Osprey Aether 85 Bakpack (Tundra Green, Small)

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Price: $299.00    

Product Feature

• Unique feature: 2/3 length aluminum stay
• IsoForm Harness: Spacer mesh surface with no sewn seams, hook and loop adjustable yoke allows 4"/10cm of fine torso adjustment
• Lightweight Alloy Peripheral Frame Suspension: Ribbed foam backpanel with grip mesh and recycled HDPE framesheet with weight reducing cutouts
• IsoForm CM Hipbelt: Heat moldable foam (using Osprey CM in-store hipbelt ovens) with ErgoPull hipbelt closure
• Volume: 5000cu in/82L Weight: 4lbs 13oz/2.18kg

Product Description

A favorite of weekend warriors to elite mountaineers for over eight years these packs enter their third generation. Great carry, and astounding range of fit and practial, clean features make these backpacks the obvious choice in lightweight, gender specific custom fit. Features hipbelt convertible top pocket/lumbar pack, LightWire alloy peripheral frame, red internal load compression strap, Stow on the Go trekking pole attachment, three horizontal compression straps, J-zipper panel access, stretch woven dual access side pockets, stretch woven front pocket with welded vent, cord loop Add-Ones attachment slots, StraightJacket compression, side gear loops and straps, wide mouth sleeping bag access with divider, two ice axe loops and removable sleeping pad straps.

Osprey Aether 85 Bakpack (Tundra Green, Small) Review

I just got this pack in the mail, and though this review is based on my initial impressions, I must say that I am very pleased with it. I have long used a Kelty Redwing for most of my backpacking adventures, which has served me well in a minimalist capacity, but I decided to invest in something that would more readily cater to longer term excursions.

I had a bit of a rough time debating with myself whether shelling out $260~ (including the rain cover, which is a necessity) on a backpack was a smart move. Not to go into too much detail, but I am not someone who is not made of money; I am largely giving up money-making opportunities to live and work in an intentional community, and thus have a difficult time doling out cash on possessions at this point... But I have come to realize the importance of a few items that are ubiquitously helpful to any human that treads this earth. A backpack is one such tool that should not be overlooked. In fact, with the decline of domesticated pack animals and the expense of caring for one in the modern world, a quality backpack is more important than ever! Enter the Aether 85 by Osprey, as viable a candidate as any. So enough philosophy, let's get into this.

It is clear that its overall construction is extremely solid and is built to last, though it is important to remember that plastic buckles can be broken if mistreated. Luckily, there is redundancy in function when it comes to compressing the load in the pack, (more on that later) so you won't have one particular buckle totally stressed out if you take your time getting everything tight. The zippers are great and don't tend to snag like on many other packs. It is very apparent that the fabric is very durable. Despite this pack being very well-made and built to last, Osprey backs their packs (see what I did there) 100% with a lifetime warranty. Even if they can't fix it, they'll replace it. In an economy that largely revolves around planned obsolescence, this made it totally worth it for me. Though worth mentioning, I did have a 'bug-out' scenario somewhere in the back of my head when I decided to purchase this pack, and in that case, I doubt Osprey will be doing any service work! But perhaps I will attempt to contact them to receive some extra replacement buckles, just in case. Either way, bug out or not, it would be a bummer to have a buckle break during a leisurely hike or an extended trip. I will update this review after I make this attempt at contacting Osprey for anyone whose interested in how it goes.

Anyway, most of the features are pretty easy to visualize in the descriptions, and I'll touch on some of the random nifty stuff but first, I'd like to talk about what makes this pack the potatoes: the adjustment/suspension system and the compression. You've probably read this in other places if you've been thinking about getting this pack, and if you are thinking about it, you've probably done your research. This pack's adjustment has a bit of a learning curve, and it took me a solid hour of just playing with the various adjustment straps at 25 lbs to figure out how it works. This is a good thing though, as it allows you to really fine-tune where the weight is distributed and it also means that this pack can fit many different body types. Though also, when trekking it will become very important to readjust as the load in your pack changes, (eating food, packing/repacking, etc) so before you go anywhere I recommend adding increments of weight to get comfortable with the adjustment system. Top-notch though, really. The compression is the other very important, very awesome part. This is a big pack, but it doesn't have to be chock-full in order for it to be useful. You could go with 20 lbs and though the pack may be a little overkill, it won't be uncomfortable. There are tons of straps inside and out to keep gear in place and not bouncing around, so you can move with stability and relative ease. The compression straps on the outside ("StraightJacket" straps) also allow for some interesting gear attachment options. Check out this guy's load-out, for example: [...] . Can really be as simple or complicated as you want it, which is beautiful. Overall, these features combine to allow you to carry a reasonably heavy load while being kind to your body. There is no way to make 50 lbs of weight disappear, or to not feel it while you're carrying it, but thankfully with this pack you can easily redirect the toll of the weight to the more resilient parts of your body. Based on what I've read and what I've experimented with so far, I'm guessing it would be very difficult to carry any more than 65lbs on an extended hike.

