Osprey Exos Professional 55 Backpack Evaluation

The Osprey Exos Professional 55 Backpack is a ventilated and adjustable-length ultralight backpack that weighs 33.2 oz. It’s principally an ultralight redo of the heavier Osprey Exos 58 Backpack, that’s 11.8 ounceslighter-weight utilizing recycled materials with just a few minor modifications to the design. Regardless of the load discount, the Exos Professional 55 stays a fairly energetic and dynamic backpack that’s responsive and enjoyable to hold. Nevertheless, using thinner materials signifies that this pack goes to be considerably much less abrasion resistant than the heavier Exos 58, which is one thing to think about in case you’re tough on backpacks.

Specs at a Look

• Weight: 33.2 oz (dimension S/M)
• Stripable prime lid weight: 2.6 oz
• Quantity: 55L
• Closure: Prime lid
• Adjustable Torso Size: Sure
• Ventilated: Sure
• Hydration appropriate: Sure
• Pockets: 6, plus the primary compartment
• Body: Inside aluminum perimeter body
• Torso: S/M: 17″ – 20″ (L/XL 21″-23″ additionally accessible)
• Hip Belt: S/M: 28″ – 50″ (L/XL 30″-50″ additionally accessible)
• Bear canister compatibility: BV500 or Garcia Backpacker’s Cache match horizontally or vertically in the primary compartment. They can be held in place underneath the floating prime lid pocket.
• Supplies: 100D Nylon x 200D UHMWPE ripstop w/DWR therapies made with out PFAS
• Most really useful load: 30 lbs

Who’s the Exos Professional 55 For?

For those who already personal the heavier Osprey Exos 58, switching to the Exos Professional 55 is a straightforward approach to shave near 11.8 ouncesof pack weight whereas retaining the backpack really feel and many of the options you’ve grown used to. The Exos Professional 55 can also be possibility for individuals who desire a lighter-weight ventilated backpack however don’t need to quit the comfort of a prime lid pocket or the exterior attachment options discovered on extra standard multi-day backpacks. Whilst you can change to a extra minimalist roll-top backpack just like the ventilated Zpacks Arc Haul Extremely 60, doing so can require a fairly large change in the way you pack and work together together with your backpack throughout the day. Whichever method you select to go, Osprey and Zpacks are nonetheless the one pack producers to supply ultralight, ventilated, and adjustable-length backpacks.

How is the Exos Professional 55 totally different than the Exos 58?

The Exos Professional 55:

1. Is 11.8 ounceslighter weight than the Exos 58 (could range relying on sizing).
2. Doesn’t have a second pocket underneath the highest lid.
3. Doesn’t have separate sleeping pad straps on the entrance of the pack.
4. The entrance stretch pocket has material loops alongside the perimeters that can be utilized to hold gear.
5. The entrance stretch pocket has much less mesh and extra stable material for higher sturdiness.
6. The left-hand hip belt pocket is open and never zippered.
7. The adjustable torso size is secured utilizing small dowels as a substitute of bigger plastic discs.
8. There’s a silicone print on the base of the suspended mesh to forestall slippage.
9. The sternum strap solely has three positions as a substitute of a sliding rail adjustment.
10. The shoulder straps are much less padded.
11. The shoulder straps solely have 1 hydration hose keeper, not two.
12. There’s no stow-on-the-go trekking pole holder.
13. Makes use of thinner (200d) material in high-wear areas.

Backpack Group and Storage

The Osprey Exos Professional 55 could be very totally different from most ultralight backpacks as a result of it’s configured with a floating prime lid as a substitute of a dry-bag fashion roll prime. With a single giant prime zippered pocket (with key fob), the floating lid helps you to sandwich additional gear between the lid and the highest of the pack’s foremost compartment so you’ll be able to carry additional technical tools or provides that received’t match inside your pack. Prime lids are an ideal characteristic, particularly when it’s essential to carry cumbersome gear like bear canisters, rope coils, foam pads, or tent our bodies that received’t match into the primary compartment of your pack. The highest pocket additionally supplies helpful entry to hats, gloves, snacks, and navigation gear and is indispensable for cold-weather use.

For those who don’t want the highest lid on the Exos Professional 55, you’ll be able to take away it to avoid wasting gear weight. This reduces the load of a small/medium Exos Professional 55 by 2.6 ounces bringing it right down to a good 30.6 oz (1 lb 14.6 oz).

There’s a nylon flap underneath the highest lid that’s completely hooked up to the pack, what Osprey calls a FlapJacket, that covers the drawstring opening of the primary compartment. Once you take away the highest lid, the FlapJacket is used to guard the primary compartment from the rain in its stead. The rear of the FlapJacket clips into the identical rear straps and buckles utilized by the highest lid so that you’re not left with any additional straps or buckles to get in the best way. When it’s not wanted you’ll be able to stuff it into the primary compartment or into the interior hydration pocket.

