Rating the Four Backpacking Packs I've Used

Weight, Capacity, and Comfort: How Do They Stack Up?

Getting into backpacking is a deeply intimidating activity as far as gear goes. While it’s relatively cheap to enjoy once you have all the necessary equipment, actually acquiring the gear can be expensive. There are ways to cut costs -- outfitters have sales, a lot of items (especially clothes) can be purchased secondhand, and most pieces should be durable enough to last a lot of time once you have it -- but the upfront expense can be a bit intense.

It’s hard to learn what works for you unless you shell out hundreds of dollars every so often to try out new gear, and I’d unfortunately argue that personal experience is the only true indicator of what gear will work for you. Doing research is helpful to narrow down what you’re looking for, but actually taking gear on trips is how you’ll learn what fits, what works, and what’s not worth your time. If you can swap or borrow gear from a friend for a trip, that will do more for your understanding of your gear needs than reading someone’s gear list.

This post serves to rank my personal experience with the 4 backpacks I’ve used since I started backpacking in 2019. Some of them have seen thousands of miles of trails, and others have found new homes. Beyond this list, there are a ton of other packs out there.

(Skip to the bottom for a stats overview of the four packs.)

Disclaimer: body type has a lot to do with pack fit! I’m relatively short with a curvy athletic build, and that won’t apply for everyone reading this!

Backpack Breakdown

Osprey Aura AG 65 Women's Pack

Price: $370.00 USD

Capacity: 65 liters

Weight: 4 lbs 7 oz

Frame Type: Internal Frame (Aluminum)

Water Resistant: No

Subjective Comfort Rating: 5/5

Subjective Personal Rating: 3.5/5

In 2019, when I was first getting into backpacking, I didn’t know very much about gear, or gear research, or how to find gear. My understanding was that outdoorsy people liked REI, so I simply walked into an REI and asked the nearest employee for help. Lighter gear has become more mainstream, but at that time, ultralight gear was not something you could find at REI. Like probably every woman who walked into their store, they led me to this pack.

To be clear, it worked great for me. Like… great. I used it for the entire Appalachian Trail, and it was comfortable the whole time. Because of its internal frame and the “anti-gravity” (AG) weight distribution system it provided, it never felt too heavy, despite being far and away the heaviest pack on this list. In fact, it carried weight so well, I would almost argue that it felt lighter than most ultralight setups I’ve tried.

That said, the capacity was way too much for what I ever needed. It has 8 exterior pockets and one main pocket, so it makes for easy organization. The extra space allowed me to organize my gear on the AT in a way that was ultimately unnecessary. Having more carrying capacity didn’t force me to pare down on what I could (and should) bring.

There is a men’s equivalent to this pack that Mitch used on the Appalachian Trail, and he loved it. He has never replaced this backpack, and I don’t know if he ever will.

Osprey also has a lifetime gear warranty, which means if any of your Osprey packs break or tear somewhere, they will repair or replace your item, no matter how long it’s been since you purchased it.

If your backpacking needs are 1-2 nights at most, you prioritize function over weight for the rest of your gear, and you like being able to organize your stuff into different pockets and pouches, I would highly recommend this pack. Especially given the warranty situation, it’s the only pack you would really ever need.

Gossamer Gear G4-20

Price: $205.00 USD

Capacity: 42 L

Weight: 1 lb 4 oz

Frame Type: Frameless

Water Resistant: No

Subjective Comfort Rating: 3/5

Subjective Personal Rating: 3/5

This pack is a great bang for your buck option. For just over $200, it provides a lot of good stuff. That said, it is my least favorite of the bunch.

Of the four backpacks I’ve tried, this is the lightest one by a few ounces. Despite being so lightweight, the pack has a lot of padding incorporated on the straps. One of my favorite things about Gossamer Gear packs is they come with a sit pad that, when stored, serves as back padding, and I think that’s a really smart design choice. Actually, this pack is full of smart design choices. One of the side pouches is tall enough to hold a one-person tent, and I wish that were a more standard feature in other backpacks. The external pouch is wildly spacious; it seemed to never run out of room for me to stuff random layers or snacks if I needed to. That said, I’m not sure how durable the pouch fabric is, given how stretchy and malleable it is.

This is the only pack in my list that is unisex, and as such, I didn’t find it very comfortable on my body. When I had longer food or water carries and therefore a heavier pack, I felt a lot of the weight being carried on the outside of my shoulders, especially since the shoulder straps sat widely on my frame. The sternum strap felt a little suffocating, as they didn’t account for a woman’s anatomy. I think if I had a smaller chest, wider shoulders, and/or narrower hips, this pack would actually have been great. Like I said, it’s a unisex (read: primarily men’s) pack.

This is a pack I would recommend for someone who wouldn’t describe themselves as curvy and who wants an ultralight pack. This was my gateway into ultralight gear, and even when I was using a bear canister and a mummy bag, I was able to fit all my gear comfortably.

Symbiosis Gear The Aspen

Price: $299.00 USD

Capacity: 38L

Weight: 1 lb 9 oz

Water Resistant: Yes

Frame Type: Frameless

Subjective Comfort Rating: 4.5/5

Subjective Personal Rating: 5/5

I love this pack. I loooove this pack. The woman who designed The Aspen lives in Colorado and markets this pack as “boob friendly,” and I can attest that it lives up to that promise. I carried this pack for the entire Continental Divide Trail in 2025, and I plan to use it for future thru-hikes as well. (Full disclosure, this pack was gifted to me by the brand, but I am in no way being sponsored to say anything positive about it.)

