GEAR REVIEW: Osprey Exos 58 Backpack

Disclaimer- I will never review an item I have not personally used on a trip.

OSPREY EXOS 58 BACKPACK

After constant trimming to shed weight, it became inevitable I’d have to switch from my bombproof Atmos 65. The pack was stout, it fit everything well. I didn’t want to leave it, but it was time to say goodbye.

There was a reason for my infidelity, though. The Exos 58 was offering the same suspension and comfort, with near equal capacity, all for over a pound lighter. How could I resist such temptation?

My Exos pack arrived, and I was pleasantly surprised and appalled at the same time. I had traded my homily, but capable, housewife for a sultry temptress that looked like Medusa herself. Straps dangled from every possible spot, just begging to be cut. I opted to wait until after I used it on at least one trip. Thankfully, I had.

Design: The Exos pack comes loaded with features. Like a VW beetle filled with clowns, this pack had a surprising amount of options bundled into it. The suspension system keeps a gap big enough for airflow, but small enough to still carry the weight near your body. Once I got used to it, I realized it didn’t pull the weight nearly as far away as everyone had complained about. Again, I was used to the Atmos 65- so I felt the weight was actually closer to me than it had been.

The hip strap was tiny. I know the 2014 version addresses that, but ultimately I felt it didn’t change much- you just have to be sure you clipped it in all the way.

I recall an instance during high angle rescue training- we had been taught everything needed to be ‘bombproof’- anchors capable of 10000 lbs limits, webbing straps worth 5000 lbs, static rope worth 9000 lbs.

As we practiced ascension, our teacher yelled from his lawn chair.

“Alright. Who wants to be a he-man-woman-hater?”

I looked around, no one speaking up. I raised my hand.

“Alright, come here kid,” he beckoned me over. I walked over, and, with feet still propped up, he handed me a pair of shoe laces. Then he pointed at the ropes we were scaling.

“Go do it,” he said, gesturing to the shoe laces.

So, I set one lace to my harness and one to my boot. Slowly but surely I ascended the rope.

“Now, you see here,” the instructor yelled out, “is an example of safety at its finest.”

I was about twenty feet off the ground at that point, with only shoe laces holding me.

“Some bean counters at their office desks say you need to have gear that can hold ten thousand pounds before breaking. Tell me, how much do two people weigh?”

“Three hundred,” another kid answered.

“Four hundred, give or take,” the instructor said. “Standard p cord holds five hundred pounds. You could take two people up that line with only p cord. LEARN TO TRUST YOUR GEAR!” He then leaned back, kicking his feet back up.

Funny how certain things stay with you. Now, he had explained after that the principles of rope shock and how that will affect the fail rate of equipment, but the principle remained- sometimes we overdo it.

I looked at the tiny webbing on the hip belts of my new Exos 58 pack, figuring they were good for well over the thirty pounds I would be carrying, and never worried about it after that.

The foam inserts on the hip belts and shoulder straps could use some more padding for comfort’s sake, but were otherwise sufficient. The hip belt has side pockets for snacks, but I used it for a trail map.

The mesh side pockets were very nice, and are the primary reason I refuse to switch to the new 2014 version. Having those side mesh pockets were great for carrying water, or now my rain jacket. Once again, there were one of many straps along the side that could be used to cinch things down, or compress the pack further.

While I was eager to strip the pack down, I didn’t remove the top lid. It was actually very handy in carrying my smaller items. This pack, like many of Osprey’s packs, have the quick stow ability for your trekking poles- shorten them, shove them through the loop, then tighten the top bungee cord over the handles. Nifty, right?

Never used it once.

If snow skiing had taught me anything, it was this: if I need to set my poles down, I just stab them into the ground. Boom. Boom. How long did that take?

Now, I understand the draw- should you need to scale something that requires your hands, you’ll want somewhere to put your poles. In that case, though, I could just as easily shove them under the top lid of the pack. When had I sold my housewife, Atmos, the person who had wanted it bought it specifically because it had that stow-away system. It had never bothered me before, so I had just left it. Now that I had Medusa, all I wanted to do was cut it off.

Now, for those asking, it does fit a BV500 sideways- BARELY. I feel like the fabric has to stretch out some for it to actually fit. It was a big concern of mine as I shopped around between the Exos, the ULA Catalyst, and Gossamer Gear’s Mariposa.

Specifications:

http://www.ospreypacks.com/en/product/superlight/exos_58?tab=specifications

Size	cu. in.	liter	lbs/oz	kg.
S	3356	55	2/7	1.11
M	3539	58	2/8	1.14
L	3722	61	2/10	1.19

Dimensions
Dimensions are shown as length (height) x width x depth
In: 29.5 x 14 x 12
Cm: 75 x 36 x 30

Now this was where I’m inevitably disappointed. I don’t understand why companies lie about weight.

I weighed my large in at 1252 grams, more than 60 grams heavier than advertised. 60 grams is a pair of gloves. 60 grams is more food. Don’t mess with my food.

I wasn’t too worried; the more I looked at the pack, the more I realized I could hack off those 60 grams like Edward Scissor-hands.

By replacing the drawcord and pulling off the elastic straps on the back, I already cut out 35 grams. I’ll wait to do one more trip before cutting the straps.

Experiences:

I mentioned it in my Yosemite trip post, but it deserves repeating. Here’s the excerpt:

Before I had bought it (The Exos 58), numerous reviews had said there was a comfort margin- a threshold that once passed would mean discomfort and pain. That threshold was roughly 35 lbs. The moment you packed over 35 pounds of weight into the bag, it turned into a portable torture device. My equipment weighed under that, originally. Adding this heavy lunch of ~2.5 lbs set me over the threshold, and spelled disaster. The first two miles were just painful. The pack straps dug into my shoulders like metal bars. The hip belt felt like a wooden board, pressured solely on my hip bones. Finally, I felt hungry enough I told Andrew we should stop and have lunch. He agreed, and I devoured the sandwich- not for hunger’s sake, but for the sake of my shoulders and hip. The 24 oz can of Green Tea was heavenly, if only because I knew I wouldn’t be carrying it around any longer.

That about summed up this pack- heavenly at light weight, torturous at heavy weight.

Now, I originally had the Amber Orange version in the medium size. I had went to REI and gotten sized for an Osprey, and lucky me- I was exactly between a medium and a large. I emailed Osprey, asking their recommendation. They suggested the medium so it would ‘wrap around better’.  Unforunately, that was the wrong advice. Whenever I tightened the shoulder straps, the pack felt like it was lifted off my hip belt. The weight would sit evenly. So, after the trip, I bought a large. It sits much better on my back, the weight remaining on the hip belt when I pull the upper straps closer to my shoulders.

I thoroughly love the pack. While it’s due for a haircut, it suits my needs perfectly. The 2014 model looks nice, but without those side mesh pockets, I’ll stick with my Medusa.