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ekeverette
08-14-2011, 18:05
bought a brand new osprey aethers 70.... never used. but the more i read and explore, i think my packs to big for the upcoming (big haul). is this pack ( 5 lbs ) to big, or should i get a smaller maybe a kestrell 58, or 68 pack by osprey? this thing gets so confusing sometimes! thanks.

Blissful
08-14-2011, 18:09
Better to see what your gear is first then buy the pack as the very last piece. Sounds pretty heavy also.

mountain squid
08-14-2011, 18:17
Concur. If possible, consider returning it. Once you have all your other gear, take it ALL, with several days of food, to the outfitter and get a pack that will adequately hold it all. And, yes, 5 pounds does sound heavy.

See you on the trail,
mt squid

how to hike (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?73587-how-to-hike)

ekeverette
08-14-2011, 18:29
blissful,i'll be in your neck of woods the end of sept.. hiking rockfish to front royal. already bought the pack... hope i didnt waste couple hundred bucks..

Freedom Walker
08-14-2011, 18:35
I would return it if possible. I have the large Golite Oddessy (5200+) and it weights 56 ozs. If I had it to do over again I would go smaller and lighter. After using it a few times I see I will never fill it up.

ekeverette
08-14-2011, 18:50
thanks folks.... well it's brand new, and if anyone wants to purchase it, i'll let it go....

Del Q
08-14-2011, 19:57
Check out Hyperlight Mountain Gear, cuben fiber pack, small, smart design, waterproof, have been carrying it on practice hikes and it is really comfortable. Walked in the pouring rain this morning, stayed dry inside.

For under 30 lbs which is where I want to be...............less is more

ekeverette
08-14-2011, 20:40
thanks del q

bigcranky
08-14-2011, 21:59
The Aether 70 is a fine, well made pack. It's very popular with hikers, and for a beginning backpacker it's not a bad choice at all. I remember when my first "lightweight" pack was still heavier than 5 pounds. So use the pack, put some miles on it, try not to overload it with stuff, and after a few hikes you'll figure out what you need, and you can readjust then.

Buying another new pack is not likely to be the best choice right now. You are just as likely to buy the "wrong" pack the second time and want to replace it later. (And if you listen to The Internet, you have always purchased the wrong pack....)

ekeverette
08-14-2011, 22:12
thanks big c.... going to keep it

ScottP
08-14-2011, 22:45
Yeah I wouldn't sell the pack. If you can return it for a 100% refund that might be smart. But I'm sure that it will come in handy in a variety of situations--winter, week long trips with no resupply, hiking when you have to carry gear for other people, weekend trips when you want to bring luxuries, etc.

lush242000
08-15-2011, 07:22
bought a brand new osprey aethers 70.... never used. but the more i read and explore, i think my packs to big for the upcoming (big haul). is this pack ( 5 lbs ) to big, or should i get a smaller maybe a kestrell 58, or 68 pack by osprey? this thing gets so confusing sometimes! thanks.

I suggest you try it out first and see how you like it. There is a bunch of people who want the lightest thing on earth. Keep in mind that as you go lighter and lighter the durability of the pack will go down. On the other hand, I know I tend to use as much space as I have.

Ironbelly
08-15-2011, 07:43
The Osprey Aether 70 is a very fine pack, and is my pack of choice. You really should take the advice of buying all of your other gear, then take it all to the outfitter and find a pack that fits and is comfortable and hold all your gear well plus room for food.
I am by no means an ultralighter, my pack with food and water ranges from 35-45 depending on length and season. Baseweight is around 19lbs. The ultralighters and gram weenies will always tell you a 70L pack etc is too big. But it all depends on your gear, if you dont have a nice expensive down bag or quilt that compresses down small then alot of your space will be taken by the sleeping bag.
Yes you can get one of the smaller packs, or an ultralight frameless pack. But I find the robust suspension of the larger packs like the aether 70 is super comfortable for my bad back due to its superior adjustability and more rigid frame. It is true that I usually have some free space in my pack. However, This is my only pack due to budget constraints, so it works for all of my needs from an overnight hike to a 2 week trek without resupply 3 season and winter.
Don't take everything you read here as gold and the way it must be. Read everything you can and educate yourself before making gear purchases so you only have to make them once. Most any pack you can make work, the question is do you want **** strapped to the outside, and how much weight do you ever plan to carry in the pack? Alot of small packs are just fine up to the 25# range or so, but after that start to get very uncomfortable.

