It seems like bouncy backpacks are on their way to becoming the next big thing, with suspension-packing packs claimed to make big loads easier to carry. Hot on the heels of the HoverGlide, here’s the Moonr, which lets the backpack “float” in four directions. Like the HoverGlide, the Moonr backpack slides up and down your back on rails. Unlike the HoverGlide, it also leaves the backpack free to rotate a little around the vertical axis.
Claiming a “smart array of differentially actuated spring layers” that requires no spring adjustment to compensate for the weight of what’s in the backpack, the Moonr bounces and swings as you walk, and if you adjust your stride just right, it’s designed to pretty much float on your back as you walk or jog along.
Like the HoverGlide, it’s also based on the same 2006 study that found that suspended backpack loads “feel” significantly lighter and easier to carry than regular rigid backpacks. Also like the HoverGlide, the creators don’t tell you exactly how much weight the mechanism adds – but we can try to take a guess.
The Moonr will be available in two flavors: the round-town DesignPack (pictured above), with a 16-liter volume and a weight of 2.1 kg (4.6 lb), and the outdoorsy 70-liter TravelPack (pictured below), which weighs 2.2 kg (4.85 lb).
By comparison, the 15-liter Crumpler Mantra Compact weighs 1.1 kg (2.42 lb) and the 70-liter Terrane Adapt from Kathmandu weighs 4.2 kg (9.3 lb). So, either these figures are dodgy, or the suspension mechanism appears to add weight to the smaller pack and substantially reduce it from the larger one.
Either way, the appearance of two similar designs in such a short space of time may signify a new movement in the backpack business, or just another eyebrow-raising fad gadget that goes nowhere. The proof will be in the wearing.
Both the DesignPack and TravelPack are currently available at a SuperEarlyBird price of €99 (US$115), with prices increasing to €199 and €207, respectively, once the EarlyBird pledge levels are snapped up. Deliveries are slated to begin in November if all goes to plan.