Osprey Exos 48 - Hands on (at last!)
Updated: Nov 12, 2020
Yes! Finally!
After three months, I now have my Osprey Exos 48 rucksack. But these three months of waiting have not been due to a delay in the delivery by Amazon. The three months I’ve taken to get the Exos 48 have been because I wasn’t sure what kind of expedition pack I needed, or what type of rucksack I wanted, for our GR20 challenge in 2020. Afterall, we're trying to do something we've never done before.
I'd had a close look at lots of different options, and after reading online reviews and forums the front runners were:
Each pack had its advantages but none of them managed to completely convince me. Why? The main reason was that I could not check them out. Pretty much the same problem we've had choosing a tent.
But then I did. My best mate, fellow adventurer and Adventurous Journeys Spain co-founder (Who Are We?) came for a hiking weekend to my local favourite hiking trails in the beautiful mountains of the Sierra de Grazalema. He has owned his Osprey Exos 48 for a few months, is delighted with it and can’t recommend it highly enough to anyone and everyone who will listen. I tried it on our hike to Simancon & El Reloj.
Well, what a surprise! When Paul handed it to me at the foot of El Simancon I felt the weight of a couple of sandwiches, 4 cans of cold beer in a cool bag with ice packs, first-aid kit, emergency clothing pack, energy bars, electrolyte drink, usual emergency kit and Osprey Hydraulics™ 2.5l LT reservoir… about 7 kilos. Nothing compared with our objective of a dry pack weight of 10-12kg for our GR20in2020 challenge, but it was still 7kg - heavy in the hand.
The moment I got it on my shoulders those 7kg seemed to evaporate, disappear entirely. It wrapped my back and hips in such a way I hardly felt it was there. Decision made!
I placed the order of my new travel companion, the Osprey Exos 48 (in Tunnel Green to avoid confusion with Paul's in Blaze Black), from the most appropriate place we could think of: the summit of Simancon, at a height of 1569m. Two weeks later I received it. Unfortunately, I haven’t had time to take it out on a proper hike yet, but I think I made the right choice. Why?
Advantages
- It’s ultralight, it only weighs 1.19 kg
- The AirSpeed™ ventilated trampoline suspended mesh backpanel really is very, very comfortable and great for hot weather breathability
- The stretch front and side pockets hold loads of stuff. Really useful!
- Stow-on-the-go™ trekking pole attachment is so, so handy to quickly get trekking poles out of harms' way when scrambling then back into your hands again without removing the pack.
- Top pocket is removable should I want to strip off a few grams or simplify my carry.
- Multi-configuration side compression straps are great to keep things in place and cinch down a big pack in to a small day sack.
- Compatible with my Osprey Hydraulics 2.5l LT reservoir.
- It’s built to last. And if it does break… there's the lifetime Osprey All Mighty Guarantee!
Disadvantages
- No hip belt pockets… but we’re ultralight backpacking, aren’t we?
- Size: 48 litre backpack... smallish. Or is it? The bigger the bag, the more stuff one ends up carrying. We want to upgrade to ultralight backpacking. This backpack will fit in the basics, and quite a bit more. So, is its size really a disadvantage or should I move it up to the advantages list?
The moment I get to hike I’ll take it with me… Watch this space for more a more detailed review!
Disclaimer: I purchased the Osprey Exos 48 via Amazon with my own money, through a Prime account I pay for and have received no funding or correspondence from Osprey or Amazon. The thoughts and ideas here are my own and form no kind of endorsement or affiliation with any of the products listed. If, however, readers make a purchase using one of the listed Amazon links here, we may receive a tiny little bit of funding to help with the cost of running this blog.