A few other things that are nifty: Hydration compatible, of course, but you can choose which side the hose comes out of which is a welcome feature. There's a sleeping bag compartment below that readily accommodated my Kelty cosmic down 20+, and if you have an inflatable pad it will likely fit in there too with most sleeping bags. I myself rock the z-lite pad from thermarest, and was pleased that there are straps to attach it directly to the outside of the pack, right on top of the sleeping bag compartment; a small but well thought-out design decision. There are stretch pockets on the outside that are simple in design, and effective in execution, though if you just throw a bunch of stuff in them it may be difficult to get what you need when you need it, so maybe some smaller ditty bags in these compartments would be useful. The floating lid is an interesting idea: It is certainly helpful in that the access is directly behind your head, so it makes reaching for certain things that must be accessible very effortless, yet once again, there's no internal organization so some self-organization may be useful here. This lid can also be removed and used as a waist pack, which I'm sure anyone who is reading this knows from doing other research on this pack. This is an interesting feature, though I don't envision myself making use of it. Taking the lid on and off isn't excruciatingly annoying, but it does take time. I'd rather just whip out my REI Flash 18 day pack. Moving on, there are also some loops for attaching tools, such as ice axes if you're into that sort of thing. My survival shovel just barely fits in there, but I'm debating whether or not I want to carry that on the inside or outside of the pack as of right now. If you use trekking poles, there's a nifty feature where you can stow them under your left arm, in case you have to do some scrambling up rough terrain. You may access the contents of the main compartment from the front via zipper versus the top-loading part, also. As far as the little stuff goes, there's a lot to like about this backpack.

There are only a few things that I don't like. For one, there are some stretchy pockets on the side that I'm guessing are supposed to accommodate water bottles. Though, it is pretty much impossible to reach them! Unless you are hiking with someone else who can grab it for you during a water break, you'll have to take your pack off every time to access the bottle. I rock the hydration bladder, but I do see the importance in having redundancy of water supply, and it would have been nice if it was easier to access. Realistically though, this is something that few pack-makers (if any) get right, and if I'm going to take a break to drink from a bottle, I certainly won't mind taking the pack off and enjoying a rest while I'm at it, too. I suppose I'm not a fan of plastic buckles either, but in the scope of being weight-conscious there aren't not many viable alternatives at this point. As far as the floating lid goes, I think it's nifty, but I'd be curious to know how it fits into the price point of this pack. Its duality is appreciated, but I would have appreciated it more if the design team behind this pack focused a little more on some other aspect of the pack versus this seemingly tacked-on addition. Who knows though, maybe I'll use it one of these days and swear by it. Overall, not a lot to dislike about the pack, certainly not enough to detract it from getting 5-stars.

If you're in the market for a large pack for longer trips, then this is definitely one to consider heavily. Amazon is offering it for a nice price, considering REI is selling it for $290~. Do your research and see what will serve you best, though I think that this pack will serve anyone who is enthusiastic about spending time outdoors or who does a lot of backpacking. Two things that are very important if you are thinking about this pack: 1) Get measured. Go to a local REI/Outdoor specialty store and have them measure you for the backpack. If you go to REI, they'll know what size you are for the Aether 85. I guessed I'd be large considering I'm just shy of 6'1", but I was a medium. 2) Invest in the rain cover if you don't already have one or an alternative solution. The longer you're out on foot, the more likely you're going to have to deal with unfavorable conditions. There's nothing worse than wet gear, especially if you're going to be sleeping in it. Don't cheap out when it comes to staying dry!

Apologies for the verbosity of this review, but I like to be thorough especially considering that the other reviews on this product's page seemed to be lacking. Hope this helps some folks!

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