Customer Reviews Arc'teryx Aerios 18 Backpack

I bought this pack for day hikes, alpine scrambles and longer multi pitch routes, and it has exceeded my expectations. My favourite features are the integrated (stretchy) chest pockets on the shoulder straps (great for phone, radio or snacks) and the double chest/sternum straps that keep the pack from shifting while climbing or scrambling. The side pockets on the pack are actually deep enough to be useful for a waterbottle, or poles or other items. This pack fabric barely absorbs water, and has been surprisingly durable despite its light weight. I also really love how breathable the back panel design is. I love this pack!

This bag went well beyond my expectations. At only 18L, I thought I would struggle to fit what I needed for a day on the trails. I took it to it's limits while photographing fly fishing in Yellowstone. It was a full day out, deep into the wilderness. I was able to comfortably carry my camera + 3 lenses, extra clothes, microfiber towel, 4 16oz beers, bear spray, and 2L of water. The pack stayed feeling light and was shaped well around the body. Awesome!

I use this for my light daily commute together with the index organiser for a change of clothes as I would cycle or run to my work locations. The straps wraps around the shoulder girdle really well and the chest straps hold them in place. with the bungee-feel of the straps, even if the pack was heavier, you don't feel much on the shoulders. The back panel can get a bit warm after more than 1 hour of high output activity, but allows quick moisture wicking compared to other run commute packs. The strap compartment can be versatile to not just fit bottles, but was my quick phone pouch for navigation, and trail gels and rations.

I've used this for a few hikes recently in changing conditions, meaning I packed a lot of essentials (layers, first aid, bivy, food, water and filter, etc.) and this backpack has been awesome. I find the fit is great and it is comfortable even when fully-packed and heavy. The front water flasks are KEY for me as I tend to drink a lot more when my fluids are readily available.

All round awesome day adventure pack! Love the size, how it hugs the body, and great/easy to access front pockets and compartments. Great running pack/daypack hybrid. Also love it for rock climbing!

Amazing pack for scrambling. Spent the day scrambling and soloing in the flatirons and it worked nearly perfect. I kept it fairly light and was able to very comfortable run in it for about 10 miles as well. good size for big single days out. the only flaw I had was the lack of elastic straps to hold the flasks in the chest pockets. As i was climbing they kept wanting to pop out, which could easily be fixed.

Other items have been decorated What I ordered was Arc'teryx Delivery was a North Face bag. I want to exchange Can I reorder after cancellation? $40 coupon cannot be created

Bought this pack as a day pack/summit pack to be used on single day and overnight alpine scrambles. On overnight trips, I would take out the pack's removable foam frame - which has a big velcro pad on it for the shoulder straps to attach to on the inside of the pack - and roll the bag up to be stuffed into my overnight pack. I thought that the pack would still be usable without the frame but in reality it was not optimal and frankly quite annoying. Without the foam frame, the shoulder straps had nothing to really attach to inside the pack, except for a thin strip of velcro which is meant to hold a small pocket in place. When the shoulder straps are being attached to this thin strip, the usability of the bag takes a big hit. I found that the shoulder straps kept falling off, even when the pack weight was not very heavy, and this was while the velcro was brand new and barely used. On top of this shoulder strap issue, I found the water bottle sleeves to be poorly designed - for larger water bottles at least. On numerous trips now, my water bottles have fallen out of these sleeves because they are cut just way too shallow. Even with the strap tightened all the way, the sleeves struggled to hold even a 1L Nalgene, which for an outdoor pack is kind of ridiculous. On an exposed ridge or just a steep face, if you lean forward too much you can say goodbye to your bottles. In summary, there needs to be some way to attach the shoulder straps securely to the pack even when the frame is out and the water bottle pouches should be deeper and more secure. Otherwise a nice lightweight daypack.

Very disappointed when I unboxed this to find there is not hydration bladder clip like on previous aerios packs. There is a bladder pocket and holes where the straps connect for a pass through but no way to keep it from sagging in your pack despite what the description says. Debating if I'll sew my own in or return. This is an expensive product to make such mistakes. Also not a huge fan of the bungee cord chest straps, personally I would prefer something flat and a buckle closure.

Bought this pack but returned it. Comfy and lightweight. Good for less than 12 mile hikes with one issue - there isn't a retaining clip for the hydration bladder. So the bladder will slouch when placed inside and being drained. A simple Velcro loop could have been attached to the interior area near the back of the pack. A miss in the design. Maybe it will be fixed in a revision if this pack. The front shoulder pouches are fantastic - store 700ml flasks, snacks, phone, lip balm. Love this design touch as its very useful. Pack fits nicely on a larger athletic framed male.

Picked up the new Aerios 18 excited to use it for hiking in the PNW. Overall this pack fixed many of the common complaint's from previous version. Namely, it adds a dedicated hydration bladder sleeve, adds a new Velcro-adjustable shoulder strap system, and moved the strap chest pocket zippers closer inside. Unfortunately, the design team made a huge mistake with this pack. It's missing a hydration bladder clip on the inside and there is no port to pass a hydration tube from the inside to the outside. These are basic and essential features for a pack like this. It's a shame this functionally it missing given all of the other fantastic hiking-oriented design features. The icing on the cake: the website feature list of this pack inaccurately states that a hydration clip and hydration tube passthrough are included. Neither is true. BE WARNED: the product features listed are not to be trusted. If they were to add hydration bladder features, this pack would easily be a best-seller for hiking and a no brainer for me. Still deciding if I will return it.