REASONS TO BUY
Comfortable
Plush padding
Highly adjustable
Good number of pockets
Easy-to-remove brain
REASONS TO AVOID
Large spring-loaded waistband is hard to get into
Suspension can feel bulky
Expensive
Osprey Aura AG 65 Review
With unparalleled ventilation, comfortable straps, and a full range of adjustable features
The Osprey Aura has versatile features, a highly adjustable fit, and superior ventilation.
Credit: Jeffrey Mogavero
Our Verdict
The comfortable Osprey Aura AG is a long-time crowd-pleaser for women-specific backpacking packs. It offers versatile adjustments that accommodate and cradle nearly every body type. The Aura features a sliding torso adjustment to fine-tune your fit, even on the go. Summertime sweat and the associated chafing are mitigated by a breezy back panel, ventilated hip belt, and plush yet breathable shoulder straps. We like the multitude of large pockets with wide openings for organizing equipment and providing quick, convenient access on the trail to your essential gadgets. For sweaty ladies, this highly ventilated pack can really level up your backpacking experience. Check out how it compares to the competition in our article on the best women's backpacking backpack.
Editor's Note: This article was reviewed and updated on April 30, 2024, to include new comparisons from our most recent round of testing and ensure we still stand behind our findings.
Compare to Similar Products
 This Product
Osprey Aura AG 65 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awards |  Best Ventilation and Adjustability |  Best Overall Backpacking Backpack for Women |  Best Bang for Your Buck | Most Versatile Women's Backpacking Pack | Best Pack for Super-Hauling in Comfort |
| Price | $287.61 at Amazon Compare at 4 sellers | $259.15 at Amazon Compare at 3 sellers | $190.00 at REI Compare at 4 sellers | $199 List $138.93 at REI | $329.95 at REI Compare at 3 sellers |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Bottom Line | The Aura 65 AG is an incredibly comfortable fully-featured pack that is well ventilated and super adjustable | This women's pack is comfortable and well-designed, including near-effortless adjustment options, a trampoline mesh back panel, and a removable brain | A comfortable, roomy, durable pack that is friendly on your wallet and your body while you hike | From ultralight overnights to meandering multiday excursions, this lightweight and affordable pack can be adjusted to adapt to different types of demands - all in an extremely straightforward way | This large pack has all the features you need, plus all-day comfort, stability, and support for heavy loads via its overbuilt suspension system |
| Rating Categories | Osprey Aura AG 65 | Osprey Eja 58 | Osprey Renn 65 | REI Co-op Flash 55... | Gregory Deva 60 |
| Comfort (40%) | |||||
| Ease of Use (25%) | |||||
| Weight-to-Volume Ratio (20%) | |||||
| Adjustability (15%) | |||||
| Specs | Osprey Aura AG 65 | Osprey Eja 58 | Osprey Renn 65 | REI Co-op Flash 55... | Gregory Deva 60 |
| Advertised Volume | 65 L | 55 - 58 L | 65 L | 55 L | 60 L |
| Measured Weight | 4.5 lb | 2.7 lb | 3.6 lb | 2.7 lb | 4.7 lb |
| Overall Weight-to-Volume Ratio | 1.11 oz/L | 0.79 oz/L | 0.89 oz/L | 0.79 oz/L | 1.25 oz/L |
| Volumes Available | 50, 65 L | 38, 48, 58 L | 50, 65 L | 55 L | 60, 70 L |
| Sizes Available | XS/S, M/L, adjustable torso | XS/S, M/L, adjustable torso | One size, extended fit one size; adjustable torso | XS, S, M, adjustable torso | XS, S, M, adjustable torso |
| Organization Compartments | Lid, front pocket, side pockets, dual front pockets, hip belt pockets, main compartment | Lid, mesh side pockets, front stretch pocket, dual zippered pockets on hip belt, main compartment | Lid, side pockets, hip belt pockets, main compartment | Lid, double side pockets, front pocket, hip belt pockets, shoulder strap phone pocket, main compartment | Lid, front pocket, hip belt pockets, 1 water bottle compartment, main compartment |
| Measured Volume (main compartment) | 40 L | 45 L | 40 L | 45 L | 45 L |
| Access | Top, side, bottom | Top | Top, bottom | Top | Top, side, bottom |
| Women's Specific Features | Women's specific fit | Women's specific fit | Women's specific fit | Women's specific fit | Slim profile and women’s-specific Response A3W Suspension |
| Hydration Compatible | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Rain Cover Included | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Sleeping Bag Compartment | Yes | No | Yes | No | No |
| Bear Can Compatible | Yes - Vertical | Yes - verical and horizontal | Yes - Vertical and Horizontal | Yes - Vertical | Yes - Vertical and Horizontal |
| Main Materials | 210D honeycomb nylon | 100D high-tenacity recycled ripstop nylon | 600D polyester | 100D robic ripstop nylon; bluesign approved | 210D 40% recycled nylon & 420D 45% recycled nylon with PFC-free DWR |
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Our Analysis and Test Results
The Osprey Aura 65 is one of our favorites because of its comfortable women's-specific design. We appreciated the Anti-Gravity suspension system, which provides plenty of breathability on long days in the backcountry and continues onto the hip belt to keep your waist ventilated. The Aura can fit many body types, has premium comfort features, and has classic organizational systems. It is an admirable, all-around comfortable pack for many different users.
