Exos Cubic Inches

Sandy,

Did you mean 15-day hikes with it, or, 15 day-hikes with it? It sounds like you have it stuffed to the gills if it is pulling apart, so I am guessing two-week long trips. That is awesome but I doubt that that is what the Exos was made for. (And I thought I was pushing it…)

I am really torn about pocket material. Maybe my most loved pack ever was the Auspex from Mountainsmith and it had mesh pockets. But as I got into the stretch fabric pockets I found them hard to get anything into them when the pack was full. While I loved the Talons, I did not like the pockets that much. The Exos addressed my biggest complaint by routing the side compression strap inside. These are much more usable IMO.

The Argon’s pockets are horrible, but I expect most of our readers here have only seen one of those in a store…

My favorite pockets are on my Bora 95 mountaineering pack. They are pleated nylon with a drawstring. To drop the weight of the drawstring and cord lock the same idea could be done with elastic around the top.

Good luck with the search,

I had a gift cert. from REI which I used on an Exos 46 Large size. I tried it out for a few days, but ended up returning it. I liked many of the features on it, but the suspension did not work well for me. My hips are too wide and the wrapped frame was digging into my hip bones. Maybe it was a function of my wide rear end, but the suspension had a slight trampoline effect when walking that I found uncomfortable.

I thought the Exos side pockets were unusable because they had hardly any stretch in them so I could not get a water bottle in them easily.

My normal total load for a week long trip is somewhere just shy of 30 pounds and I was having a difficult time getting all the big stuff into the main pack bag. All the extraneous pockets helped with the small stuff, but the food bag, tarp tent, sleeping bag and clothing bag were not all fitting easily in the main hold….

I think I would have kept the pack if the suspension fit me better. Too bad. I was really looking forward to having a top pocket again.

I returned the Exos and got an Ohm. For comparison, I feel that the Ohm (size Large) has more usable volume, especially in the main pack bag. The suspension works better on me. The hipbelt could be a bit beefier, but other than that, the pack really works great on me.

To each their own.

Ray- I meant 15 day hikes, sorry, not out for 15 days. I never had it up to capacity weight wise. I just dont think the mesh is durable enough. I did end up with a Circuit, and LOVE the mesh on it. I do like the suspension on the Exos better though. If we could just combine two packs….. ahh well.

In the shop I stuff all packs out to max capacity so it's easy to compare them; the Exos 58 appears to be the same size as many 65-70L packs. Out of sheer curiosity I loaded up an Exos a few weeks ago… with about 40 pounds, trying to simulate 2 weeks of food plus base. It carried the weight like a champ! I kept the pack on for about six hours and found the hipbelt, though flimsy in appearance and feel, to be completely functional. The frame is much more supportive than that of the Atmos; I realize the Atmos is rated to carry more weight, and have called Osprey to ask why because the Exos frame is so much beefier. Basically they tried to say that the Atmos is more padded. It is, a little. But not significantly in any way. I think the larger reality is that Osprey's afraid of people overloading the seams on the Exos with monster loads. Now if they just used the same frame w/slightly more durable materials for a monster ultralight load hauler…

I wear a size small. Do you think the Exos 46 will suffice for a 5-6 day trip? I think the nominal volume for small is around 43L.

David, hard to say. Easiest way to know? Stuff your gear into stuff sacks that you know the volume of. Add about 10L volume for your food. My sleeping bag and clothes go into a 13L stuff sack; my tent in about 6L; my cook gear in about 5L. The front pocket on my pack takes random little miscellany. Pad takes up max of 4L. So I've got about 28L of stuff, plus 10L of food, for a total volume of 38L. Add a few for Murphy… call it 40-45L for a week?

EJ had asked awhile back, "which bear canister do you carry in the 46? Could you fit a Bearikade Weekender?"

I finally got an Exos 46 too. I was all set to use it on a four day trip to Yosemite at the end of the week. I am taking a Weekender (It is just going to fit me and my wife's food if we keep the first night out.) The Weekender will just fit lengthwise inside the 46. It will not fit laying down.

But I am taking a Scarp 2 which will not fit in the pack with the bear can upright. So now I am back to the Exos 58.

Anyway, I just wanted to answer EJ.

And do tell…..
How does the weekender fit in the 58? I'll be using my Exos 58 with the Bearikade Expedition in a couple of weeks.

It fits fine either direction. I have it slid in upright and the Scarp 2 slid in alongside.