The Osprey Aether 60 is our Best Buy winner in the backpack category. It is one of the highest rated packs, one of the lightest, and also one of the least expensive. Only the Gregory Baltoro 65 and Arcteryx Altra 65 scored higher. The Altra is a better pack for heavier loads but it is also $145 more expensive. The Baltoro 65 is also more comfortable with bigger loads but heavier. For lighter loads of 35 pounds or less it is hard to tell much difference in comfort between the Altra, Baltoro and Aether. So if you like to go fast and light like we do, then the Aether is certainly the best value in backpacks.
At Winter Market, Osprey debuted its new Ozone Series of lightweight travel rollers with three models — an 18-inch, 36-liter (MSRP $199); 22-inch, 46-liter(MSRP $229); 28-inch, 80-liter (MSRP $249) — which weigh four to five pounds, compared to the typical 8 to 10 pounds, Martins said. “We’re using a lot of the same lightweight and durable materials that we use in our packs,” he said. That includes 210-denier nylon fabrics and aluminum frames.
Travelers aren’t only packing lighter, but also smaller,so they can avoid airline bag fees and bring everything as carry-ons, vendors said. To help ensure carry-on compliance,both Briggs & Riley and Osprey are introducing additional smaller versions of some of their more popular travel packs and luggage. Osprey adds the Farpoint 40 (MSRP $149) to its travel pack line.
I’m a photographer and cinematographer, and I’m looking for a backpack that can double as a photo bag for hiking, skiing, and mountain climbing. I’ve found that Lowepro bags are too small. What do you recommend?
A: I’ve put a lot of miles on Osprey’s Aether 70 ($279). It’s a bit larger than the Altra, and excellent suspension, with a hip belt that can be custom-molded in some retailers. It comes with sleeping bag compartment, room top pocket, and plenty of tie-down points and gear loops. It doesn’t have quite the build quality as the Arc’Teryx, but it’s a great pack for the money.
Osprey Packs, Inc., has added two new bike sales reps to its team.
Jacob Jacques will take over the Michigan and Northern Ohio regions and Michael Lax will cover Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.
Osprey created a separate sales team to service the IBD channel in the summer of 2010 as part of the brand’s growth strategy for the newly introduced bike, commute and Hydraulics hydration collections.
Erik Hamerschlag, product manager at Osprey, said his company spends a lot of time looking at color, because it’s an important business decision. “It’s not a scientific thing and it’s not pure art either,” Hamerschlag said. “There are business concerns about risky/fun colors versus safe/salable colors and open questions about what particular users are looking for.”
At first glance, the Shuttle is a standard cargo hauler—a wraparound zipper opens wide and the lid folds all the way back, providing entry into the big main compartment. Our tester easily packed away an ice axe, helmet, trekking poles, boots, and other bulky gear for a volcano climb. But the Shuttle also has a surprising number of organizing pockets that are so streamlined our tester almost missed them. In addition to a boot compartment, a long vertical pocket runs along the side (good for maps), and small quick-grab pockets lie on front and top, while the interior has zippered mesh stashes for small items like a headlamp and water purifier.
We saw the new Osprey Zealot and Syncro cycling packs at Interbike, both of which have a few bike-friendly features and are worth checking out. The new Escapist joins the 2012 lineup as the all-day pack with massive volume.
It shares the helmet attachment and short/tall size options and gets internal organizer pockets for bike specific tools and a blinky attachment loop with reflective strips all around. Straps are a breathable stretch mesh with wrap around waist belt with side pockets on the larger Escapist 30 (above, left). The main compartment has a large opening for cramming things in and a small slash/stash pocket on the top. The reservoir, which features their solid frame around it to keep the shape and help support the pack, uses a separate top loading insert slot. Various adjustment and compression straps help keep everything where it should be, and a ventilated back panel should help keep you cool and dry. And an integrated rain cover helps keep the pack dry. Two sizes, a 20 and 30 are available, both in the gray and blue colors shown.
A smart backpack for serious outdoor types. Sports thoughtful touches including hydration pack storage, a helmet clip, integrated rain cover, and harness pockets you can access while biking.
Checked it in at the airport, and roll it smoothly off the baggage conveyer belt when you arrive. Unless you’re packing barbells, the Shuttle Wheeled Duffel, weighing in at less than 9 lbs, will maximize your usable space while keeping you safely below the 50 lb. threshold for extra baggage fees. (If you buy one of the monster-sized rolling duffel made by several companies, prepare to spend $50+ every time you check in to a flight, since you’ll almost always be over the weight limit. And their size virtually guarantees that you won’t get the wink-and-forget-about-it treatment from a friendly check in agent.)
From there, the bag is a great size to navigate narrow streets on rugged wheels, without the backbreaking strain of a traditional duffel. With Osprey’s traditional “burrito” design, the bag cinches down to remove unnecessary bulk, and doesn’t have all kinds of extraneous straps and loops that typically snag on conveyer belts, bus roof racks, and narrow aisles. The tough cordura padded exterior prevents cuts and scrapes from doing any meaningful damage and provides protection for everything packed inside. A zippered side pocket along with internal pockets and dividers ensure you won’t spend 15 minutes digging for that headlamp stuck in between your socks, and the over-sized wheels mean you won’t get knocked sideways by the cobblestones of Quito or the muddy streets of Sayulita.
There’s a classic gear problem for the adventurous traveler: You’re an active type who relishes the opportunity to hike, trail run, scramble, mountain bike and generally play hard on your upcoming trip. But, you’ve also got camera equipment, your iPad/iPhone, a neck pillow, a giant bag of peanut M&M’s, 2 guidebooks, along with other associated schwag needed for the long plane flight to get to your destination.
And, you need to lug a bigger load of gear like hiking boots, a sleeping bag or a climbing helmet, maybe some trekking poles, and enough clothes for and gear for 10 days of exploring, not forgetting to bring a few things to look a bit more urbane in the evening.
Finally, you’re sensitive to airline baggage fees, and you’re not willing to trade functionality and ruggedness for having a sporty carry-on.
