In-depth: Osprey Ariel AG vs Aura AG

As you know, when it comes to gear, we review backpacks the most.

Upon reviewing tens of most popular backpacks in 2018, we found that Osprey Aura AG 65 is the women's best backpacking backpack.

Osprey Aura AG 65 | from $201.95 scores 88/100 and is women's best backpacking backpack we tested. Adjustable AG (AntiGravity) Backpanel Suspension System feels exceptionally comfortable and keeps your back more ventilated than other women's backpacks. Many exterior and interior pockets allow organizing your items and have most of them readily available. Lightweight structure and excellent tool attachment capability adds to Osprey Aura AG 65 versatility and makes it convenient for any outdoor activity.

However, if you're planning to participate 5+ days of heavy hauling outdoor adventures mostly, Osprey Ariel AG 65 | from $499.00 becomes a better option because of its bulkier suspension system and rich features such as convertible top lid daypack and front access to main compartment.

Quick Comparison

Related Review: The 7 Best Backpacking Backpacks

Removable raincover is contained inside the upper top lid zippered pocket in both products.

Short Summary

Osprey Aura AG 65 Review

We found Osprey Aura AG 65 to be the women's best backpacking backpack. 

Excellent all purpose design makes Aura AG 65 perfect for any outdoor activity with both heavy and light loads.

Through state-of-the-art Anti-Gravity suspension system and exceptional hip belt and harness adjustability, it provides the best customized fit, perfect comfort and incredible ventilation.

Osprey Ariel AG 65 Review

Structure of Osprey Ariel AG 65 is bulkier. It has a burly suspension system and a very thick and sturdy hip belt. I know that it kind of sounds undesirable, especially in terms of weight, and I don't disagree. But it qualifies with heavier loads.

If you're planning hiking/camping trips mostly with your children, heavy loads or during winter, Ariel AG 65 will definitely make you feel more comfortable.

Another area that Ariel AG 65 prevails against Aura AG 65 is overall organization and features. Unique convertible top lid daypack and J-Zip front access to main compartment prove the extended trip/heavy load design intention of Ariel AG 65.

Before I get down to the nitty gritty, I'd like to remove a popular confusion about these products.

Aura AG and Ariel AG are Osprey's women's specific backpacking backpacks. Aura AG Series offer two different options with 50 and 65 liters while Ariel AG Series offer 55 and 65 liters, and hence the names.

We found that larger volume models are superior, -a more detailed post about this later-, so we're comparing 65 liters models of both products.

Men's specific counterparts to the Aura AG and Ariel AG series are Atmos AG and Aether AG respectively. If you're looking for Atmos AG vs Aether AG comparison, see our related post. 

Suspension

Backpanel

Both backpacks are supported with the anti-gravity suspension system, which is the latest suspension technology of Osprey.

Design intention of AG system is to make you feel like you're not even wearing the pack.

AG system improves your overall outdoors experience on 3 different aspects: 

1. Comfort: AG backpanel conveys the majority of weight to your hips, which are the largest muscles in human body as explained by Library of Congress in 2017[1]. This way you're kept less exhausted and able to walk longer distances more comfortable, as proven by the study of Epstein et. al. concluded in 2017[2].
2. Ventilation: Air flow between your back and the backpanel is increased with AG system. Aura AG 65 provides incredible ventilation. Ventilation of Ariel AG 65 is legit but not as good as Ariel AG 65. 
3. Stability: Your load and the backpack is stabilized by keeping them close to your body through AG suspension. Stability of Ariel AG 65 is superior with heavier loads but lacks with lighter loads. On the other hand, Aura AG 65 provides equally well stability regardless of load variance.

In short, back panel of Ariel AG 65 is bulkier, and actually a little too bulky to perform as good as Aura AG 65 with lighter loads. However, both packs promise to keep you less exhausted and sweaty along the way.

Shoulder Straps

​Shoulder straps are equipped with innovative adjustable stiffeners at the load lifter portion. 

Thickness, padding and seams are very decent in both products. 

Hip Belt

Two different innovative approaches are followed by Osprey for these products.

Fit-on-the-fly hip belt of Aura AG 65 is adjusted by pulling the lid inside the hip-belt after wearing the pack, which always makes the adjustment better and easier.

Hip belt of Ariel AG 65 is adjusted by visiting an Osprey dealer where an Osprey oven is available. They heat the hip-belt there and mold it to your hip.

For online purchases, custom heat molding is serviced in a local CM Certified Dealer anywhere near you upon paying extra cost.

Honestly, any hip belt is molded to your waist naturally. Molding process only speeds up the progress, so you don't have to worry about drastic bodyweight/waist size changes. Plus, you can remold the belt up to 3 times.

Hip belt of Ariel AG 65 is thicker and more sturdy, which is why Ariel AG 65 performs so well with heavy loads.

I don't have any problems with Ariel AG 65 hip belt, as it's pretty much above the market standards. It's just that hip belt of Aura AG 65 works so well it's difficult to compare any other pack with it. 

The only gripe we had with these belts is that they both squeak fairly while walking with them. To us, that's tolerable.

Storage

Compartments

Main compartment

Both packs are internal frame top-loading designs.

Unlike Aura AG 65, Ariel AG 65 offers an additional entrance to the main compartment from front. It's not an ordinary feature and makes all your items readily available. You don't have to dig through your equipment to reach an item stuck at the center. 

Sure you can pack your items considering the frequency of use, but it's still a premium and very useful feature to have.

Kangaroo pouch

A mesh unenclosed pocket (pouch) at the front surface is offered in both products. They offer plenty of room and usually utilized for storing wet, smelly or dirty items to keep them away from your inner drier equipment.

