GoLite Odyssey Expedition Pack - 5500-5800 cu in - 2007 BCS

This backpack is great, but I HAVE had issues. In agreeance with other reviewers is has awesome packcloth material, it is light, comfy, huge, adjustable, compressable and versatile.
However, one of the seams that held the brain (top pocket) together came apart and almost cost me all of my little gadgets one day. The brain is where I keep maps, snacks, headlamp, lighter and after following a trail of loot, my hiking partners told me to check my zippers, they were fine but the pack itself was coming apart!
I love this pack (and the price) so much I deceded to keep it and just sew it up. I did, and my seam stayed tight and the remainder of the factory seam was fine too...then another sewing point came apart, but this one was almost tragic.

I was on a week long trip in the Wind River Range and on day three the place where the shoulder strap comes down to meet with the hip belt totally blew out. Faced with carrying my 50+ lb load with one strap for another 20 miles, I decided to try to fix it using fishing line and a needle (I think an upholstery needle is one of the best emergency tools a backpacker can bring). Apart from it looking bad and taking up valuable time in the Winds, my repair worked well and the pack has done well since, I just wonder if I will have to fix the other strap the next time I have the pack loaded down again.
Take this review for what you will, I love the GoLite brand, but cannot ignore the issue this pack has created for me...twice. Golite has taken good care of me when dealing with the one other product issue I had, and would reccomend that people use their products. When I bought my odyssey, it was a brand new model, so maybe there was some issues with production, everyone else seems to have had great luck since then.

I ordered the odyssey because it was the highest capacity pack with the lowest weight. I recently took it out on a weekend backpacking trip to the Colorado Rockies. I took my entire family which requires me to be the family Sherpa, so I loaded it with 50 lbs of gear. I loved the volume of the pack, the high quality workmanship, and the new fabric. It weathered some light rain showers without a problem, and was great for carrying the heavier load. I'd recommend this pack.

I bought this pack last week and just got back from a 2-day backpacking trip in central Illinois. What an awesome pack for the price! holds a ton of gear and really doesn't look that obnoctious when fully loaded. Got rained on for about an hour on saturday and everything in the pack stayed nice and dry. I bought the large because I am about 6 ft tall, have a 34 inch waist, and I have a long torso for my height (22.5 in). It rode very well on my back and did a good job transferring the weight to my hips. I had it loaded with about 30 lbs. (packed for comfort, not worried about weight) that ioncluded my water and food. Hydration packet worked well. A great value for a 5500 ci pack that weighs under 4 lbs, seems VERY durable.

I recently completed a seven day, forty-three mile backpack in the Colorado mountains using my new GoLite Odyssey. It was great dropping 1.5 pounds just by changing backpacks. This was an experiment discovering how the numerous adjustments effected the overall carry. I found it more comfortable not using the sternum strap due to the shoulder straps are not as beefy as those on heavier packs & therefore dug into my shoulders a bit. The webbing is smaller & lighter weight but seem to be tightly secured, holding everything in place. The bottom sleeping bag compartment is accessible from both inside or outside the pack. The smaller, self-sealing, weatherproof zippers kept all rain & moisture out. It would be nice to have a zippered map pouch underneath the top compartment but saving weight is what this pack is all about. I had more than enough room for nine days out. Taking all things into consideration, this is a great pack for size, weight, & overall investment.

This pack is really great because it is light weight compared to packs of similar volume number of pockets. It's also waterproof. The best choice I could find.

I bought this pack for some winter mountaineering in the Northeast and really liked it when I got it. It's a nice size and all my winter gear fit well and it was comfortable carrying the load of about 45 pounds. Unfortunately the shoulder straps turned out to be the weak link and after a single 4-day trip the stitching holding on the pads began to fail and separate. Decided to return it for something more durable -- in my case I bought a Dana Designs pack which was older but had never been used. I think the GoLite Odyssey can be a great pack but needs a little beefier attachment points to go with the higher loads this size pack will likely see.

I'm hooked on ultralight and I've been using a GoLite Breeze pack for years. I needed a pack with much larger volume for winter treks or for when I get stuck hauling the "depth charge" (bear canister). I ordered both sizes from Backcountry.com and found the medium to be a better fit (I'm 5'7"). Returning the large was painless.

I've used it with 35-40 pounds loaded and felt like I could handle another 5-10 pounds. The hip belt and load levelers function like they should and fit me perfect - which is more than I can say about many heavier and more expensive packs. And I was extra pleased with the price........