Performance Comparison
We love the stretchy mesh pocket on the outside of the pack.
Credit: Jeffrey Mogavero
Comfort
A unique suspension design brings a high degree of comfort to the Aura AG. A single mesh backing stretches the span of the back panel and connects continuously through the hip belt. It is a soft, perforated panel that offers incredible breathability. The hip belt is tough to get on, although it does loosen up a bit over time, and the angle of the counter within the belt itself caused issues.
The Anti-Gravity (AG) suspension system is the star of this pack. Former versions of the Aura featured mesh back panels, adding breathability and conforming support. The current AG takes it to the next level with Exoform padded shoulder straps, a seamless stretch mesh back panel that wraps onto the hip belt, and an adjustable harness with reinforcing load lifter straps. The pack has an incredibly lightweight perimeter frame. The continuous design of the back panel with the hip belt offers another degree of stability and support. It manages varying weight loads well.
The continuous well-ventilated mesh of the Aura AG offers a unique hugging fit at the same time as it delivers some of the best breathability.
Credit: Madison Botzet
The hip belt design is a unique aspect of the Aura. Unlike many packs where the hip belt moves independently from the rest of the bag, the Aura's hip belt fits into the back panel in one integrated design, restricting the hip belt from having a full range of motion outward. This seamless construction cradles your hips but creates a challenge when getting into the belt. You have to manually pull the hip belts open and wedge yourself between them. A few of our testers found that the hip belt sits higher in the front than in the back, causing the frame to dig into the derriere of curvier women, while the front of the hip belt rides up high and can dig in and pinch the belly — this effect was more pronounced with heavier loads. However, most of our testing team found the hip belt extremely comfortable once situated.
Another awesome thing about the Aura is that the shoulder straps fit well to most women's shapes and ventilate via loosely woven layers of mesh and padding. The shoulder harness yoke runs on the narrow side, though, and might not be the best fit for women with broad shoulders.
One downside of the Aura AG is how it handles heavier loads — those over 40 pounds. Because of its superb breathability, the suspension system sits away from your back, unlike most stabilizing designs that pull the bulk of the weight against your back. Therefore, we noticed that the top of the pack shifted around when scrambling over uneven terrain, crossing logs, and bending over to pick up trash we found on the trail.
One of the most comfortable and adjustable packs we've tested, the Aura's shoulder strap padding extends to provide more coverage for broader chested ladies.
Credit: Jeffrey Mogavero
Ease of Use
We regard the Aura AG highly for its organizational features. The well-placed pockets offer easy access to your gear while on the trail, and the compartments separate trail gear from camp gear so you can easily set up camp without having to unload the entire pack.
The Aura maintains a variety of useful features without being excessive. These features include the main body, the two zippered pockets on the outside, and the one large mesh stow pocket. Though it provides many storage options, it is relatively simple and easy to use, which we appreciate.
Though we wish this was a U-zip, the side zip access to the stuff inside our pack is pretty nice too.
Credit: Jeffrey Mogavero
Although the main compartment appears too slim and curved to fit a lot, it can even fit a bear canister vertically with a little room to pack around. A bear can will also fit horizontally in the very bottom of the pack if you prefer. The main compartment has top and bottom access; the top cinches closed with a drawstring and has a small fabric cover for trips where you remove the lid. With the brain attached, this large fabric flap becomes unnecessary and can feel like it's just in the way. The bottom compartment is ideal for a sleeping bag and has a detachable internal separator to allow the main compartment to function as one or two chambers.
