Features Like we said, we're concentrating on the Bioflex
aspect of the pack for now. There's some more detail in an earlier
OM article, but the designer have aimed to combine the ability to
flex, twist and pivot in the same planes as your hips.
Some of the design is a development of existing ideas, load
transfer for example, is via a Delrin rod which feeds directy into
the hard extrerior mouldings of the hip-belt for load transfer. Other
aspects are more original - the same Delrin rod is free to slide so
the hip-belt can move up and down with your hip movements. Watch
someone walk, and that's exactly what's happening, hips do rise and
fall.
They also sway from side to side, so the main belt-anchor point is
a pivot, which allows both sideways and up and down movement. That's
two dimensions taken care of, but what if you bend forwards? You
guessed it, the system also lengthens if you bend forward, so your
back can extend naturally instead of being splinted by the pack back
system. It's all made out of moulded thermoplastic stuff and looks
vaguely alien and futuristic.
The rest of the sac is very fully specced with a new, radical
looking, two-fingered hip-belt that sits above and below the hip bone
and lots of Berghaus's very breathable and non-compressible
EVAbreathe Matrix foam padding.
The main body of the sac gets the welded and taped seams of the
Dry Fiusion system first seen on the Crag Sac and solves the issue of
waterproofing the bottom compartment zip by using a roll-over dry-bag
type closure instead of a zip. Nice. Then you have a big lid pocket,
two expandable side pockets and an occipetal cavity behind your head
to make looking up easier. All mod cons in fact. And you probably
could get the kitchen sink in there too.
In Action Bear in mind that these are early impressions based
on a relatively short walk, but with a big load. We'll overload it
drastically and take off for a weekend backpack some time in the near
to medium future.
 First
impressions are that the Pro is pretty heavy and at just over three
kilos, it is. The real question is whether the added weight of all
those gubbins pays its way in terms of effectiveness. The pack's easy
to set up for something that looks so complex with a simple
pull-down, ratcheted strap device setting the back length with the
pack in place. Snug up the other straps and you're ready to roll.
Just walking along, it's clear that the Pro feels way more
flexible than any conventional back system we've used. The
two-fingered hip belt is comparable with Osprey's excellent cut-away
version and works in a similar way transferring weight comfortably to
the hips, but even on flat ground there's a fluidity to walking with
the Bioflex that takes you by surprise. You can swing your shoulders
sideways, shrug, bend forwards or sideways and there's hardly any
feeling of restriction.
Where it really comes into its own though, is where hip movements
become more exaggerated - when climbing a high style, for example, or
scrambling on easy rock, when the ability of the pack to move with you
not only allows you to step higher and wider without any restriction,
but also removes that awful feeling that your pack is trying to lever
you off and working against you.
Anyone who's teetered along a narrow mountain ledge with a big drop
to one side will know what we're talking about. The Bioflex pack just
feels much more natural and together. You can even lean forward to
pluck up discarded ten-quid notes, which is a first in a big pack.
Superb, and it seems to do it all without sacrificing load transfer
too, which is excellent.
There is one small price to pay. As you walk, there's a constant
rhythmic whoosh as the various pivots glide, pivot and slide and the
more exaggerated the movement, the greater the noise. In windy
conditions you barely notice it, but on quieter days it might become
irritating - iPod anyone?
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