Customer Reviews

Osprey Aether 70 Mountaineering Backpack

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I purchased this backpack after a bad experience with Mountainsmith. This pack has had approximately 325% more use than the Shavano 75. I have worn this pack for 4-5 months and it shows absolutely no wear or tear. This pack has never failed, never broken, and never let me down. I wish I could say the same for the Mountainsmith that had holes after 14 days and 120 miles of reasonable use. Osprey has given me the most courteous customer service and drop shipped the pack to me during my long distance hike of the Appalachian Trail. The Aether 70 is so light and ergonomic that I jogged the summit of Mount Washington in NH. To own and use this pack is a dream come true for any distance hiking enthusiast. If I had to change one thing, it would be slightly easier use of the water bottle pockets while hiking with the pack on.

This pack is huge and durable. It's served me reliably on multiple trips for about a year. It's a large no-nonsense pack that offers a good compromise between being lightweight and very durable.

If you need to carry 500 lbs of gear about 20 feet per day, this is the pack for you. By no means should this pack be used for anything more than a 5 to 7 day trip, with low mileage. Packed with worthless features (buy one and find out) this pack weighs in empty at nearly 5.5 pounds!! I bore this pack like a cross on a 30 day trip thru Oregon, and besides falling apart rapidly, there is no use for many of the "features" on a long hike. Weekend Warriors rejoice, you can now bring the kitchen sink 30 feet into the wilderness before you pass out.
In addition, the "isoform" scam is great, i bought the pack and took it for a 4 mile test drive before getting the pack "custom molded" to my hips. When I went back to R.E.I, the sales person said that there was no longer any point in using the molder after you've hiked a few hours. Now why advertise a feature that makes for 4 hours of break-in time? Reluctantly, the sales person obliged, I took the pack across Oregon, actually meet someone on a similar journey w/the same pack, and we compared notes about our poor choices, and prepared our list of demands with R.E.I's return policy.
I was so glad to get my money back, and so disappointed with the overall design, I will never buy another Osprey pack again.