Arc'teryx Backpacks

Dave Lane started the company in 1989 as Rock Solid, making climbing gear, and it took the Arc'teryx name in 1991, after the Archaeopteryx fossil. It is based in North Vancouver, British Columbia, and has changed hands twice: Salomon bought it in 2001, Amer Sports acquired it in 2005, and Anta Sports took a controlling stake in Amer in 2019. Products are made by factories in several countries, including China, Vietnam and the Philippines. Its ReBIRD program says it will repair gear for as long as it is repairable, with most repairs under the limited warranty and a disclosed fee for work outside it.

Arc'teryx's current hiking range is the Aerios line, built around a thermoformed AeroForm back panel and a grid-faced Hadron fabric. The Aerios 18 is the small technical daypack at about 1 lb 4 oz. The Aerios 35 is the one to look at for longer days or light overnights: a roll-top that adds up to 10 L, a removable 7000-series aluminum stay with an anti-barreling frame sheet, and three torso lengths with interchangeable harness and hipbelt sizes. The Bora 65, the old heavy hauler, no longer appears on Arc'teryx's US store, so any still for sale is remaining stock; it has the RotoGlide hipbelt that slides and pivots with each stride and a grid-reinforced N400 nylon body.

The Aerios 18 and Bora 65 suit people who will use what they pay for. The Aerios 18's shape-holding back suits scrambling, but the molded panel fits a narrower range of backs, so it needs trying on, and far cheaper 18 L packs cover ordinary day hikes. The Bora 65 is quiet and composed at 50-60 lb with nearly waterproof fabric, but light packers report it feels inert under 30 lb, and reviewers point out that no rain cover comes with it.