The Osprey Aura AG pack is a pack that appeals to a wide variety of back packers from through
hikers that are spending long months on the trail to people just going out for a weekend
or multi day trips.
This pack is going to do it all.
From the custom fit to all the pockets and organization to a suspension system that changes
the way I have seen back pack suspension in the past.
This pack is just going to appeal to a lot of different people.
We are going to take a look at all the features and organization that makes this pack so special
and innovative.
The first thing to talk about with any back pack is the way it carries the load and the
suspension system.
I am going to turn the pack around and the real innovation and the real story behind
the Aura AG is the antigravity suspension system.
So if I peel the shoulder harness away here you can see this really durable stretchy mesh
that starts all the way up here on the top of the back panel, makes its way down and
through the hip belt.
You can see as I open up that hip belt that stretchy mesh has a seamless construction
throughout the whole back panel and where it kind of hugs around your hips.
There are no seams.
There is no places for hot spots to occur.
And when I put this pack on my first impression was that the pack hugs your body.
It takes the shape of your body and really just hugs in around the hips.
You also have that seamless construction through the shoulder harness.
So unlike other back packs I have seen where the shoulder harness is either sewn into the
back panel at a fixed point, this shoulder harness really stretches and it really moves
with your body.
Starting up here on the top with the load lifters, there is also another innovation
that is going on there where you have a rigid, very durable load lifter straps.
So once you put that pack on, adjust it to the correct size, these load lifter straps
really pull the load in to your shoulders, into your body.
And this anti gravity system hugs around your shoulders.
Super comfortable and just the way the stitch lines are and the way they have designed the
shoulder harness it is super comfortable.
Again, that seamless construction you don’t have any seams on the bottom here.
The seams come up around and on to the top.
You also have that same breathable stretchy mesh here in through the shoulder harness.
If I turn the pack more to the side you can see that that anti gravity system has a little
bit of space between the back panel and your actual back, so excellent breathability here.
You do have, you know, kind of really light weight metal frame that goes around the outside,
the perimeter of the back panel, just to give more stability so it can hold a very heavy
load and feel really stable.
You have got great adjustability and a custom fit here on the Aura AG.
There is adjustability both in the shoulder harness and in the hip belt.
It comes in three sizes: extra small, small and medium.
That speaks to the torso length.
And it is really easy to adjust.
There is just two toggles here.
You basically open them up, adjust it up and down to your perfect fit and you are ready
to go.
So super great, super easy adjustability there.
And you have Osprey’s fit on the fly hip belt, which is very easy to adjust.
You can adjust it while you are hiking and you get great adjustability to make the hip
belt longer or shorter.
There are plenty of features and organization, lots of pockets in this pack, but there is
not too many.
They are really smart and for someone who is looking to go pretty light weight, this
is a great option, but also people who are looking for a lot of features, who are looking
for that organization, you have it as well.
Starting here just on the back panel it is hydration compatible, so you have got a port
right here.
You can run the hydration tube on either side.
There is a little whistle on the sternum strap and it is an adjustable sternum strap.
Going down to the hip belt pockets, you have a pocket on either side and in this one I
just have my cell phone in there.
You definitely big enough for a cell phone, keys, granola bar, something you want to get
your hands on quickly.
And something I love about Osprey packs is the stow on the go trekking pole attachment
right here on the back of the pack.
So as you are wearing the pack and you are hiking, if you don’t want to use your trekking
poles, it is really easy to just put them there in the stow on the go loops and continue
on your way.
You don’t have to stop, take your pack off and attach your trekking poles.
Turn this pack to the front.
The first thing to talk about is the top lid.
This is an adjustable floating lid, so I have this cinched down pretty far.
I don’t have the pack completely packed out, but as you can see you can bring that
up and down and cinch it down.
There is a top lid with two pockets.
So right now I have just got a low profile first aid kit in there on the top.
That would be a great place for keys, a map pocket, that sort of thing.
And then the larger pocket that is in the lid I have a light weight sleeping mattress
to show the size.
As I am opening and closing the zippers here, the toggles on the zippers are really easy
to use.
They are nice and, you know, they fit the cross really easily with their little plastic
pieces that are on there.
If you don’t want the lid, you don’t want this extra pocket, you can actually remove
it and keep it at home.
This is a true top loading pack.
So on this 50 liter size here you have main access into the main body here through the
top.
There is also a sleeping bag compartment in the bottom, but this is the main access into
the pack.
And if you do choose to leave the lid at home, there is this really handy flap that goes
over the top of the pack.
You have got little attachments here that you turn inside out and you clip on to...
to where you would normally clip that lid.
So this gives a little bit of weather protection.
It kinds of cinches everything in.
So you have got compression straps all over this pack.
If you are using it just as a day pack to go out, you know, take gear with you, a short
overnight or a weekend trip, you can really cinch this pack down and make it smaller than
it looks.
In the same way you have got enough space to take this on multi day trips or through
hiking.
If sometimes you have a bigger load, sometimes you have a smaller load, this is a really
great feature.
When you are not using that flap you can just tuck it away inside the pack.
You have a little bit of compression on the inside of the pack as well here.
I have got a tent and some other pieces of gear that I can secure down really well.
And just the attention to detail and all the features of this pack are just so smart you
can tell it was designed with back packers in mind.
On the front you have got a nice stretchy mesh pocket.
You can put an extra layer in there.
You have got tool attachment loops on the sides here.
There is a water bottle pocket on either side and this is nice stretchy mesh.
What I love about this pocket is if you do want to put your water bottle in there, they
have two access points into that pocket, one from the side.
So if you are wearing the pack and you want to just reach for the water bottle, it is
right there.
You don’t have to take your pack off to get the bottle.
But if you are storing something like trekking poles or tent poles or something like that
that you want to store here on the side of your pack, you can store them up and down.
There is also compression straps on the side and just really easy access to that pocket,
multi functional pocket there.
I mentioned the sleeping bag compartment and there is a divider between the main body of
the pack and the sleeping bag compartment.
So it makes it really easy to compartmentalize, but if you want to store something bigger
in there or you don’t need that divider, it is really easy to tuck away.
Another thing that struck me about this pack is just the different materials that are used
in different places.
There is light weight materials where there needs to be to save weight, but there is also
really durable materials like here on the bottom where the pack might come into contact
with the ground.
Those really, really durable materials are going to hold up well here on the bottom,
you know, great material.
It is going to stand the test of time.
With all the smart features, pockets, organization and the game changing anti gravity suspension
system, this pack is going to be great, again, for anyone from a through hiker to someone
going on weekend trips.
There is lots of different ways to use this pack and you can see why are so excited about
the women’s Osprey Aura 50 AG pack.