Whereas the Exos Professional 55 additionally has good open storage within the type of aspect and entrance pockets, the primary compartment is the place the majority of this pack’s capability is. With over 3350 cubic inches of room, you’ll be able to put a ton of substances and meals inside. Being a mainstream backpack producer, Osprey computes the quantity of their packs utilizing business norms and solely counts coated and zippered storage once they calculate backpack quantity. In case you are evaluating the quantity of the Exos Professional 55 with a pack from a cottage backpack maker, remember that they usually add in open and closed pocket volumes so the Exos Professional 55 will really feel fairly a bit bigger and maintain significantly extra gear.

Whereas the primary compartment curves inward to accommodate the form of the ventilated body close to its base, the primary compartment is so giant that the pack continues to be simple to pack. Nonetheless, as a result of it’s ventilated, you’ll need to place the heaviest gadgets as near your again and hips as potential. Excluding a hydration pocket, cling loop, and prime compression strap, there’s nothing contained in the Exos Professional 55 foremost compartment like a sleeping bag compartment to interrupt up the seemingly cavernous area. Nonetheless, it’s simple to see inside the primary compartment as a result of calmly coloured material panels assist channel mild to the pack’s inside. I’d nonetheless suggest packing the Exos Professional 55 with a pack liner for moisture/rain safety (See 5 Ultralight Pack Liners In contrast.)

Osprey included hipbelt pockets on the Exos Professional 55 however they’re barely totally different than these on the present Exos 58. The left-hand pocket is now open on prime and doesn’t have a zipper. I assumed I’d hate that, however it’s truly fairly helpful for stuffing trash into. The proper-hand pocket continues to be zippered and huge sufficient to suit an iPhone X into together with some snack bars.

However the pockets are sewn onto the hipbelt in such a method that the again of the pocket has to have the ability to curve when it wraps round your hips…which is an effective approach to break a SmartPhone display. I’d advise in opposition to placing something equally outsized and rigid into them.

That is the results of the truth that Osprey retains the hipbelt wings on the Exos Professional 55 and Exos 58 quick, so that they wrap across the again and sides of your iliac crest (hipbone) however don’t lengthen extra ahead to the entrance like different backpacks. They nonetheless present efficient load-to-hip weight switch, however I personally favor longer hipbelts as a result of it means the hipbelt pockets are positioned in entrance of my torso and never alongside the perimeters or again of my hips. You do get used to the shorter hipbelt rapidly on the Exos Professional 55 and Exos 58, however it’s a totally different strategy to hipbelt size and pocket placement than on backpacks from different producers.

Along with the primary compartment, the Exos Professional 55 has two stretch-side mesh pockets that can be utilized to retailer water bottles. The mesh will not be robust sufficient for off-trail journey and I’d suggest you keep on trails with this pack so as to maintain the pockets from tearing. Every pocket is strengthened with stable material on the underside for higher sturdiness and has a holster-style opening lower in entrance, which helps you to place bottles sideways so you’ll be able to pull them out and substitute them when on the transfer.

You can too pack a tall bottle and screwed-on filter within the aspect pockets, however they aren’t reachable when carrying the pack and tall bottles fall out of the holster pockets in case you attempt to relaxation them there.

There may be additionally a big stretch stuff-it pocket on the entrance of the pack which is helpful for carrying gadgets that you really want quick access to, with out requiring that you simply cease and open your backpack. I can’t reside and not using a stretch pocket like this and use it to stuff mild layers or snacks that I would like simply accessible throughout the day. It’s additionally place to stash a moist rainfly, so you’ll be able to simply pull it out to dry if you cease to admire a view.

Backpack Body and Suspension

The Osprey Exos Professional 55 is a ventilated suspended mesh-style backpack. Breathable mesh is suspended in entrance of the again panel making a ventilated area behind your again that’s designed to evaporate sweat earlier than it may soak your shirt. The mesh is tightly stretched throughout the 360-degree aluminum body which additionally serves to anchor the hip belt and cargo lifters. The aluminum body on the Exos Professional 55 is the key sauce that “makes” this pack. It’s tremendous light-weight and stiff, offering nice load switch to the hips, so you’ll be able to load up this pack and nonetheless get a really snug carry. The carry is definitely fairly wonderful, even with a full load.

This new Exos Professional 55 additionally has an adjustable torso size with 4″ of adjustability that could be very light-weight and easy to make use of. It is a large profit for brand spanking new backpackers who’ve much less expertise sizing and becoming a brand new backpack. You lengthen or shorten the torso size, the space between your hip bones and your C7 vertebra, by shifting the shoulder strap harness up or down because the place of the hip belt is mounted. That is accomplished utilizing a easy dowel and ladder system which slides up and down alongside the observe on the again of the backpack.

The shoulder straps and hipbelt are each coated with a stretchy mesh material that’s tender and helps wick moisture to forestall rubbing and chafing. The shoulder straps are calmly padded and have one elastic hydration hose keeper strap on the entrance. Nevertheless, whereas the shoulder straps are snug, you’ll be considerably challenged to connect accent pockets to them, one thing that’s more and more common with backpackers and day hikers alike. The identical could be mentioned for the calmly padded hip belt.

