User Review: Osprey Exposure 50

Osprey Exposure 50
Above: The current Exposure 50, which may differ slightly from the version reviewed.

Reviewed March 26, 2007 by JD

Rating:
Size: 50L
Height of Owner: 5 foot 11 inches
Price Paid: $175

GOOD news: Decent weight (versus competing alpine/climbing backpacks); Decent fit (for climbing/hiking/traveling); Handles a lot of gear. BAD news: Experienced durability issues (had to return to store); Color is subjective. As a rock climber / alpinist / traveler, I research gear before purchasing. I thought the Osprey Exposure 50 might be a wise pick for my new alpine / climbing / travel pack, even though (at the time) there were no internet product reviews. I didn’t think the lack of reviews would matter, seeing how Osprey has a great reputation, the pack’s feature-to-weight ratio, and the categorization as a climbing pack.

This pack treated me well for a climbing trip to Indian Creek, UT (this Osprey 50L pack handled the biggest rack of gear a trad-climber will most likely ever require) plus a trip to Costa Rica.

HOWEVER, after only a few months, I experienced three different flaws (top pull-string blew out; beginning of a major hole in the bottom stitching, and tears/punctures in the bottom). I returned this pack, seeing how my previous pack (Gregory Reality) put up with years (not months) of weekly abuse. In Osprey’s defense, I am considering buying it again, based on the feature-to-weight ratio and Osprey’s overall reputation.