Bodypacks :: Interview with Aarn Tate

Aarn has been innovating in the outdoor industry for decades. An avid skier, walker and climber, he was drawn to pack and tent design early on, and has since freelanced for several brands around the world. In the late 80’s, he started experimenting with the front carry pockets that have come to define his balanced load approach, before finally starting his own brand in the early 2000’s.

So what is body-centred load carrying? This is where the centre of mass of your load perfectly matches the centre of mass of your body, both horizontally and vertically. So as you walk, turn, pivot or step, the load moves reasonably intuitively, rather than like a piggy-backing gremlin with a mind of its own.

Aarn‘s first design experience was in the 1970’s with Australian retailer (and back then also a maker) Paddy Pallin. From there, he designed in NZ, the UK, Japan and the US, including solid stints with Vango and Craghoppers (Ed note: As a youth, Ando spent many nights under an Aarn-designed Vango tent in Victoria’s high country). Craghoppers was a great experience, with the brand growing quickly and caring about the details (including some of the most detailed spec’s Aarn has experienced). The brand was getting awesome press around that time, but then Foot & Mouth disease hit British cows, farms were quarantined, and the UK walking scene (which relies on crossing over farms) was smashed. Aarn and Devi returned to New Zealand, and soon after started Aarn the brand.

Aarn‘s first front pocket designs were seeded while he was still freelancing, and first tested on a 3-month traverse of the southern Alps in NZ in 1989. It was true self-experimentation, and witnessing the obvious benefits, Aarn‘s walking companion became ever more jealous as the trek progressed. So subjectively they knew the balanced load approach was working, but Aarn needed a more objective review to start convincing others.

The biomechanics research of Professor Ray Lloyd has been instrumental in helping understand why Aarn‘s body-centred designs work. For any pack designers or core carry nuts, we thoroughly recommend reading Aarn‘s summary of it. While Aarn was living in the UK, Ray did this year-long research from the Leeds Metropolitan University.

Modular and diverse – Aarn now has many configurations for many activities, allowing specialist carry for all sorts of needs.

 

Aarn Design is just a tiny business, with Aarn and his partner Devi controlling it from their small place. There were many years of struggling with suppliers, as large factories would ignore them, and small factories just didn’t have the skill. But after having tried too many makers to mention, they now have a great Vietnam-based bag maker. Minimum Order Quantities remain a challenge, but their growth is helping make that less so.

While Aarn and Devi distribute to retailers themselves in New Zealand, they partner for other regions. Some star regions so far are Japan and Switzerland, with Norway also recently starting to get real traction. They hope to find other great distributors to build awareness for the brand in new regions.

From the sounds of it, lots. Aarn‘s main focus now is on lightening and simplifying, but he’s also designing lots of other carry pieces around his concept. Most new products are initiated by folks who can’t find anything suitable, and so there are some interesting school bags, travel bags, and all sorts of other products in the works. Aarn also mentioned the constant learning he gains by looking at the detailing and finishing of other great carry brands.