Osprey Xenith vs Aether

If we want to be able to compare Xenith vs Aether, then we should first address to their positioning in Osprey's entire backpacking backpack product line briefly.

It's crucial to make a healthy comparison. 

Osprey packs are also far from being cheap. I'd strongly recommend you to read this short post entirely, but if you really want a short answer, here you go:

My top pick would be Aether AG 70. If you think you need more volume, get Xenith 88. If you'll mostly be backpacking for, say, longer than a week; and sometimes even with kids, pets or during the winter; ONLY THEN you might really need a beast like Xenith 105. 

Design intentions of Xenith & Aether 

If you're a regular read of my site, then you probably know that I recommend Osprey's Atmos/Aura Series a lot.

Aether/Ariel AG, on the other hand, toys with this equilibrium.

It's geared towards extended (4-5+ nights) trips more than anything else. This is why it's a more niche backpack and hence appeals to a more specific type of audience: Heavy hauling and/or extended backpacking. 

So it offers larger volume options, is more feature rich and comes with a bulkier suspension for heavy hauling. 

What's more, Xenith/Xena takes this aggressive stance of Aether/Ariel AG EVEN FURTHER and targets extended trips & heavy hauling even more so than Aether/Ariel AG. You can sense this in my popular chart below, as well as my Best Osprey Hiking Backpacks post: 

So it offers EVEN LARGER (Xenith 105 XL Size equals to 113 liters of volume - see Manual here [PDF]) size options, a whooping FOUR accesses to the main compartment, tons of external gear attachment capability and a rock-solid frame & suspension that hauls heavy loads over long distances without a hitch. 

Pushing 6 lbs, it's quite a bit heavy in return. 

As you see, these packs are impractical for those who won't be going on extended (4-5+ nights) backpacking trips and/or hauling heavy loads for long distances. 

This is why I think Aether AG 60 is sort of "misplaced". 

Aether AG 60

60 liters of pack volume is considered average.

Extra accesses to the main compartment would probably be overkill (or even useless) at this level. 

Also, because of limited volume, you most likely won't pack it much heavier than usual either. 

In case you haven't noticed yet, the two most important extra advantages of Aether/Ariel (and also Xenith/Xena for that matter) aren't being exploited with 60 liters. 

Hence not only the extra money but also the extra weight spent on them turn to a waste. 

So, this might sound a little bit aggressive, but when trying to choose between Xenith and Aether, I'd start by eliminating Aether AG 60.

And, if you've been considering Aether AG 60 seriously, I'd now recommend you to consider Atmos AG 65 as well. You can read more about these in my Osprey Atmos vs Aether post. 

Now this leaves us with 5 options: Aether AG 70, 85, Xenith 75, 88, and 105. 

Xenith 105

Generally speaking, for any trip that takes longer than a week, a 90+ L backpack is considered optimal. This leaves you with one option only: Xenith 105. 

This is why the frame of Xenith 105 is 0.5 mm thicker than those of 75 and 88 (4 mm vs 3.5 mm). It's designed to carry the heaviest of backpacking loads: up to 80 lbs (36 kg)!

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Aether AG 70

If, on the other hand, you aren't going to be backpacking for that long most of the time, then my recommendation would be Aether AG 70. 

It's my favorite along the entire Aether/Ariel line. In my opinion, Aether/Ariel line design intention (pockets, accesses, size of suspension system and harness) responds and works the best with 70 liters. 

As long as you won't be backpacking with kids or pets, during winter, or for longer than 7 nights; I see no point in getting a pack larger than 60 - 70 liters either. 

Combine these two facts and you'll see why the 70 liters is the most wide spread used pack of Aether/Ariel Series.

I've talked more about this in my Osprey Aether 60 vs 70 vs 85 vs PRO post.

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Xenith 88 vs Aether 85 

If, on the other hand, you aren't really sure whether 70 L would cut it for you (either because of the reasons mentioned above or any other), then I'd recommend you the Xenith 88. 

Think of Aether 85 as a little inferior alternative of Xenith 88. 

88 liters is considered high. If you pack like most people, I'd expect the total weight of your entire inventory to exceed 55-60 lbs (27.2 kg). 

This is considered quite heavy, to the point where even Aether's robust suspension start coming short. 

This is why getting a pack with an even bulkier suspension at roughly the same volume, Xenith 88, can be a better idea. 

Even if you pack don't pack heavy stuff, one extra side access you get with Xenith 88 will make accessing your items much easier than Aether AG 85. 

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What about Xenith 75? 

Xenith 75 is a fantastic pack, but I recommend Aether AG 70 over Xenith 75 for the same reason I recommend Stratos 50 over Atmos AG 50 in this site. 

The reason: It'd most likely be overkill. 

Extremely bulky suspension and robust harness of feature-loaded Xenith start making a practical advantage once you're past, say, 80 liters of volume. 

If you're like most people and you don't always pack extremely heavy stuff...

Then Aether AG 70 would work perfectly fine for anything smaller than 80 liters in my opinion.

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Now let's lay out some other facts that led me these picks and conclusions. 

Accesses

Xenith allows dual side zip-accesses to the main compartment, while the Aether allows only one - through a J-zip front access in 70 & 85 L and through a side zip in 60 L. 

Hip-belt

Released after Aether/Ariel's so-called "IsoForm" custom molding design, "BioForm" custom molding design of Xenith/Xena is Osprey's most recent technology in this field. 

This is why superior BioForm hipbelts of Xenith/Xena are going to respond even better to your unique curves during the molding process. 

Durability

It's true that 420 D main fabric of Xenith is twice as much durable compared to Aether's 210 D. 

But since even Aether's 210 D face fabric is extremely durable, I wouldn't consider increasing that durability even further as an important benefit - not to even mention Osprey's killer life-time warranty policy as well. 

After all, you'd like to pay for things that matter in practice. 

Hydration

Xenith comes with an external and Aether comes with an internal hydration sleeve.