Backstory: I'm looking for a pack for Rainier, Denali, and other expedition stuff. After trying on a bunch of packs the Osprey Argon 110 and Gregory Denali Pro seem to fit the best. The Argon may fit a bit better, but I'm a little concerned with the hard sides/rails that extend into the pack.

Anyone have any experience with either pack, or both, and care to comment? Thanks!

I've had a number of Gregory packs (including the Denali Pro) and the mannequin they use to fit their packs on must closely resemble me as I find their packs to be very comfortable. My favorite two large models in their line have been the Wind River and the Denali, both of which I still own. I've not tried the Argon 110.

40L is about right for Rainier, 60L if you insist on bringing everything you own. 110 is wildly too much.

Rainier routes with carry-overs (e.g. Liberty Ridge) call for a bigger pack but a 110L is 30-50L bigger than you need. It might be perfect for doing the complete Wonderland Trail however (I really want to hike that some day!).

elichten wrote: Anyone have any experience with either pack, or both, and care to comment? Thanks!

One thing with the Gregory Pro, it's loaded with features. Features that can be removed My partner on Denali last year cut off 1.0 lbs (measured) of extra material from the pack without sacrificing the way he was using it.

I have the predecessor of the Argon, the Crescent 110. I used it on Denali. Most of my mates had packs in the 85-liter range. I had the advantage of not having to worry about getting everything in- there was always just a tad more room left.
It's a very comfortable pack, even with 70 lbs. in it (I trained with that much, and ended up carrying that much around Windy Corner when one of our group had to offload some weight because he was having a bad day. YMMV)
My only complaint (other than the weight of such a big pack) was that after a period of time, the super-curvy shoulder straps started wanting to roll because of pressure from the sternum strap- not a problem once on, but made putting it on a hassle. I don't know what changes were put into the Argon....
That's my pack in the middle here:
http://www.summitpost.org/big-hat-and-a ... ali/600765

I have the Argon 110 and really like it. I originally purchased a Denali Pro for Denali in 2009, but I hated the way it felt when I was training so I resold it on ebay and picked up an Argon 110. The Denali Pro might have been a tad too small for me, so perhaps it was more of a fitting issue. Either way, I was very happy with the Argon 110. It worked great on Denali and other long winter backpack trips. I am a huge fan of Osprey packs. They all seem to fit me and carry loads way better than other brands.