Osprey Packs Kestrel 58 Backpack

I grew up out West (Utah) and spent much of my summers camping in the mountains using an external frame pack. Currently I live in South Florida. While camping in South Florida is entirely different than camping out West, I am a Scout master and there is no way I was going to let the boys get away without camping at least once every couple months.

Some of the more enthusiastic boys have outgrown car camping so I decided to take them for a weekend backpacking trip. Having left my dependable external frame pack back in Utah years ago, I went on a quest to find a new pack. I really loved my old external frame but decided to try a higher quality internal frame pack.

After a lot of looking I ended up vacillating between an Osprey Kestral, Osprey Atmos, and an Osprey Aether. Ultimately, I purchased the Kestrel 58. Since the weekend backpacking trip was the first time any of the boys had backpacked (our troop does own a handful of Teton 3400 packs), I took a bit more weight than I normally would have--35lbs. Over 2.5 days I did 18 miles through sand. I had absolutely no legitimate problems with the pack. In fact, the pack transferred the weight to my hips so effectively that I had no back discomfort or soreness during or after the trip.

I am not going to bother with what I liked about the pack; rather I am going to explain what I mean by "no legitimate problems with the pack."

* The hip belt pockets were small. This is a nit-picky complaint and since most packs do not even have hip belt pockets, this is not a legitimate complaint.

* I would have liked more pockets in the pack, but by design, internal frame packs have fewer pockets. So again, this is not really a legit complaint since the Kestrel had as many if not more pockets than most external frame packs I have looked at.

* HERE IS THE SEMI LEGIT COMPLAINT the tension straps would loosen up over time. I am not sure if this is a common problem with the pack or is something that may have been caused by the humidity. Regardless, it took mere seconds to adjust the tension while trekking along, and a simple alligator clip will solve the problem (which I am headed out to buy this weekend)

The Kestrel is a great pack, and one that I would recommend. Having grown up an avid hiker, my only regret was not deciding to buy one of the more expensive and advanced packs offered by Osprey--and let's be honest, the Kestrel is not exactly cheap. If I had to do it again, I would probably get the Aether, or maybe even spring for the extremely expensive Argon, which I never even originally considered because of the price.

Look, if you want a great pack and are not someone like me who spent his youth camping and hiking, buy the pack, you will be very very pleased. Heck, the only part of me that is not pleased with the purchase is the part of me that is planning a weeklong backpacking trip in the Grand Tetons in May/June 2013.

They said this bag was in perfect condition. And it is! And I got it for like what... $70 less than regular price! It's big enough for sure. I might even have too much spaceI'm back packing through Costa Rica. I guess I'll have room for souvenirs.

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Exact pack I've been searching for at a great price. Osprey is my go to for packs because of their high quality and attention to details.

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I purchased this pack to do a treck in Europe. I am very happy with. Good qualities and great features. The adjustments make it a good fitting and comfortable pack for my purposes.