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My wife and I started hiking this season (we have been cycling for 10 years before that). We have pretty light and compact gear, except for the backpack. We carried Osprey Atmos 50 and Osprey Talon 22 on a week trip. Everything including food and water fit in nicely. Base weight of the 50 liter pack was around 7,5 kilograms and it was about 15 at the most with the food and 5 liters of water. Now I am considering to switch to Osprey Exos for the next season to save additional 500 grams.

My concern is the suspension system on the Exos which seems to be less comfortable than that on the Atmos. I already had some discomfort when carrying 15 kilograms in the Atmos. I am concerned the weight saving might not be worth it.

Is 500 gram weight saving significant? How noticeable is the difference in comfort from 500 gram weight saving?

I have another crazy idea - bring the Atmos to the local workshop which mades my bike bags and let them replace the heavy fabric on the Atmos by a lighter fabric. But I would prefer not to do that.

Update: We hike in northern Europe, temperatures 10-20 degrees Celsius, 5 days without a resupply (at most), water has to be carried for at most one overnight stay. Winds up to 35 m/s, but rarely. No snow. We hike in trail runners and most of the gear is already reasonably light. Our combined base weight is about 14 kilograms (for two persons).

Loduwijk
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Yuriy Kulikov
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    This is subjective and you've tagged it [tag:ultralight]. People who obsess with ultralight are going to say yes. Others are going to say no. Others yet are going to say "it depends". Personally I have tried some ultralight and it's not for me. My backpack is 105 litre. What climate do you hike in (-20°C sleeping bag or +10°C sleeping bag? winds up to 10 m/s or up to 35 m/s? what is the largest amount of snow you can reasonably expect overnight?), how long do you hike for (3 days or 3 weeks until resupplies?), how heavy/deep rivers to ford, are there any trails where you hike, etc... – gerrit Aug 21 '19 at 11:15
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    Agree this shouldn't be tagged ultralight since neither pack fits that definition and this is too subjective. Regardless, you imply that you have tried the Exos and found it less comfortable or are you just assuming that without having tried it? You should check out this review, but everyone is different. I would expect the Exos to start getting uncomfortable at 15 kg as well. If you haven't already, I'd try one on at a shop and load it up. – topshot Aug 21 '19 at 12:23
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    @gerrit Is on point. Personally, I find this dilemma ridiculous. That's a prime example of what people call a 'first world problem'. 500g in a backpack that weighs 30 times that is only 3% of the mass. Would you sacrifice comfort for a 3% gain? Focus on your footwear. Saving 500g there would make a huge difference. – Gabriel Aug 21 '19 at 12:37
  • @GabrielC. Since we're anyway being subjective in a question that is going to be put on hold — opinions on saving 500g here anyway. There are people who claim that "5 pounds on the feet is one pound on the back, such as here, but this is true at 6 km/h on a treadmill; the same study shows no difference at 3 km/h which is a more realistic hiking scenario, in particular off-trail (the accepted answer in the linked question is bad). – gerrit Aug 21 '19 at 12:50
  • I have never worried about the weight of the backpack itself, nor chosen one based on its weight relative to others. How big it is, can I pack it the way I want to, and how good the suspension system is are the main worries. I might even lean towards the heavier one, particularly if it was because various bits were beefier (you really don't want your hip belt breaking deep in the back country). – Jon Custer Aug 21 '19 at 13:32
  • Thanks for your comments. I have edited the question by adding hiking conditions. I have tried both packs, and they both felt ok in the shop, but it makes a difference after hours of hiking. I have only had hiked with Atmos. I do not consider "real" ultralight packs like Mariposa because of the availability in Europe. – Yuriy Kulikov Aug 21 '19 at 20:35
  • @GabrielC I get your point. That is exactly the question, should I sacrifice comfort for 3-5% saving? I normally calculate how many grams can I save per $ investment, and saving on the backpack seems like a good idea in this regard. I strive to find a good compromise. For example, I carry rather heavy Etherlight sleeping pads (420 grams each) because it is very comfortable. But if I can save 500 grams without a noticible decrease in comfort, I would go for it. – Yuriy Kulikov Aug 21 '19 at 20:43
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    @YuriyKulikov That's why the question is on hold and will probably remain so. There is no objectively correct answer and any one will be purely opinion-based. – Gabriel Aug 21 '19 at 20:48
  • I am looking for opinions or an answer, which will provide some guidance or criteria on how to decide. – Yuriy Kulikov Aug 21 '19 at 21:45
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    @YuriyKulikov Many people on this site look very unfavorably on questions which look for opinions. They try to keep it as matter-of-fact as possible. We often do get a lot of opinions, but you're likely to get stopped by the objectivity-police if you do. Often, questions can still be salvaged by rewording them to put the emphasis on the objective aspects of the question. As an example, I edited your Q to make it a bit less opinion-based. – Loduwijk Aug 21 '19 at 23:17

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