This backpack served me well. 2012 Osprey Aether 70 |
As a traveler, I tend to do hella shopping at REI. They are my favorite store, but I go there often for a reason. These guys take care of customers and they take care of employees. More on that at another time. For now, I wanted to touch on one of the brands they stock of which I am a big fan. That would be Osprey.
I bought my Midnight Blue Osprey Aether 70 backpack in 2012 for my first trip to Central America. Well, my first time as a civilian, anyway. In any case, a backpack to a guy can be a very personal, dare I say intimate, and very necessary travel accessory. You can’t just let someone else pick it out for you and give it to you as a gift. It’s the same thing as a camera bag for photographers or purses for some women. So yeah… Quite personal.
Bus station, Guayaquil, Ecuador |
You saw plenty of my adventures with that pack on my back or by my side. It’s taken the abuse of hard travel, too. About 4 years ago, it fell off the top of a shuttle van doing 80 down a El Salvadoran highway. Later on, airport security, I can’t recall where, cut the waist straps off of it. I assume it got caught on a conveyor belt or something. And just before this past New Year’s, it got soaked in shrimp juice in the cargo hold of a bus in Ecuador.
Old backpack, Bogota, Colombia |
Osprey has an Almighty Guarantee that says they’ll repair or replace your bag. I asked about it when I got back stateside last month. They scanned my membership card, checked my account, tracked my purchase receipt, and told me to go pick out a bag, as my Midnight Blue Osprey Aether 70 was beyond repair. Yeah, I picked out a new bag real quick. THEN dude, told me I get a $5.87 credit back to my card. I was all excited to get a new bag. UNTIL the guy also told me I had to hand over my original backpack.
New Osprey Aether 70 AG |
I handed it to him. He grabbed hold to take it, but I didn’t let go. He tried to pull again. I still didn’t let go. The understanding cashier must have experienced this before. He saw my anxiety and gave me a moment, before explaining that the exchange required him to take the old backpack. I understood. I did. Letting go was still hard, but I eventually opened my fingers and released the pack. It didn’t occur to me to get pics. I didn’t think to even ask if it was going to a good home. But much like my recent post about the transient nature of travel friends, it still sucks saying good-bye.
So now I have a brand new Adirondack Green Osprey Aether 70. I still chose to go with this style of backpack. It suits me and they have made some upgrades. Some of which I am still getting used to. The top lid actually detaches like the old one, but instead of converting to a fanny pack, the new one has straps and becomes a day pack backpack. I’m going to have to spend some more time with it on my back before I can say whether the new Anti-Gravity tech feels better on my back than the former Airscape design. I can, however say that the new waist-strap is much more stiffer and is supposed to better provide a custom mold to you once you get it on and spend some time with it. All in all, I really like the pack. I have a good feel for it and I expect some great adventures with it.