Ceres 50

I purchased the Ceres 50 as a day cragging pack for ice climbing. I found the pack comfortable and to have just the right amount of room for a single day on the ice.

I specifically liked the hip belt tensioning system. Instead of tightening one side at a time, the standard fair, you pull both straps toward each other at the same time. I think Osprey is on top the game with this design. I also like Osprey’s compression system. You can adjust the pack for almost any size load. I found this pack has plenty of adjustments to make it fit extremely well. Comfort is key here. One last feature worth noting is the water bladder sleeve and tube hole. Both nice features for a pack.

Now for the bad stuff. I spent two hours removing straps from the pack to lighten the load. I don’t ski so off came the ski loops(Some I had to remove with scissors). The Velcro on the ice tool holders is poor and wont stay fastened. Osprey should have redesigned this mechanism to fix the Velcro problem. Instead they added a metal clip as a safety. Although this did fix the problem it also added weight and there is almost no way to unclip them with heavy gloves on. I removed the Velcro tool holders completely since you can use the compression straps to hold your tools. I also removed the plastic clips used for the “add on” pack since the pack has enough room as is.

Now that I have completed the removal process I want to add and change some things. First, I added a bungee to hold crampons under the compression straps. Second, and oddly enough, this climbing pack does not have a compression strap under the top lid to hold a rope. Although the lid does a descent job at this a rope compressions strap would be much more secure. Lastly, the gear loops are in an unusual spot. They are far back on the hip belt and angled down. These would be much more usable if both ends of the gear loops were attached closer to the hip belt center buckle.

Although there are several changes I made to this pack I feel it is a winner for day cragging. It is comfortable and carries day loads well. With a few minor configuration changes this pack will continue to carry my loads to the ice.

This pack is a great cragging or summit pack. Small and light yet eats up all the gear you can throw its way. It is very comfortable to wear.

The pack has a great compression system and lots of places to strap things on the outside if needed. Fully expanded, this pack can be used as a long day or overnight pack. The pack has a built in hydration system (hanger) that is well designed. The waist bely has built in gear loops that are real handy. 2 axe loops are complimented by a velcro strap to keep that axe on the pack.

One complaint is that the top loading drawstring system does not fully close no matter what you do. This could present a problem in extreme wet conditions. Still, I would highly recommend this pack.

I own quite a few packs of various sizes, but my Ceres 50 has become the pack of choice for day hikes, day climbs or light weekends. It rides really well. The hip strap cinches nicely and could carry considerably more weight than you could load in this pack.



I like the tool sleeve (which I can access with the pack on) and the pouch. The wand pockets are a litte difficult to access for water bottles, but they work.



You can carrry skis either on the sides (good strap engineering) or diagonally on the back. I like that flexibility for back country trips.



I has a high and trim profile for a small pack, but it still fits in the overhead on the plane.

I have the Ceres 70, same pack, just more room for longer trips....improvements over other packs I have used- the waist cinch mechanics-unique water bottle side pockets (pack can be jammed full and you still can get the bottles in)-size variation (you can get small waist and medium back)-whistle built in chest strap (no extra weight, the chest strap buckle is a whistle), -biggest improvement?-once you are in on approach and have set up camp, this pack breaks down better than any I have seen for your day climbs....it completely wraps tight from behind, etc.-plenty of gear loops-handle my skis well

I used my Ceres 50 for a couple of overnight trips. The whistle on the chest strap comes in handy. The pack compresses with three side clips for a extremely trim profile if desired. The side pockets are really not built for water bottles if the pack is loaded out. Fastex compression straps would be a nice improvement to this design for bulky items like sleeping pads and pickets. The strap closures on the bottom and side are pretty hard to use; especially if you have cold fingers. There's a handy snow shovel pocket in the back. When it's on your back it's extremely comfortable and very adjustable. I bought a rain cover based on some soggy NW experiences. The crampon "excessory" pocket is a nice add-on.