Arc’teryx Aerios 30 - Review 2025

Compact and Comfortable

The Aerios 30 isn’t your old-school alpine uncle’s backpack- it’s built for scramblers, fast-packers and ambitious trail runners looking for a chimera somewhere between a lightweight hiking bag and a running vest. Its focused approach to recreation is spelled out in its low-profile design and some unusual design choices.

Instead of opting for the more typical backplate and shoulder straps favored by most of our other top picks, the Aerios has a chest harness lifted directly from running vests. This not only keeps the bag and your gear from bouncing around too much while you’re moving quickly, but also gives you greater freedom of movement where straps are less likely to bite and be abrasive.

Despite its obvious notes from the trail running community, the Aerios offers a little more in the way of support than a dedicated running vest. The foam backplate features an additional, removable framesheet to keep the pack from barreling out against your back when it’s completely loaded up. On that note, let’s move on to what the Aerios can actually carry.

Carrying Capacity and Pockets

The Aerios 30 has a limited carry capacity and a modest max weight by design. That said, savvy packers can do a lot with 30 liters. With the right attitude and a willingness to forgo some creature comforts, you can easily pack for a couple of nights and still keep things as fast and light as your heart desires.

The main compartment is accessed through a top-loading zipper. It’s not our favorite design for finding things on the go- but this isn’t a huge deal when you’re so limited with what you carry. The 30 liters of main compartment isn’t the end of the story here, the Aerios also offers a plethora of stretchy pockets, lash points, and clever places to tuck away your on-trail essentials such as smartphones, snacks, sunglasses, and more. There’s even a dedicated soft bottle holder for hikers who don’t like hydration reservoirs.

It’s important to note that the Aerios 30 is focused on non-technical and mostly gearless adventures. The most you should expect to tote along with you in this regard is a helmet and an ice axe- otherwise you’ll quickly exceed what it’s capable of comfortably carrying.

Mountain Made Durability

The Aerios 30 is built to last, constructed using a combination of 210D Cordura Ripstop Nylon and 100D Cordura Nylon. In other words, you can trust this pack to withstand rough handling on the trails without falling apart. Rocks are sharp, and alpine enthusiasts are notoriously rough on their gear (our testers aren’t above throwing our packs down on the peak in a bout of exhaustion.) The point is the Aerios performs admirably when faced with the pointy realities of time in the hills.

Weight

While the Aerios isn’t the lightest pack in the world, it is an impressively lightweight option for what you’re getting. Most ultralight packs would tear like tissue paper if they were to so much as brush against the wrong rock. The Aerios is a well-executed balancing act between keeping things in the lightweight weight class, and the resilience it takes to survive in the mountains.

Features

Looking at the pack, it seems like it was exclusively made for peak baggers looking for a good day pack to tackle their weekend objectives. It’s so unique among the other packs we’ve looked at, that we’ve already covered most of the features there are to talk about.

The material durability, low-profile straps, and plethora of stretchy pockets lend themselves to storing phones, snacks, sunglasses, and other on-the-fly essentials- including room for a softbottle if you’re not a fan of hydration reservoirs.

One notable feature of the Aerios pack is its interior design. The white interior is specifically chosen to reflect light, enhancing visibility inside the bag. This makes it easier to locate your items, especially in low-light conditions. You won’t have to fumble around blindly when searching for your gear.

Value

Beyond uphill enthusiasts, the Aerios 30 might also be a good choice for hikers looking to put in big miles over the course of the day, or trail runners who find themselves wanting more than just a vest for their longer runs. It’s on the small side for any serious overnight applications but offers enough in the way of volume to easily justify bringing an emergency shelter or bivvy along with you.

The biggest drawback we’ve seen with the Aerios 30  (beyond its highly specific design) is the price. At nearly $200, it’s on the extreme upper end of the price spectrum for these kinds of products. Ultimately, this is the price you pay for specificity, and as such, we’d recommend that anyone looking for a high-end day pack look toward better-rounded options.

We Recommend It!

The Aerios 30 isn’t for everyone- but it does fill the needs of a few specific communities very well. If you like to move fast through uphills and don’t slow your pace for scrambles, the Aerios is one of the best options out there for you.