Amauti transforms weight into a feeling of closeness

"Amauti" is a one-day backcountry pack designed for light and nimble movement with minimal equipment.

This one-of-a-kind backpack was developed in collaboration with a Swiss designer who is a former national team skier and has competed in the FWT, and who currently lives at the foot of a mountain near Mont Blanc where he frequently conducts R&D.

This product was developed without compromise in terms of construction and balance, ensuring functionality and simplicity for use in any environment or movement expected when backcountry skiing or snowboarding.

This time, we asked writer Takuro Hayashi to explain.

The unique feature of this backpack is in its name.
"Amauti" is a hooded parka worn by Inuit women. Made from seal fur and other materials, the parka has a baby pouch called an amaut attached to the inside of the back with shoulder straps. This allows the Inuit mother to protect her baby from the cold wind and snow while freeing up her hands, allowing the baby to snuggle snugly against her back, wrapped in the mother's warmth and security. In a sense, this is the Inuit version of a sleeping hanten with a baby carrier.

One of the unique features of the Amauti is its functional design: the weight of the baby is placed on the parka itself, but the parka itself is designed to hold the baby comfortably against the mother's back, meaning that the weight is directly converted into compression.

Teton Bros.' newly released Amauti is a new type of backpack inspired by the Inuit "Amauti."
The entire pack is held down from the outside by a single piece of fabric, which is then continuously connected to the shoulder straps and waist straps. This structure converts the weight of the backpack into pressure that fits snugly against the rider's back, reducing shaking while skiing, and providing an unprecedented level of comfort while also allowing for free shoulder movement, allowing for more active use of the upper body during riding.

In winter activities like skiing and snowboarding, it's difficult to support the weight of a backpack on your waist like you would in summer mountain climbing. Because the clothes you wear are too thick, it's difficult for the waist belt to support the weight of the pack. As a result, many people end up supporting the weight of the backpack on their shoulders.
So why not design it so that it is supported by the shoulders from the start? Based on this idea, we implemented a "weight → close contact conversion system" inspired by "Amauti."

The result was an activity backpack that was incredibly comfortable to wear.

Let's be clear here: the Amauti has a capacity of 25 litres, is designed for day trips in the backcountry and weighs in at under 10kg.

This load setting means there's no need to tighten the waist belt. To efficiently convert the weight into a snug fit, the pack uses an inverted wedge-shaped silhouette. While there's a snow safety pocket, the overlapping structure that wraps around from the outside is essential. For this reason, there are no large external pockets, and rescue gear can be stored in the main compartment with back panel access.

At first glance, there may be some aspects of the Amauti that seem unfamiliar. You may even feel a sense of denial. But once you put it on and go skiing, you'll start to realize that the specs we take for granted as "what a backpack should be" may have been a misconception. The Amauti asserts a clear concept with cutting-edge functionality and an otherworldly comfort.

If you have the opportunity, I would like you to experience how comfortable a backpack is when it automatically fits snugly to your back. I would also like you to experience the fact that the weight of your luggage is determined not by its mass but by how it feels when you wear it, how reliable the backpack is when it sticks to your back even when turning down a steep slope, and how comfortable it is when you are skiing and you forget that it is there.

At the end of the day, you'll understand the performance and simple silhouette of this pack through your body and your riding.