In contrast to the Exos 58, the sternum strap on the Exos Professional 55 can solely be positioned at three areas. To regulate it, it’s essential to push the plastic buckles connecting the sternum strap to the shoulder straps via small wire loops to reposition them larger or decrease. It takes somewhat persistence to do that however it’s not tough and makes for a really safe anchor.

Sizing

The Exos Professional 55 is available in two sizes S/M and L/XL by way of torso size, whereas the hip belt size is almost an identical throughout each sizes (28″-50″ vs 30″-50″), as a substitute of radically totally different, making it a lot simpler to get a hipbelt that matches you no matter your torso dimension.

Exterior Attachment Factors and Compression System

The Osprey Exos Professional 55 has two compression straps on all sides of the pack. The highest strap is anchored on on the prime nook of the entrance stretch pocket and runs to the body slightly below the entrance load lifter, whereas the underside strap is configured as a Z crisscrossing over the aspect water bottle pocket earlier than attaching to the again of the hip belt pocket  I’m not an enormous fan of the Z-style threading sample as a result of I feel it makes it tough to strap cumbersome gear like snowshoes or a folding pad to the aspect of a pack. I discover two horizontal-side compression straps to be optimum as a substitute.

However one factor that’s lacking from Exos Professional 55, however is offered on the Exos 58, is a pair of sleeping bag straps for attaching a folding foam pad, like a NEMO Switchback or a Thermarest Zlite pad to the underside of the pack under the entrance stretch pocket. That is very tough to do with the decrease Z-Model aspect compression straps as a result of they’re not lengthy sufficient to simply match over one in all these folding pads. You are able to do it, however it requires a variety of effort and makes it very tough to place something into the entrance stretch pocket as a result of the pad is tightly compressed in opposition to the pack. I’d suggest rigging up your personal elastic wire loops for attaching a pad to the gear loops working alongside the entrance stretch pocket as a substitute.

You can also’t thread the aspect compression strap via the aspect water bottle pocket on the Exos Professional 55 and it may solely run on the skin of the mesh pocket. It’s because the hipbelt pocket is the anchor for the underside aspect compression strap…which is a screwy approach to design it as a result of that compression strap will pull the hip belt off your hip if it’s essential to tighten it. These features are greatest decoupled.

However don’t let the Z-style straps (that are detachable by design) deter you from rigging up two horizontal compression straps as a substitute. One of many nice issues concerning the Exos Professional 55 is the distribution of substances loops across the perimeter pockets, the pack bag seams, and even the highest lid, making it simple to rig up your personal customized compression system with an additional wire lock and a few guyline or a chunk of webbing. If I used the Exos Professional 55 usually, I’d in all probability take away the aspect compression straps off and substitute them with my very own wire and cordlocks.

Likes

• Light-weight and high-capacity (55 L)
• Dynamic body that makes hundreds really feel lighter
• Massive bear canister matches horizontally
• A light-weight perimeter body supplies nice load switch and management
• Frivolously coloured material strips enhance foremost compartment visibility
• A number of exterior attachment factors throughout the pack

Dislikes

• Troublesome to connect accent pockets to the shoulder straps or hipbelt pockets.
• Troublesome to tug tall gadgets out of aspect pockets whereas carrying the pack.
• Z-style aspect compression straps are awkward to make use of with cumbersome gear.
• No sleeping pad straps.

Comparable Ventilated (Suspended Mesh) Backpacks

There aren’t many light-weight (sub 3 pound) ventilated backpacks accessible right this moment, with or with out adjustable torso lengths.

Zpacks additionally has a number of fashions which might be very aggressive with the Exos Professional 55 together with the Zpacks Blast 55 (See our Zpacks Blast 55 Evaluation) and the Zpacks Arc Haul Extremely 60 (See our Zpacks Arc Haul Extremely 60 Evaluation.) Whereas each of those packs are a lot lighter than the Exos Professional 55, they’re additionally far more costly. However, if you’d like a ventilated backpack with an adjustable torso size that’s arrange like an ultralight roll-top pack, they’re the one recreation on the town.

Suggestion

The Osprey Packs Exos Professional 55 Backpack is a top-loading backpack with an adjustable torso size that’s simple to suit and configure for a lot of totally different sorts of mountaineering and backpacking journeys. Weighing simply 2 kilos 1.2 ounces, it boasts a strengthened perimeter-style aluminum body and ventilated suspension that gives glorious consolation and management for hundreds as much as 30 kilos. In order for you a big however ultralight (55L) hydration-compatible backpack with an actual body and a prime lid, the Exos 55 Professional is a good selection that’s designed for multi-day backpacking, thru-hiking, and part mountaineering.

The factor that I like much less about this pack is the best way it forces you to pack a sure method on the subject of carrying water bottles, including accent pockets, or strapping gear to the skin of the backpack. I favor extra flexibility on this regard, however that’s my private choice. Regardless of that, I may see being completely blissful utilizing an Exos Professional 55 for a long-distance or section-hiking backpacking journey, notably in sizzling and humid climate the place a ventilated suspended mesh body is a big win.

Disclosure: The writer owns this backpack.

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