I was actually nervous to switch to this pack from the G4-20; I wasn’t downsizing the rest of my gear, so reducing the carrying capacity was a point of concern for me. However, it didn’t feel like I was getting rid of space. I was even able to carry a BV475 bear canister (the second-largest size) and sweatpants the entire CDT.

One of my favorite features of The Aspen is the sternum strap; not only does it adjust in tightness, but it can be moved up and down the shoulder strap to fit your exact chest. The straps were surprisingly nicely padded, so even though this pack is ultralight, it didn’t dig in at all.

Don’t let the imperfect comfort rating make you think it’s uncomfortable. Because it lacks a frame to distribute weight, the times I had big food and water carries and therefore a really heavy pack meant that I was carrying all the weight on my body. However, unlike the G4-20, the shoulder straps are S-shaped to accommodate a narrower frame, so it didn’t feel like I was actively injuring my shoulders when the pack was extra heavy.

In a way, this pack suffers from me having too much experience with it, because I’ve really put it through the ringer and identified its weak points in a way that the other packs haven’t gotten that treatment. That said, the vast majority of the time, when the pack isn’t being stuffed with long food carries and extra liters of water, this pack is pretty much perfect.

If you are looking for a femme-specific ultralight pack, I cannot begin to recommend this one enough. I foresee this being my go-to pack for a long time.

Zpacks Women’s Arc Haul UltraEPX 60

Price: $399.00 USD

Capacity: 60L

Weight: 1 lb 7 oz

Water Resistant: Yes

Frame Type: Internal Frame (Carbon Fiber)

Subjective Comfort Rating: 5/5

Subjective Personal Rating: 4/5

This is my newest pack, and therefore the one I have the least experience with. (Full disclosure, it was gifted to me by the brand, but I am in no way being sponsored to say anything positive about it.) However, despite my limited use with it, I can already understand the hype.

Even though it has the second largest carrying capacity in this list, it has the second lightest weight. Unlike the Aura AG, the internal frame is carbon fiber instead of aluminum, so the weight distribution system is very light. Also unlike the Aura AG, this pack is constructed more like the other ultralight backpacks: one large internal sack, one large external pouch, and two side pouches for water bottles or similar. I love the roll down top because you can compress the pack to a smaller size if the whole interior isn't filled up, whereas my Osprey is going to be at its full height even if there's extra space inside.

The pack is very modular. There are two torso length options, three strap options, and four belt size options, so you know that you’re getting the exact right pack for your build. You can also opt to order separate hip belt pockets. I've taken to using a fanny pack for basic storage for items I need to readily access while hiking, so hip belt pockets are unnecessary for me, but many people prefer them to the fanny pack system.

There is a men's equivalent of this pack, as well as a variety of liter capacities offered for both the men's and women's versions.

While I've only ever used it for a couple of overnight trips, I’m aware of a lot of women who have used this pack to hike the 211-mile John Muir Trail in California, and it seems very suitable for both needs. For shorter trips, you can bring more luxury items like books and hammocks without needing to care too much about weight; for thru-hikes, it would provide more space for bigger food or water carries.

I would highly recommend this pack for someone who wants a high-capacity pack without all the bells, whistles, and weight of an Osprey. It functions like a smaller pack while carrying a good amount of gear, so I think it can be really versatile.

Summary

These are my personal experiences with each of these packs. I would never deign to tell you what pack will work perfectly for you -- in fact, I don’t believe there’s such thing as a perfect pack for anyone, just ones that are more or less good enough for your needs -- but I hope this has provided at least some insight if you are looking for some new gear.

I’m stoked that there is a larger market for femme-specific packs now to incorporate different body shape needs instead of the "standard" shape of straight-bodied athletic man. Out of the four packs I’ve tried, I’m excited that three of them are built specifically for a woman’s body, and the attention to those details are evident to me.

Based exclusively on my experience, the Symbiosis Gear The Aspen is the pack I would recommend the most for someone looking to get into ultralight backpacking, the Zpacks Arc Haul UltraEPX for someone who needs a bit more space but still wants to be conscious of gear weight, the Osprey Aura AG for someone who likes being organized and wants the pack to bear a lot of the weight for you, and the Gossamer Gear G4-20 for someone who has a bit straighter of a body than I do. All of these packs are incredible in their own way.

Stats Overview

Osprey Aura AG 65 Women’s Pack	Gossamer Gear G4-20	Symbiosis Gear Aspen Pack	Zpacks Women's Arc Haul UltraEPX 60
$370.00 USD	$205.00 USD	$299.00 USD	$399.00 USD
65L	42L	38L	60L
4 lbs 7 oz	1 lb 4 oz	1 lb 9 oz	1 lb 7 oz
1.09 oz/L	0.48 oz/L	0.66 oz/L	0.38 oz/L
Not Water Resistant	Not Water Resistant	Water Resistant	Water Resistant
Internal Frame (Aluminum)	Frameless	Frameless	Internal Frame (Carbon Fiber)
Men’s Equivalent: Atmos AG 65	Unisex	No Men’s Equivalent	Men’s Equivalent: Arc Haul UltraEPX

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