Ribz Frontpack

By STEPHEN REGENOLD

In the world of backpacks, there is a niche category of products that positions compartments and pouches over the chest. Called “frontpacks,” these gear-carrying modules are made by small companies like Aarn Designs, Syncpack, and LuxuryLite.

You usually wear a frontpack in tandem with a backpack. The theory is that a load up front will move weight forward on the body to counterbalance a heavy haul on back.

Easy access to food, a GPS device, a camera or sunscreen is another advantage. (I have a review of five frontpack models here: gearjunkie.com/frontpacks)

A recent entrant into the frontpack realm, Ribz Sportswear of Coronado, Calif., offers a pack with 800 cubic inches of usable space. The company’s namesake Ribz pack has four large zippered pockets mounted in a vest configuration and sewn on suspenders. Loaded up, the pack can tote a day’s worth of gear or add significant capacity for a long trip.

In my test, the Ribz pack (www.ribzwear.com) carried fine. It distributed a load on my shoulders and put weight comfortably up front. Wide shoulder straps made of heavy-duty nylon are designed to distribute weight yet remain comfortable when worn under a backpack harness. To connect the two compartments, the RIBZ pack has low-profile elastic straps in the rear that fit under a backpack with little issue.

The Ribz pack, which costs $65, is beefy and well-made. The zippers are large-toothed and easy to pull. The nylon fabric is thick and durable.

But all the reinforcement makes for a relatively heavy pack, especially if you’re an ounce-counting hiker or backpacker. It weighs 1 pound 2 ounces when empty.

Its 800 cubic inches of capacity is overkill in most situations. Unless you’re a photographer or a fisherman, there are only so many small items you’ll have to fill the Ribz cavernous pockets. I put in energy bars, a map, a compass, a small camera, a hat, survival items, sunglasses, and a few other small essentials. There was ample room to spare.

Further, I had significant fit issues with the medium-size Ribz. (It comes only in medium and large.) I am 6’1’‘ and 180 pounds. But a medium Ribz was far too large for my chest, causing the elastic on back to remain limp. When pulled out from my chest, there was more than six inches of extra room before the nylon engaged enough to keep the Ribz pack tight against my body.

Smaller people will swim in this frontpack, which will not properly fit anyone less than 200 pounds minimum.

The pack also did not work well with some of my backpacks, as the Ribz rides too low and gets in the way of a hip belt. I preferred to wear the Ribz alone or with a small backpack that did not require a hip belt for weight distribution.

To me, the Ribz pack feels like a first-generation product in need of some substantial redesign. In its current form, there is a small audience of frontpackers who want serious storage or easy access to a lot of gear. For most hikers and backpackers, the Ribz pack’s large capacity is too much. The fit issues and incompatibility with some hip belts will make it a no-go for many hikers as part of a pack system to efficiently haul a load.

—Stephen Regenold writes about outdoors gear at www.gearjunkie.com.