Osprey Packs

On my thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, I used an Osprey Aether 60 pack that was 3,700 cu. in., which turned out to be just the right size. I was completely happy with it, and it's still in good shape. Since then, Osprey has redesigned the Aether, and it's a bit lighter than my old pack.

My old pack weighs 4 lbs. 3oz., which probabley included a couple ounces of dirt. The new Aether weighs 3 lbs. 15 oz. with a load capacity of about 45 lbs. I'm actually considering changing to the Osprey Atmos 65. At 3 lbs. 9 oz., it's 10 oz. lighter than my old pack. It also has a slightly larger volume, 4,000 cu. in., but with a lower load capacity of 40 lbs. I wouldn't think that would be a problem considering my heaviest load on the AT was 35 lbs. However, there will be sections of the PCT where I might be carrying up to eight liters of water @ 2 lbs. a liter, for a total of 16 lbs. water weight. So, I think I should approximate my heaviest possible load to determine which pack to take.

The Atmos does have more ventilation features, which would be great in the desert sections. And I like the build in pockets on the hip belt. I plan to take an mp3 player and a digital camera, that I would likely carry in those pockets, for easy access. I'm hoping I can get my max pack weight down enough that I can use the Atmos.