it on my back, and adjust the backpack straps so the top is flat against my back, the whole bottom just rolls up and creates this hard ridge right along my back! Is this what it's supposed to do, or am I doing something wrong? Here are pictures documenting this.

[NOTE: I suck at uploading photos, so if a mod could take pity on me and flip/reduce these that would be awesome....] (Thank you moriond!!)

First, here it is on my back - you can see the light shining through between the roll at the bottom, and the section at the top that is against my back:


Here it is lying on it's front, so you can see the bottom end rolled up. (And that's my cat, Reni, who I just noticed is lying on his back, belly up! )


I tried to create a pretty typical load - it's not STUFFED, but each of the three pockets is full - a large cube, a laundry sack, and two smaller cubes in the main compartment along with a fleece, a snake charmer and a small cube in the bottom end, and some small items and my SE in the other end. Each compartment is full, but not overfull.


Here is the contents of the middle compartment:


So am I not packing it correctly? Or does the Dyneema A45 just do that? I've searched the forums, and haven't found anyone having this problem, but if this is how it is going to ride on my back, it's going to have to go back, because it is really uncomfortable! I tried loosening the shoulder straps, but that just results in the whole bag hanging away off my back - equally uncomfortable. I'm hoping this is just me being stupid, and there is something I need to do, but if the answer is that the entire bag needs to be stuffed to the gills for it to lie flat, then I'm going to have to send it back.

What say you, wise TB folks?

[BradBot]

If I understand you correctly, you're referring to the large lump on the bottom back side of the bag (right side of picture 2)?

To me, it seems like you have too much weight at the top of the bag, which is causing it to collapse at the bottom. In the first picture it looks like you could stuff more in the middle compartment based on the fact that looks to be where it's caving in. It also looks like the bag is top heavy in the first picture.

I suggest redistributing the contents. Try filling the middle compartment with as much as you can in a effort to form a solid structure in the middle. Then use the end pockets to hold whatever is left.

[jagmuse]

Well, so I too thought maybe it was too much weight on top (although I did try and put the heavier items on the bottom. So I took everything out of the top pocket (which obviously for full use of the bag won't be a long-term solution), and packed the middle compartment as full as I could get it, and did the same for the bottom pocket - just stuffed it full with laundry - certainly just setting in packing cubes was not "stuffed" sufficiently to tighten up the back. That helped somewhat, but there is still a bump - where the straps hook into the bag, that whole panel pulls up and out and creates a ridge. But I feel like I shouldn't haven't to have the sections stuffed until I can't put anything else in there - that won't be practical - it requires overpacking!

Maybe this is just the way the bag is? And it just happens to hit me in the wrong place?

Or do you think it's the dyneema and the extra give, and I'd have better luck with the ballistic?

I have been so enamored with the Aeronaut... I'll be sad if it turns out it doesn't work for me!

[viewsnortheast]

Mine does the same thing. I don't really feel discomfort when wearing it, but I do see the same bulge as in your second photo.

[jagmuse]

Mine does the same thing. I don't really feel discomfort when wearing it, but I do see the same bulge as in your second photo.

@viewsnortheast - is yours Dyneema or Ballistic?

[deemav]

This happens to mine too. My A30 is in black dyneema for reference. I pack whatever I can in the middle compartment and then fill out the side pockets with heavier items in the "bottom" pocket. This helps avoid the roll but does tend to make the bag "bulgy" in the middle.

[jagmuse]

So I think I figured out part of the issue - when the bottom compartment zipper is zipped (making the bottom end bigger), it creates a little void on either side where "stuff" doesn't get packed, and allows the bag to bend. It's less noticable when the bag is very full, more noticable when packed lightly. If I unzip that bottom zipper, and pack clothes (or a cube) down there at the bottom, that helps a lot.

So maybe this is just how it is, and I need to learn to pack it! I am curious though if it's the Dyneema. It also is much bigger than I anticipated, so I'm thinking I may try a ballistic A30 and decide which one works best.

Sorry to be panicking all over the board.... :P

[deemav]

So I think I figured out part of the issue - when the bottom compartment zipper is zipped (making the bottom end bigger), it creates a little void on either side where "stuff" doesn't get packed, and allows the bag to bend.

I'm having a hard time visualizing this. Are you talking about the internal zipper which allows the middle compartment to expand?

[marytattoo]

Ok, I don't have an iron in this fire; I don't own an aeronaut. So, since I don't know how it should look - or even fit a person - I'm wondering if the straps are adjusted properly. It looks like it HAS to bulge/curve based on the waist strap. There's no other way for it to fit. So unless there's another way to adjust the backtrack straps, visually it looks like the bottom can't do anything except curve. Can it be adjusted higher up your back?

[BradBot]

Ok, I don't have an iron in this fire; I don't own an aeronaut. So, since I don't know how it should look - or even fit a person - I'm wondering if the straps are adjusted properly. It looks like it HAS to bulge/curve based on the waist strap. There's no other way for it to fit. So unless there's another way to adjust the backtrack straps, visually it looks like the bottom can't do anything except curve. Can it be adjusted higher up your back?

Mary raises a good point. Are you able to tighten the shoulder straps anymore? Raising the bag higher up your back may help.

[Dandelion]

The bag may be too long for your back. Also you have the waist belt up high pulling the bottom of the bag upwards. Can you try wearing the belt lower on your hips?

[jagmuse]

Thanks for all the thoughts guys.

So the zipper I opened was the internal one, yes. That eliminated that little void that seems to cause the bend.

As for the shoulder straps, when I tighten them, the roll becomes more pronounced - it's like that part of the bag pulls in and up, instead of the whole thing just lifting straight up when you tighten. As for the waist strap, it's sitting where it ends up when the bag rolls - undoing the waist does nothing. To get it lower I would need to loosen the shoulder straps, which then causes the whole bag to ride off my back.

I'm going to play around with different loads, and see how it goes. I'm also going to try a 30. Maybe it's my torso.

[BradBot]

I'll be curious to see how the 30 works out. I think the 45 might be too much bag for the amount you're carrying, resulting in leftover space that isn't helping the problem. Good luck!

[Simone]

@jagmuse, I think the dyneema is your problem. This is a fully loaded A30 (modeled by my mother) with no bulging in the back area at all. Hope this helps give you a visual of the dyneema vs ballistic

[Pokilani]

I hope it's more about the size and the Dyneema rather than just the Dyneema since I just got my Dyneema A30 yesterday. Can anyone with a Dyneema A30 chime in? I've never seen this mentioned before.


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