Owner Review

Osprey Aether 90

Name: Random Walker

Age: 47

Gender: Male

Height: 6’ 2” / 189 cm

Weight: 185 lb / 84 kg

Torso Length: 20.5 in / 52 cm

Morology@(delete this)Yahoo.Com

Madrid, NM USA

11/20/04

Backpacking Background:

Starting at the age of 8 with my parents a trapper nelson backpack and a canvas tarp I was introduced to hiking in the Pacific Northwest. Before long I was out solo and wandering off trail as soon as I left the tree line. Snowshoes opened up the winters for me and gave me a chance to snow camp at night and ski back down. Later on I climbed, hiked, kayaked and trekked Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand. Lately I have been enjoying the southwest states. My pack usually weighs around 45 lb (20 kg).

Product Information:

Osprey Internal Frame Backpack

2004 Aether 90 Large

5700 cu in / 93 L

Torso Length 20 ~ 22.5 in / 51 ~ 57 cm

www.ospreypacks.com

Listed Weight: 5 lb 1 oz / 2.31 kg

Weight as delivered: 5 lb 9 oz / 2.67 kg

Field Information:

Sangre De Christo Mountains, Pecos Wilderness

Alpine meadow, rocks, lakes and mountain peaks

10,000 ~ 12,622 ft / 3,000 ~ 3,800 m

Late spring Thunderstorms

Bandelier National Monument

Mesa meanderings / Indian ruins

6,000 ~ 7,400 ft / 1,800 ~ 2,300 m

Fall

Last Chance Canyon / Lincoln National Forest

Springs and high canyon walls

4,500 ~ 5,200 ft / 1,400 ~ 1,600 m

Early winter

 

Osprey’s web site is very succinct and was fun to peruse before I went to various stores and actually tried packs on. I visited their Pack Tech 101 pages many times as they have more info than their hang tags or other paraphernalia that came with my purchase. 

The pack is made with lightweight 210 denier double ripstop and 420 denier chainlink twill fabrics. It comes with more gizmos and tricks to learn than what I was used to (a top loading heavy ballistic bag from Jansport 20 years ago I nicknamed “The Rock”) so it took me awhile to figure it all out.  First thing I did was take it all apart.

The hip belt and shoulder harness (“molded dual density anatomically contoured IsoForm”) comes apart easily enough using large Velcro panels. The “floating” top pocket (“convertible top lid / fanny pack / hydration pocket”) connects at four points to the main bag using sliders and buckles. It is good size measuring 10.5 x 14 x 4 in (27 x 36 x 10 cm.) This also can be used as a fanny pack though the instructions seem cumbersome to my taste (Unclip the “fanny pack” using the two quick release “stealth” buckles. Slide the hip belt from the pack and slide it into the lumbar slot on the underneath of the “fanny pack.” Then thread the webbing out of the side ladder lock buckle on each side of the pocket. Thread the hip compression webbing from the hip belt through the ladder locks.) I carry my old summit sack along instead. Underneath this pocket is a zippered hydration compartment which will hold a 3 liter (183 cubic inches) water reservoir (purchased separately). There are “composite rods” (the main component of what Osprey calls the “Ethereal Suspension”) sewn into sleeves on either side of the pack extending from the load lifter straps at the top to the hip belt below. These are flexible and pull the pack closer to my back as I tension the hip belt and load lifter straps.  There is a very wide zipper entry into the sleeping bag compartment at the bottom back of the pack. The main bag is divided into two compartments by a sewn in and buckled divider which can be unclipped from one side and pushed out of the way if I have bulky gear that just will not fit in one compartment. Inspecting every seam, rod and buckle I found the craftsmanship to be impeccable. No loose threads or wandering seams. Though it is made of very lightweight materials all my yanking and shoving feels like it could take a lot more.  Putting it back together and sizing it to my body with a friend took a while as we played with the Velcro panels, argued and laughed our way through it. Once I got it to where it felt better than okay, it was time to load it up and head out. It will hold a lot more than any insane person would want to carry (that is anything over 45 lb or 20 kg, for me). With the excellent side compression straps and two flaps that are sewn on the sides the length of the bag and connect with buckles at 3 points on front, which Osprey calls a “StraightJacket”, it really is adjustable to any load size. Two mesh pockets on either side and a large one the front came in handy for anything I had forgotten to load inside after cinching it all down.

Getting a late start up to the Santa Fe Ski Basin (10,200 ft / 3,110 m) and the Pecos Wilderness, I took off up the Windsor trail. It took me a long 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) of adjusting to get the pack to where I wanted it. Then it started lightning and raindrops the size of quarters started falling very recklessly, being knocked around with the wind. Ducking under some aspens, dropping the pack I made a wet camp. First thing I noticed was the “convertible top lid / fanny pack / hydration pocket” thing had leaked and everything inside was soaked. I figured it was the flap fitted over the zipper. It is too thin. Another inch (2.54 centimeters) at least would do just about right. Slipping a plastic garbage bag over the pack I climbed into the tent. The next day I awoke inside a cloud. Gray day dreaming of the northwest with a cup of coffee I broke camp. The pack was heavy with wet tent and after some fine tuning I was fairly skipping up the trail munching a handful of gorp for breakfast. A steady climb at the end of 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) brought me to the first of many alpine meadows (about 11,000 ft / 3,400 m). Over the meanderings of the next 5 days I hiked the pack through muggy hot sunny, windstorms, icy mornings and very dramatic thunderstorms every afternoon. I carried it up to the various windy peaks (above 12,000 ft / 3,700 m), down to the lakes (around 8,000 to 10,000 ft / 2,400 to 3,000 m). Scrambling talus and walking trails I have become very fond of my Osprey.

It held up well on this trip and many others throughout this late summer, fall and winter. I am not too nice to my gear and though the fabrics are of a lighter weight than I am used to the pack has held up well. Especially considering I do use it for a footrest, lounge chair, and a sleeping pad for a short siesta on rocks (still strapped in of course). It has collected some sand and dirt and scratches that a good shake and hosing seem to take care of just fine. I do use a large garbage sack as a pack cover when it rains as it does leak through the various stitching.

This is a pack I had to take time with and really get to know. The adjustments I fumbled with at first soon became second nature. The floating top lid / pocket has two cinch straps at the back that kept getting in the way. I needed to find a point where I did not have to change them with every single load type and then tuck them out of the way of the “Ethereal Suspension.” Switching the load from the hips to the shoulders, using the hip belt, load lifters and sternum strap became easier and very nice as I went from rock to trail and everywhere in between. The securing and balancing of various loads is a snap with the “StraightJacket” wrapping the front of the pack and the two side compression straps.  The “4 point ErgoPull” hip belt fits very well with the 4 tensioning straps fitting over and under the widest point of my hip bones, thus relieving me of those numb spots I had gotten to know so well.  The zippered hydration pocket in the lid comes in handy for odds and ends though I did see a lady wandering down the Windsor trail happily sucking fluid from a hose running into the lid of her worn Osprey pack. Thinking of getting one of them set up for myself. Then there is a lot more trail and rock out there and I am in no rush.

“To explore without having to explain the explored”

Random Walker