This pack has served as a great alternative to those frameless mountaineering packs for multi-day climbs. It's carried up to 40 pounds well, my helmet fits in the lid, and the straps can hold crampons and an ice axe. It does have extra stuff you don't need, like that stupid stretch panel and the straps for holding a tent on the bottom, so I just cut them off and saved a couple ounces. This pack is well designed, super comfy, and strikes a perfect balance between weight and carrying capacity: Over three pounds lighter than the Arc'teryx Bora but does the job just as well and a lot more comfy than most climbing-oriented packs but weighs less than a pound more. Perfect! (Note: you may have to put bike lube in the alum. stays to stop them from creaking)

I used this pack for a 4 day 3 night backpacking trip. Just enough time to get a feel for it. The pack was well balanced and east to carry. The hip belt and shoulder straps were easy to adjust and worked well. I was carrying about 35 lbs which seems to be a good weight for this pack. If I were going to carry much more I might opt for the Arc Teryx Bora series packs. At the end of the trip the Osprey looked brand new. It is well made and I think it will hold up well over the years.

Good study pack for 3+ days. A bit heavy compared to Gregory packs, but excellent value for the quality. Would go for the 70 next time for some more room if you have to carry a bear canister. Good quality manufacturing but would add some attachments on hip belt and ease of getting at snacks without removing pack.

i cant stress enough how awesome of a pack this is. taken it on multiple 5 day trips and works like a charm. i dont know if i'd use it for a weeklong trip but overall, this is such a great pack. no complants

The maiden voyage was a six day 65 mile Sawtooth loop and the pack performed great. Although the Aether isn't as large as the Boras or larger Ospreys, I stored about 35-40 ibs with room to spare. The top fanny pocket is great for a quick gorp grab as well as a camera/head lamp. The waist band was comfortable, although I had to have it cinched up all the way even with a Medium ( I have a 32" waste) so leaner hikers may want to get the smaller of the two. The ventilated backing helped prevent sweat from pooling on the back, although it stayed damp most of the time. The nylon pack material isn't waterproof but is very durable and breathable. All-in-all a great pack, and if you pack light and small it will easily work as well as any larger pack would during a week-long trip. Only complaint: A zipper to access the base of the pack (like on larger Ospreys) would have been easy to add. Instead, you have to dig to get to the bottom.

I backpacked throughout Barcelona, Paris, Amsterdam, and all over Croatia with this baby and was pleased with it every moment it was on my back. It was always 't scomfortable and bared a fully-stuffed load amazingly, which was wonderful for my bad back. My other friends who had to drag their rolling luggage throughout the subways, throughout the cities, and across the airports had an annoying time dealing with steps and inclines, especially when we had to rush to catch a leaving train or plane. The Aether 60 was also great for biking, as when I packed it properly, it was well-balanced and didn't shift even on the cobblestone streets of Amsterdam.

P.S. : This pack can fit a lot more in it than you would think, so I'm glad I avoided purchasing an unnecessarily larger size one.

Okay, here's the scoop. After trying on several packs I finally settled on the Osprey because it was the most comfortable to wear. I can't stress that enough. I broke this baby in during a 5-week long trip across Europe. The pack performed better than expected during this time. My back was well ventilated, the pack didn't shift whilst on my back, and it had more than enough room for 5-weeks worth of clothes, toiletries, souvenirs, and the like.

The most noticable feature of this pack is that it is LIGHT. I mean, really light. Osprey has achieved this by reducing the number of frivolous features on it such as extra pockets (zippers = weight) and gear loops. Yes, it's a top entry only bag, but chances are that if you're taking your pack off you need everything in it anyway.

I love the fact that Osprey makes their bags in three different sizes. I have a long torso and ended up with a large pack which is a huge contributor to the comfort level of this pack. The waist belt is almost too big for me, so I'll have to swap it out with a medium. The suspension itself is easy to adjust once you know where the straps are. The lid has plenty of room for the essentials and maybe some not-so-essentials. I found the best use of the front stretch pocket was to hold my rain cover for the pack. Apparently you can store crampons in there, but I haven't tried yet.

I really have no complaints about this pack. It's pure awesome. Osprey makes packs, and only packs, so all of their R&D dollars go into pack research. Try one today and reap the rewards of a truly pack-centric company.

I've used this pack over and over again for through hikes (as well as my only carry-on during vacation), and it's a great pack. It's comfortable even when packed to the brim and mine has yet to show even minor wear & tear. The Osprey peeps make a big to-do over the heat-wrapped hipbelts, but I never had a local dealer w/the machine and mine has always been just fine. Some of the compression straps seem a bit misplaced, but that's pretty minor. The only real con is the lack of any access other than top (but you know that going into it). Great pack. Get it in orange!!!

I finally replaced my big old pack and am glad I did. Although I can't compare it to other packs that are currently on the market, it is much lighter and more comfortable than my old pack. The suspensions system seems to hold the weight comfortably but I wonder how it would hold up if I had a lot of heavier gear. I suspect it might be a bit wobbly if over-loaded with ropes and climbing gear but I haven't tested that theory yet.
There are also loops for ice-axe and skis and two tightenable straps at the top for the axe or skis. Two more gearloop/straps at the bottom would have been nice but fortunately the compression straps can (barely) be used to attach a ground pad if tightly rolled up. However, if you do this, then you can't access the back stretchy pouch. Also, there are no pockets on the waist belt for sunglasses or lip balm etc.

The front hip belt buckle broke, it is quite flimsy unless they have upgraded it since I bought mine (last summer '08). The construction on the rest of the pack seems sturdy enough though. It is a good looking bag too.
On some models you can remove the top pocket and make it into a fanny pack but that requires removing the waist belt from the main pack, unthreading the top pocket from the main pack and reassembling it; a tedious pain in the neck but at least it is an option. The side pockets for water bottles just barely fit a nalgene bottle but might not if the bag is tightly packed. Also I could not reach the water bottle while wearing the pack; bummer.
Overall the pack excels at the most critical jobs; being light, balanced, and comfortable. It is nicely streamlined but at the expense of some potentially useful features.