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Reviews > Packs > Internal and External Framed Backpacks > Osprey Impala > Owner Review by clara sohREVIEWER INFORMATION: Name: Clara Soh Age: 26 Gender: Female Height: 5'5" (1.65 m) Weight: 120 lbs (54k g) Email Address: sohclara(at)yahoo.com City, State, Country: Brooklyn, NY, USA Date: 22 December, 2003 Backpacking Background: I have been backpacking for about 5 years. One of my goals is to eventually through-hike the AT. Most of my backpacking experience has been overseas, I spent about 3 years in W. Africa, sporadically hiking and backpacking. The most beautiful places I have been were Zimbabwe, Ghana, Lesotho, and Nepal. I climbed Kili a few years ago, and would like to learn more technical mountaineering so I can climb the more peaks. I also spent a season in California in the Sierra Nevadas doing some backcountry snowboarding. I'm not a very big person so I can't carry heavy loads so I usually get the lightest weight equipment I can find and would rather leave things behind than be burdened by a heavy pack. I also enjoy rock climbing and travel in general. 
PRODUCT INFORMATONManufacturer: Osprey Packs Year of Manufacture: 1998 URL: www.ospreypacks.com Measured Weight: 5 lb (2.27 kg) Manufacturer listed weight: no longer available Capacity: 4000 cu in (66 L) Pack Design The Osprey Impala is made of fairly heavy duty Cordura and has a traditional top opening mouth, with a hinged top section that can be taken off and converted to a fanny pack using the removable waist belt. The top section/fanny pack has two compression straps that cinch down with quick release buckles to a pair of straps attached to the bottom of the pack. The front of the pack has a removable front panel, which is part of the modular "vector" compression system. The Impala comes standard with the "Vector Two" attachment, which adds a smaller zippered front pocket to the pack as well as a non-zippered elastic mesh outer pocket. The Vector Two attachment provides a easily accessible outer storage as well as well as serving as the core of the compression system. The front panel can be removed and replaced with a smaller "Vector One" panel or larger "Vector Three" attachment. Every Vector attachment has 6 compression straps on it, 3 on each side, which gives the pack a total of 8 compression straps. Because of the numerous compression points, the pack cinches down very well with smaller loads, and completely prevents load shifting. However, the numerous straps and buckles can be confusing at first, and takes some getting used to. Compared to other packs I've used the Impala takes a little longer than average to load up because there are so many straps to deal with. However, the multiple compression points are unparalleled at preventing load shift. The pack also handles odd-shaped loads well; I've hiked along approach lines to climbing sites with a 60 m rope, shoes, harness, and a full rack of trad gear, and the pack handles the lumpy load beautifully. Pack Use I have used the Osprey Impala across 3 continents and nearly 40 countries. This pack has gone from desert conditions in the Sahara of Western Africa to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro, through the jungles of Thailand and Cambodia, and around a part of the Annapurna circuit in Nepal. I never had a rainfly for the pack, so during torrential rainy season downpours the contents would get a little wet. However, the pack did keep its contents very dust free while trekking through the desert. The removable top/fanny pack was useful when I could leave the main pack behind and wanted to go on short day hikes. In South Africa, I left main pack behind and climbed Table Mountain with just the fanny pack. It's big enough to hold a liter Nalgene/water bottle, some food and a flashlight. The front Vector panel is handy for holding things that I use frequently, like books, maps or a water bottle. The actual pack itself is rather small for extended trips, but I probably could not carry anything bigger. I also probably overloaded the pack several times. During the longest trip I took (6 months), I crammed the following into my pack:
On anonther occaision, I fit in my tent, sleeping bag, thermrest, clothing and a carved wooden stool that I picked up in Ghana into my pack. The fabric stretched a bit to accomodate everything, but it was definately a struggle to fit it all in. I don't think the pack was designed for trips longer than a few weeks. The few trips I took where I could leave my tent behind, everything fit in very easily. Although getting the pack on each time was a hassle because I it was so heavy, once on, it was extremely comfortable. Most of the weight went to my hips and I could maneuver quite well with a load that was about half my body weight. In Mali I walked for about 40 Km (25 miles) through the desert with a fully loaded pack. By the end of the day, my feet were blistered, but my shoulders felt fine. Comfort and Fit The Impala has a fiberglass internal frame that transfers the weight to the cushioned hip belt. The waist belt and shoulder straps are made of high density foam, and are extremely comfortable and durable. The pack also has a plastic back sheet inside that keep sharp items from poking through and an aluminum spine rod that was adjusted to fit my spinal curve in the store. The back is also padded with high denisty foam, and is comfortable, but does not breathe well. Overall, the Impala is one of the most comfortable packs I've used and handles both small and large loads well. The shoulder staps can be adjusted at two points (top and bottom) and the waist belt can also be adjusted at two points (center for waist girth, and at the point where it attaches to the pack to bring the pack closer in to your body). Once adjusted, the pack really felt like a part of me. 
The internal support rod/frame does a good job of tranferring weight to the hip belt, and I have overloaded the pack on numerous occaisions. The Impala handles large loads very well, and I never felt unbalanced. I was usually not very careful in load distribution when packing the bag, but the pack didn't seem to care. I've heard advice that it's better to put heavier itmes at the bottom or near the back, but I never really did that, and it didn't seem to unbalance the bag. However, the place where the frame attaches to the hip belt looked flimsy at first glance, and after 4 years of hard use, the frame ripped through its nylon sheath and rendered the pack unusable (circled in white in picture at left). Osprey has a lifetime guarantee for their packs, and I returned the pack and it was satisfactorily repaired. I had to pay shipping to send it to their headquarters in Colorado, but they sent it back within a week repaired and reinforced.
The mouth of the bag opens wide enough to pack everyhing in, but the biggest downside is that this bag has no separate zippered compartment at the bottom that I see on many larger packs that can hold shoes or a sleeping bag. Thus, every time I wanted to set up camp, I had to root through the entire bag. However, I don't think this bag was designed for such long trips. Also, because there is no built in hydration system, or side pockets that can hold water bottles, I would have to hold my nalgene bottle in my hands or clip onto the hip belt with a spare carabiner. Holding my water bottle in my hands was impossible when using 2 trekking poles, and clipping it to the hip belt was unsatisfactory because it would swing and hit me in the leg. I would sometimes put my water bottle in the front pocket or top pocket but on top of Kili, this would not insulate the water sufficiently, and it froze solid. Summary I think the Osprey Impala is a good bet for shorter trips (my definition of short trip is anything less than a month). In the future I might consider buying a larger pack for extended backpacking. The small volume of the pack limits how much it can hold, and for my 6 month trip, I had alot of trouble fitting everything I needed into it. Each time I packed, I would have to shove my foot into the pack to get all my gear in. But, the compression system and design can handle extremely large loads, so I managed to overload this bag and use it for longer trips than its design. The pack handled everything I managed to throw at it. The pack itself is probably a little heavier than some competing packs, but it is extremely durable, and can take quite a beating and overloading. I bought this smallish sized pack because I wanted to limit the amount of stuff I would take with me, but instead I just managed to cram more gear into the small space. Because the pack is so comfortable, I just kept putting more and more gear into it. Things I like:
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