A great back for those multiday alpine trips. Carries very comfortably while allowing adequate room for those extra winter garmets. Ideal for summit day as it shrinks down to be used as a day pack. Those nasty bear cannisters fit easily into the top for your Sierra adventures. Give this pack a try and you shouldn't be disappointed.

I took this as my primary luggage on a 3 week trip to Sicily....no hiking, just wanted to travel light and with one bag. I packed about 18 days of clothes in it no problems. Brought back more stuff than I left with and almost got it all back in the pack. It was extremely convenient and pretty comfortable. Only concern is the small/narrow straps. I felt at times when sinching them down that becuase I had it loadedpretty good that they would begin to pull away at the stitching. More sturdy straps would be my recommendation....wider and stronger. Otherwise....I love the pack.....does everything I need it to do and more. A good buy for travelers as outdoors folks.

This was a great pack. I used it all summer as a backpacking guide for my summer camp. All my personal gear fit in the bottom compartment and I used all of the top part for cooking gear, food, tarp (sometimes up to a 15'x30') and the 3 lb first aid kid, then put some other stuff in the top compartment... and up to a gallon of water! When I was out with younger kids the food for 14 people for 3-4 days was typically carried by the other councilor and me. I used every cubic inch of this pack and then some this summer. I think there were time I had loads up to 60 pounds and it held out. I didn't do any great distances with those kind of loads, but the pack held it. Some signs of wear and tear after 50 days of heavy use, but nothing broke. I didn't have much luck with the water proofing, but it looks like the biggest problem is at the seems (I'll probably SeamSeal them). I took this pack on a 56 mile hike (pulling 16 mile days) with ~30 lbs of stuff and it wasn't too uncomfortable (by the end of the day it was starting to hurt, especially around the hips), but not anymore than any other pack. It would be nice to have more ventilation on the back, but I just hike with the shoulder straps loose when it gets really hot - probably part of the cause of the sore hips. The pockets are super roomy, the side water bottle pockets held a quart Gatorade bottle in additional of some other things with out any pop outs. I really like how roomy the top most pocket is. It's great for putting the quick access items like rain jacket and map.

All in all, it's a good work horse if you have a lot of stuff. It's a great price, STELLAR weight, crazy amounts of volume, and lots of versatility. It could use better ventilation and better waterproofing.

So here I am in Patagonia checking email and got this email asking me to rate my new backpack. Well I just spent four nights trekking in Torres Del Paine Nat´l park and on the second day the outer zipper blew. I had read previous reviews to be gentle with the buckles and zippers, so I was. But am bummed to be traveling with a busted brand new pack already!

You know, this backpack really pisses me off. I love it. I think it's made well. It is actually lightweight, with volume, and even has a separate compartment in the front. It has a pocket in the belt which really is something all backpacks should have. It appears durable with watertight zippers and a nice separate section for a sleeping bag. I want it to work so badly, but dammit (!!!!) at 6'5" the torso length is just too damn short, and honestly, my fat gut (260 pounds worth)makes the chest and belt strap barely hang on anyway. My point, if you are shorter then 6'5" and you aren't known for clearing out buffets on a regular basis..........BUY THIS PACK!!!

To be honest, I was skeptical about this pack. The super light weight for a 5000+cu. in. pack seemed too good to be true. Thankfully, I've been pleasantly surprised. I'm 6'5" with a ~21 inch torso and this pack fits me well. I've used it for winter mountaineering/backpacking and a three-week mountaineering trip in India and it both cases it performed flawlessly. I will admit that with loads of more than 45lbs, I did start to feel a bit of discomfort in the shoulders and hips but I'm happy to take that given the light weight of the pack. It's a good trade off.
The stretchy ice ax attachment loop at the top work well but can be a bit difficult to undo at first when wearing gloves but after a bit of practice, it's not bad. The top lid is easy to adjust and holds a great deal of stuff. The pocket on the front of the pack is also more voluminous than it first appears.
But what I love the most about this pack is the clips on the bottom that allow you to minimize the size of the pack and use it as a day pack. This works very well and when I wore the pack as a day pack it didn't feel like a big, floppy, under-filled backpack. The width of the pack is narrow enough that when climbing or scrambling with it, my elbows don't bump on it and I hardly notice it's there.
I would definitely recommend this pack to friends. GoLite has done a great job with it!

After having two knee surgeries I thought it was time to buy a lighter pack, so I went with the Women's specific model. This is honestly the best purchase I've made in a long time. I can't say how much I love it. It's so light and comfortable. Thanks to Golite, I won't have to stop doing the things I love.