ekeverette
08-15-2011, 09:16
thank you very much everyone.... damn, i've got a family!

4eyedbuzzard
08-15-2011, 09:19
As others mentioned, as a pack's weight goes down, something must give. A little of that weight is the amount of material, a little more is the type of material, but with the ultralight sub 2 lb packs a lot of the weight comes out of the suspension (hip belt, shoulder straps , padding, internal stays) and the load carrying ability of the pack (and durability as well). That may be fine if you are only carrying a minimal amount of the lightest gear and are experienced. A comfortable 2.5 to even 5 lb pack with a framesheet of some sort and a good hipbelt is going to be easier (more comfortable) to hike with than a sub 2 lb pack that is overloaded.

Kermitt
08-15-2011, 11:14
I just down sized to a Kesler 48 Osprey & its great should be just the right size for you or if you need a little more room go to 58 but no bigger. The stor I went to let me use my pack on a 2day trip w/the first pack wich I didn't like and change it for the Kessler & got some change back.

Ironbelly
08-15-2011, 13:42
How can anyone just outright say that a 48L or 50L etc pack should be just the right size? It is entirely dependant on the gear one has. Yes, if you have the smallest, most compact, and light weight items on the market then yes that statement is basically true. But it depends on so many variables like sleeping bag, clothes:especially insulation layers, and shelter. Other items take up space too but those tend to take up the most. I know when I just started out my sleeping bag and tent alone would darn near fill a 48L pack.

bigcranky
08-15-2011, 15:30
True dat. Plenty of very popular 20-F synthetic sleeping bags will just about fill a 50 liter pack.

That said, the more experience one has, in general, the smaller the pack. Sure, you can start with a giant synthetic bag and a 3 inch mattress and ten pounds of clothing, but if you stick with it long enough, you'll probably end up with gear that's similar to what most long distance hikers carry. (See the Mountain Crossings Method (http://www.backpacker.com/november_08_pack_man_/articles/12659?page=4) for a good synopsis.) And it all fits in a nice 50 liter pack, for the most part.

So I think that's where most of these suggestions come from -- experienced hikers who've made that transition over a period of years, and they want to keep newbies from making the same mistakes. On the one hand, sure it would be nice to save a new hiker a lot of time and money buying and replacing gear from heavy and expensive to light and (mostly) inexpensive. But people don't usually learn from other people's experience -- they have to do it themselves for the lessons to stick.

4eyedbuzzard
08-15-2011, 15:31
Just FWIW, we ran into perhaps two dozen thru-hikers during a section hike in VT last week. Only two as I remember had packs much more than 50 liters or so. Most seemed to be in the 40 to 50 liter range. Granted it's summer, and clothing and sleeping bag sizes are smaller, but these guys are the ones that have gotten this far, and they weren't carrying much in the way of "extras". A few had lightweight tents, two were hammockers, most just had a tarp in case the shelter was full. Sleeping pad & bag, simple cookpot and stove (saw everything from cat alkys to pocket rockets and jetboils to whisperlights), food, water bottles or bladder, a few pieces of clothing, camera, phone, minimalist first aid, etc. and a small-medium size pack to put it in. The trail pretty much forces thru-hikers into efficiency - as in not carrying things that aren't truly needed. As such, big packs just aren't needed. Most were carrying maybe 15 to 20 lb base weight (food and water not included), so perhaps 25 to 30 lbs max loaded up with four days food and two liters water.