Osprey Men’s Atmos 65 liter and Women’s Aura 50 liter

Osprey's Atmost & Aura Backpacks

Osprey Atmos and the women’s Aura have been completely reworked with improved ventilation and breakthrough 3D Anti-Gravity Suspension. The backpacks contour to your body and the custom adjustability really does distribute the weight of the pack making the load seem much less than then it actually is. Anit-Gravity, I get the name now, clever.

When our packs were loaded up they seem heavy when grabbing the hand loop at the top of the backpack to move it into position to put it on. I can tell you that we were surprised at the difference we felt when the packs were in place and adjusted the effects of Osprey’s Anti-Gravity Suspension is astonishing. No wonder 90% of the backpacks we saw on the trail were Osprey. Almost all the newer packs, looks like Osprey owns the backpack market, and understandably so.

Just before we hit the trail my sister in-law, Heidi tried my pack on which actually turned out to be a bad idea. She was so impressed with the Aura that going back to dawning her backpack was quite a letdown. The good news her family bought her an Aura for Mother’s Day, too late for the hike of a lifetime but as they say, better late than never.

Both the men’s Atmos and the women’s Aura come in a choice of 65 or 50 liter pack. I opted for the 50 and my husband Herb went with the 65 liter. I felt like the pack held everything I needed and that is always my mindset with loading up my gear, only what I need.

Four Day Trip Gear:

  • Inflatable sleeping pad
  • Western Mountaineering winter sleeping bag (warmer and heavier than needed)
  • Exped Snozzola (lightweight dry bag that doubles as a really fast sleeping pad inflator)
  • Collapsible Sea to Summit plate/bowl
  • Spork
  • Tin cup
  • HydroFlask collapsible water bottle
  • Three AlpineAir dehydrated dinners
  • Osprey 2.5 liter water reservoir
  • Lucy Light
  • Black Diamond Revolt
  • Two apples and four string cheese
  • One pound trail mix
  • Four day ground coffee
  • Sayer Water filter (didn’t need, drinking water was on)
  • Camp towel
  • Six postcards to mail from Phantom Ranch
  • Black Diamond Hiking Poles
  • Anuh water shoes
  • Sunglasses
  • Four Cliff Bars
  • Four Cliff Shots
  • Two pairs of pants
  • Three socks
  • Three tops
  • Four pairs of unmentionables
  • Marmot lightweight Insulator
  • Outdoor Research Sun Hat
  • Swiss Army Campers Knife
  • Clothes Line 8ft
  • Canon 70-200mm lens
  • One CF Card

Total pack weight 27.5 lbs . Aura 50L was full but not stuffed

Herb’s Atmos 65L had pretty much the same gear adding the Marmot AMP3 tent, Jetboil, two small fuel canisters and coffee press, 2 pounds Trail Mix, and yes, my Canon 5d Mark III with battery pack (what a nice guy!)

Herb’s pack weighed in at 39 pounds. His pack was full but not stuff. Trying to keep his pack weight down Herb elected to take the dual pocketed top cap off the pack and leave it behind.

Our overall impression was the Osprey Atmos 65L and Aura 50L are unbelievable! I honestly don’t know how other pack companies can compete.

Pros:

  • Cool with great ventilation
  • Handy small zipper pockets on both ends of the hip belts
  • Plenty of exterior loops and straps to hang a cup, towel, and cap, hiking poles
  • Sweet magnet to hold the water reservoir mouth piece on the chest/shoulder strap
  • Large, stretchy easy access pocket on the back of pack
  • Herb’s 65L has two roomy exterior side pockets
  • Anti-Gravity Suspension REALLY WORKS!

Cons:

  • Do NOT let fellow hiker try on your fully loaded Osprey AG backpack at the trailhead!

 

Jet Boil vs Pocket Rocket

Ooh, this is a touchy one, hikers get really attached to their backcountry cook stoves. Herb carried the Jet Boil Flash and my brother Lee carried the ultra light Pocket Rocket.