Sleeping bag compartment

Sleeping bag compartment is larger than a bear canister and is separated from the main compartment by a removable divider in both products. 

Top lid

Pockets: 2

Top lids of both packs are floating type, meaning that you can remove them or shift them upwards to accept overloading.

When removed for lighter use, FlapJacket covers the top entrance and is buckled to the front surface.

There are two zippered pockets on top of each other opening to the backside of the pack:

Convertible Daypack (US) / Raincover (Outside US)

As it's clarified Quick Comparison section in the beginning of this post, this difference only applies to store purchases. For online purchases, you should always read the product description regardless of the whereabouts of online retailer:

Because of convertible daypacks of other brands, I was biased against the daypack of Ariel/Aether AG Series to be poor at first. 

But when you remove the top lid, unzip the compartment at the top and reveal the shoulder straps inside this lid turns into a completely legit daypack that you can use perfectly for any daily activity.

It has two compartments and a gear loop - and it's even hydration compatible!

Raincover is attached inside the top lid compartment and is removable.

AddOns Pack Attachment

It's possible to attach a Daylite Daypack to Ariel AG 65, but not to Aura AG 65.

Additional pockets

Hip belt pockets

Aura AG 65: 2 zippered pockets
Ariel AG 65: 2 zippered pockets

Hip belt pockets are larger than smartphones and are useful to store frequently used items such as your phone, snacks, sunscreen etc.

Front zippered pockets

Aura AG 65: 2 zippered pockets, 1 unenclosed pouch
Ariel AG 65: 1 unenclosed pouch

2 zippered pockets at the front of Aura AG 65 reach all the way down and offerplenty of room.

Top lid zippered pockets

Aura AG 65: 2 zippered pockets
Ariel AG 65 inside US: Convertible Daypack
Ariel AG 65 outside US: 3 zippered pockets

Ariel AG 65's outside US provides an additional internal mesh pocket with a keyclip inside the top lid:

Sides

Aura AG 65: 2 unenclosed mesh water bottle holders
Ariel AG 65: 2 unenclosed mesh water bottle holders

In addition to standardized vertical installation, horizontal installation option offered in both packs makes storing your water bottle while wearing them very easy.

You can use the small loop below to reach and widen the mesh pockets for easier installation.

Also you can collaborate these mesh holders with upper (and maybe also lower) compression straps for a secure external gear attachment.

Compression Straps

Aura AG 65: Dual upper and lower side compression straps, one internal top entrance compression strap

Ariel AG 65: Dual upper and lower side compression straps, one internal top entrance compression strap, 2 front straightjacket compression straps

Red internal compression strap cinches the load downwards and adds stability:

In addition to dual upper and lower side compression straps, Ariel AG 65 provides 2 front compression straps additionally:

While packing light, burly suspension system of Ariel AG requires compression from multiple angles to prevent wobbling and decrease comfort, so it's well thought to add extra front compression straps.

Size, Volume and Weight

Although volume does change with size, sizes aren't a choice of volume and shouldn't be regarded as such. You should choose the size that corresponds to your torso height in chart below.

Using Osprey’s very own Size & Fit article [3], you can evaluate your torso length at home.

Durability

Osprey offers All Mighty Guarantee[4]. Although I'm pretty sure you'll experience zero problems with both packs, it's good to know you're safe anyway.

Features & Gear Attachments

Hydration Sleeve

As opposed to internal hydration sleeves, external hydration sleeves don't make you unpack when replenishing and there's no spilling risk when overpacked.

Trekking Pole Attachments

Both packs provide Stow-on-the-Go trekking pole attachment loops on the backside which make possible stowing during the hike:

Ice Tool Loops

Dual ice tool loops provide tol attachment at the front of the packs with bungee tie-offs.

Removable Sleeping Pad Straps

Both packs offer sleeping pad straps you can attach any gear externally and make more room inside:

Colors

Manuals

Osprey Aura AG 65 2018 manuals: 

US[5]/Outside US[6]

Osprey Ariel AG 65 manuals:

US[7]/Outside US[8]

Conclusion

We think that most backpackers are better with the Aura AG 65. It's exceptionally comfortable and more adaptable to a very wide range of outdoor activities with different loads.

Ariel AG 65 is a more heavy hauling pack. If you'll be hiking with heavy weights most of the time, which means either you'll be hiking for very long (5+ days), with kids or during the winter; choose Ariel AG 65.

References

1. Library of Congress. Muscles. Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/muscles.html
2. Epstein, Yoram et al. (2017). Mitigating load carriage burden – The Dynamic Weight Distribution (DWD) hip belt. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, Volume 20, S101. Retrieved from http://www.jsams.org/article/S1440-2440(17)31506-2/pdf
3. Osprey. Size & Fit. Retrieved from https://www.osprey.com/ca/en/fitting-learning/size-fit 
4. Osprey: All Might Guarantee. Retrieved from https://www.osprey.com/cl/en/customer-support/all-mighty-guarantee
   
5. Atmos/Aura Series Manual US. Retrieved from https://www.osprey.com/user_manuals/OM_AtmosAura_S18_ENG.pdf
6. Atmos/Aura Series Manual outside US. Retrieved from https://www.ospreyeurope.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/OM_AtmosAura_S18_ENG.pdf
7. Aether/Ariel Series Manual US. Retrieved from https://www.osprey.com/user_manuals/OM_AetherAriel_S17_ENG.pdf
8. Aether/Ariel Series Manual outside US. Retrieved from https://www.ospreyeurope.com/shop/media/wysiwyg/UK_OM/s17/OM_AetherAGArielAG_S17_ENG.pdf