Osprey pack fabrics

Are you trying to figure out why the straps fall apart on them?

I'm just trying to figure out a rational way to differentiate between them that circumvents the common but not very relevant bells & whistles stuff detailed in most reviews. All that Osprey tells me is that they use different fabrics in different bits, but it doesn't provide any objective info about the differences between them. 99% of reviews are just overseas stuff like this guy -- they pull a pack out on a bench, demonstrate where all the pockets are, state that it's great and you should go buy it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-cdlmrui-k (At 1:02 he states he "managed to fit anything in the back-pack" when he clearly has a giant tent awkwardly dangling outside underneath! At that point I stopped caring about his qualifications of bush-bashing.) That guy could have demonstrated 90% of the same stuff for an Osprey pack that weighed 1.5kg instead of 2.3kg, and he doesn't make any rational argument about why anyone should buy the heavier & more expensive one from the same manufacturer, even though I'm fairly sure it'd be meant to be more durable. I do know quite a few people in NZ who like Osprey stuff a lot, after trying it in off-track situations, and I did find one NA chap this morning who actually went into some meaningful thoughts about stitching, fabric and strap quality, even though not demonstrating any qualified knowedge of it besides "it's worked for me". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4JPiklpZ1A I'm really just trying to do some more research and wishing there was more info.

I remember Cam Junor (formerly of Macpac) briefly discussing fabrics on another forum site. To truly understand a fabric's properties there are many things to consider such as the fibre material and size (denier - and any post spun treatments to the fibre such as stretching; how the fibre is woven into a fabric i.e. the weave pattern, the thread count per inch, the warp and waft tension, any coatings supplied such as waxes, acrylic, polyurethanes, or silicones; or any post weaving treatment like calendaring (rolling between pinched heated rollers). All that means is the manufacturers don't give you enough info to make an informed decision other than make some generalisations. Generally a nylon is more abrasion resistant than an equivalent weight polyester, but the polyester has better UV resistance and would absorb less water. A larger denier means thicker fibres which again are generally more abrasion resistant than thinner fibres. Ripstop fabrics have a grid of thicker fibres to stop a tear before it get too long. Sorry can't be of more help than that. As an aside, I've never understood why canvas packs are so popular, they use a heavy fabric that requires a second layer of fabric (usually 500-1000 denier nylon) to protect the canvas. So why not just use the heavy duty fabric for the whole pack. While nylon usually has a coating for water resistance, it wears off fairly quickly so I just use either a big plastic rubbish bag/pack liner/dry bag.

Thanks, @nzbazza. That was very helpful.

I've got 2 Ospreys (Ariel) and don't hesitate to bush bash in them. I've not had any failure on them so far. I've had them a few years so they've been on quite a few trips, some of them pretty rough. I bought the first one and was so pleased with it I bought a bigger one for the Stewart Island long trips (56L).