Our favorite pocket on the pack is the large mesh outer pocket. It stretches out to accommodate extra layers but remains tight against the pack when empty. We love how the mesh and fabric integrate, adding to the durability of the mesh pocket without compromising volume (you can fit a helmet in there). Behind this pocket are two surprisingly spacious zippered pockets.
The brain has two zipped pockets: a small one on top for storing identification, camera batteries, and other small necessities, and a larger one below that, with enough room for layers, lunch, and more. The zipper is on the shorter side. But, with the light color of the fabric, it makes it easy to find what you stashed inside.
The hip belt pockets are so spacious we could fit two Clif bars and a satellite messenger with room to spare.
Credit: Jeffrey Mogavero
The hip belt pockets are huge. A smartphone easily fits along with snacks and lip balm. The side water bottle pockets fit tall, narrow bottles well, while a wider, Nalgene-type bottle fits snugly. It is easy to access bottles with vertical and horizontal entrances. While in the horizontal position, the taller bottles get in the way of your elbows, while wide, short bottles are hard to get in and out.
We love the horizontal access of water bottles on this pack when paired with a shorter bottle that won't hit our elbows.
Credit: Jeffrey Mogavero
Weight-to-Volume Ratio
At 4.5 pounds, this pack certainly isn't the lightest in our lineup, but when you want the Cadillac of backpacking packs, all the bells and whistles add up. It also has a large capacity, resulting in a reasonable weight-to-volume ratio. We measured the main compartment at 40 liters and the lid at 10 liters, making the overall volume 50 liters before considering additional pockets.
Full of fancy suspension, pockets, and all the bells and whistles, it's no wonder that the Aura is heavier. But the trade-off is a well-ventilated pack with plenty of organizational features and a large capacity. If you are sensitive to carrying a lot of weight or know that your gear's weight adds up, opting for a pack with the Aura's echelon on suspension and comfort is likely to be a good choice.
The zipper on the brain is smaller than we'd like, making it harder to access your stuff. It's still a big lid though with plenty of space.
Credit: Jeffrey Mogavero
Adjustability
The Aura stands out for its incredible adjustability, earning high marks in this metric. The suspension system has a sliding range of adjustment in the torso length, and it only takes a few seconds to move the shoulder straps.
This model comes in three torso sizes yet still offers three and a half inches of torso adjustability within each size, making it even more forgiving of a pack.
The sliding torso adjustment on the Aura AG is one of the easiest to change and is more stable than most, as it's attached to the back panel on both sides rather than just in the center.
Credit: Jeffrey Mogavero
The ability to elongate the hip belt is great for backpackers with fuller hips. The hip belt has one of the largest ranges of functional adjustability we have tested — it can adjust from 24 inches to 52 inches. While the webbing is extendable, what truly makes this belt stand out is that it has seven inches of adjustable padding. For women with larger waists or wider hips, it can be extremely frustrating and uncomfortable when the hip belt padding ends behind your iliac crest. For tall women with small waists, a pack that fits both your torso and your hips is hard to come by. The Aura's impressive range of adjustability makes it a great option for pretty much every body.
The hipbelt padding is adjustable and extends pretty far to get a customizable fit.
Credit: Jeffrey Mogavero
Should You Buy the Osprey Aura 65?
Osprey is known for making backpacks with epic suspension, supreme comfort, and often tons of bells and whistles. The Aura delivers all of these attributes and more for a rather high price. If you want a workhorse of a pack that can haul heavy loads while providing comfort and excellent ventilation, the Aura is a great choice. We love the breathable, hip-cradling comfort of this pack that manages to feel like a bear hug while at the same time being practical and durable.
What Other Women's Backpacking Backpacks Should You Consider?
The Osprey Aura AG 65 continues to be a favorite fully-loaded pack with great breathability, year after year. The Gregory Deva 60 is a close second, with thick cushioning, super-hauling capabilities, and a rockin' suspension system not dissimilar to that of the Aura. The Deuter Aircontact Core 60+10 is another great pack for high-gear outings. The Aircontact Core offers a bit more in terms of organizationally specific compartments but can comfortably tote a ton of gear. If comfort is your main priority, we love the bounce and fit of packs with trampoline back panels like the Osprey Renn 65 and the Osprey Eja 58.
—
Madison Botzet and Ally Arcuri
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