any experience or thoughts on this pack?

For years I've used external frame packs for overnight hauls. But am thinking of a nice internal frame in the 2500-3000 cu. in. area. I like a pack that stays up high on the back, which my Osprey daypack does rather well. Does anyone have experience with LL Bean packs? In particular its White Mountain Pack? Or the Osprey Aether 60 and/or Osprey Atmos 65.
Thanks for any feedback/advice anyone can give!

Osprey atmos 50, i can attest to the comfort of this bag quite well. I simply love it. Plenty of space for over nights etc. I also know of 4 others who have this pack (3 have the 50 1 has the 65) and love it as well. The other bags i'm not sure about.

I use this bag for weekend over nights, winter day hike, and training day hikes (loading up the pack with weight). I'll also use it for sumer day hikes while i carry everything for myself and my girlfriend. The back panel is all mesh some will like this some won't. The aether is a different fit which i didn't like, personally.

One of my hiking/backpacking pals has the Osprey Aether 60, which he really likes. It is comfortable, lightweight, handles 30 pound plus loads easily and is nicely accessorized.

Regards,
Marty

I'll have to agree about the Aether 60, for me it's the most comfortable overnight pack I've ever tryed/used. I can get several days out of it in the warm weather but it's tough getting a winter overnight 's worth of of gear in it. I have the older one with the compression straps across the back which make it easy to carry a Thermarest up high or snowshoes. The newer Ather's look entirely different however, and I don't know if they're the same underneath.

Dave

Thanks guys, those are great responses,thanks for the input. I would be using it in spring-summer-fall so its good to know it can handle appropriate payloads. Fortunately I would be using it to carry gear for 2 people for at a maximum of 2 nights out.

Have one trip experience with the Atmos 65. I loved mine. My wife hated hers.

While it has minimalist padding in the shoulder straps and hip belt, it carried surprisingly comfortably for me. Loaded it up around 42 lbs, which is definitely at the top end of its comfort range, and it still carried fine. I was a bit concerned that the narrowness of the yoke between the shoulder straps would cause rubbing, but it was not an issue.

The minimalist padding and or adjustability didn't work for my wife. The shoulder straps really bruised her sternum bones and made for a miserable carry. She has carried an Osprey pack for the past 5 or so years and was happy with it. The tradeoff is that the old pack weighs nearly 8 lbs. Would be nice to shave some weight without entirely giving up on comfort.

The pack material is lightweight. So care is required not to overstuff the stretchy pockets or abrade the pack on trees or rocks. The pack also seems to fill up quickly. The internal frame bend eats into useable space and requires careful packing.

All in all, I would say its a great minimalist pack if you aren't generally carrying more than around 30 lbs.

I have an Osprey Aether 60. It's a great pack. Mine has nearly 2000 miles on it, and it's still in great shape. It will carry 40+ comfortably. You'll see a number of Ospreys on the back of AT thruhikers...saw a couple this weekend.
That being said, I've partially retired it because of it's weight. I am now carrying a Six Moon Designs, Starlite. I've dubbed it the "perfect pack." If you can get you base weight under 17lbs., I'd highly recommend taking a look at it.

Also...

seen a lot of these on the AT, less bells and whistles than the osprey Aether, more like a big daypack...

thanks for the link gris, that also appears worth checking out.
this is great info guys.thanks

Gris said:

seen a lot of these on the AT, less bells and whistles than the osprey Aether, more like a big daypack...

Click to expand...

I have the Granite Gear Nimbus Ozone, the big brother of the Vapor Trail. It is a pound heavier, but can carry heavier and larger loads with great comfort As Gris says, these packs have less bells and whistles, which requires you to organize your gear diligently. I organize my gear in different color sil-nylon stuff sacks, which does the trick. I really like the Granite Gear packs, but if having bells and whistles for gear organization is important to you, I would go with the Ospreys.

Marty