Winner in the weight and space using category, hands down the Pocket Rocket takes all, at only 3 ounces, not including pot compared to the Jet Boil Flash at 14 ounces, with compatible pot. The Pocket Rocket can use any lightweight pot.

The Pocket Rocket is a stove only and the Jet Boil comes with a compatible pot/canister, so you’re still adding weight to the Pocket Rocket with a pot but there are some pretty lightweight backpacking pots on the market so you are still going to beat the Jet Boil in the weight competition.

Just by design the Jet Boil blocks the wind better than the Pocket Rocket resulting in a much faster boiling time. On our trip attitude did not play a factor in boiling time and the Jet Boil was probably three times faster at bringing water to a boil than the Pocket Rocket.

Another super slick feature is the Coffee Press, available as an add on accessory. It took us a bit to figure out the process but once you had it down the Jet Boil Coffee Press produce some darn good coffee. The trick is to ground the coffee a little on the coarse side and make sure the raise lip of the wire press is facing down. The raised lip forms a space at the bottom of the canister trapping the grounds , keeping them from floating up into the coffee.

If you are using dehydrated backpack food, use the bag that the food comes in as a pot. Just pour the required hot water into the pouch, stir, close, stir again and serve it up. No big pot needed, just the canister for boiling the water.

Lee loves his Pocket Rocket, and you can’t argue with the weight or compact size, but all in all the Jet Boil was faster and the add on coffee press was awesome.

Note: One small, 100 gram fuel canister heated 8 Jet Boil canisters of water for coffee and two canisters for night’s dehydrated dinners. We were surprised how much hot water a 100 gram fuel canister could brew with the Jet Boil.

Pocket Rocket

Pros:

  • Stove weights only 3 ounces
  • Compact size is nice for backpacking

Cons:

  • Doesn’t come with compatible pot
  • Slow boil time
  • Wind effects flame further increasing boiling time

Jet Boil

Pros:

  • Comes with pot/canister
  • Available Coffee Press
  • Boils super fast
  • Wind protected flame area
  • Fuel efficiency
  • All parts including fuel and coffee press fit neatly in Jet Boil canister

Cons:

  • 10 ounces heavier than Pocket Rocket ( but comes with cook canister)
  • Lee is NOT going to like this but in spite of weighing more, the Jet Boil take the grand salami.

 

Fozzil Solo Pack

The Fozzil Solo set is a fold and snap together set of dining ware. The set includes a shallow plate with rim, a bowl, and a cup. The Fozzils are made of foldable plastic that snap at the corners to form a bowl etc. The entire set weighs only 3.8 ounces. The material can handle water just at the boiling point and the cup has measurement makes on the side making it handy when using dehydrated backpack food. When not in use all the pieces lay flat went unsnapped, literally taking up almost no space in your backpack. Plus they come in cool refreshing colors, New Blue and Spring Green.

Pros:

  • Ultra lightweight, flat space saving design, can stand up to water just at the boiling point.
  • When the dish is flat it can be used as a cutting mat.
  • Cup can be used as a measuring cup.

Cons:

  • The cup is a bit wobbly when filled with hot liquid.

 

Lucy Lights

Lucy Lights are the coolest thing ever! They literally turns heads, people see them and want them. Don’t leave them on your picnic table.

The Lucy Light is a solar powered inflatable light. The light has three settings; high, low and flashing. Both ends of the light have a plastic loop for hanging. Hang it in your tent, from your hiking pole, from a tree or just set it on your table. They are so light you can justify carrying two or three. When not in use during the day hang them on your backpack with a small caribeaner solar panel up and recharge with you are hiking.

Pros:

  • Lightweight and when deflated they take up very little space.
  • Loops to hang on your pack for recharging
  • Solar Panel recharges fast
  • Three light settings
  • Charge last a pretty long time.

Cons:

  • Loops will break if pulled too hard.
  • A little hard to pull apart and blow up the first time used.
  • Takes at least a couple to light up a picnic table.