SectionHiker.com Backpacking Gear Reviews and FAQs 
The Vargo ExoTi 50 is an external frame backpack made with an ultralight titanium-alloy frame. Weighing 42 oz (2 lbs 11 oz), it combines the ventilation and load-carrying benefits of an external frame with the light weight of a modern, ultralight-style pack bag. While the pack’s titanium external frame is unique, it also has a highly functional compression system with a lower center of gravity than old-school external frame backpacks. If you’ve been deterred from trying an external frame backpack because they’re too heavy or hard to pack, the Vargo ExoTi 50 is the cure you’ve been waiting for. It combines the best elements of an external frame with the packability of an internal frame backpack.
Vargo ExoTi 50 External Frame Backpack
Comfort
Weight
Suspension
Features
Adjustability
Sizing
Durability
Ultralight External Frame Backpack
The Vargo ExoTi Backpack has an ultralight external frame made using titanium, combined with an internal frame backpack, making it much less top heavy compared to a traditional external frame backpack. Nimble and lightweight, it combines the best properties of an external frame backpack with the ease of use of an internal-frame style pack bag.
Specs at a Glance
- Type: External frame
- Gender Unisex
- Torso length: 16-22 inches (40-55 cm)
- Hipbelt size: 24-60″ (61-152 cm)
- Pack volume: 3,051 cubic inches (50 L)
- Weight: 2 lbs. 11 oz (1.21 kg)
- Bear canister compatibility: Vertical in pack bag
- Maximum recommended load: 40 pounds+
Backpack Storage and Organization
The ExoTi 50 has a pack bag that would feel at home on an internal frame backpack. It has a floating top lid with four webbing straps and can be raised or lowered to compress gear against the top of the pack bag. The lid has one large top pocket and is ideal for storing items that you need close to hand, like a map, GPS, gloves, or a hat.
The pack bag has a large main compartment with a deep internal hydration pocket. It has a central webbing loop so you can suspend a hydration bladder. However, there is just one hydration port, located above the left-hand shoulder.
There are also two mesh side water bottle pockets, both sized to fit a single liter-sized water bottle. I can reach back and pull them out or replace them while wearing the backpack, which is pretty cool to be able to do with an external frame backpack. The side pocket mesh is not terribly durable, but the bottom of the pockets is reinforced with solid nylon, so they’re less likely to rip when you place the pack on the ground.
While the pack bag itself isn’t that innovative, it’s positioning on the frame is. When the pack is full, the bottom of the pack bag lines up with the base of the titanium frame. This gives the ExoTi 50 a low center of gravity that’s comparable to an internal frame backpack, and lower than a classic external frame backpack, which feels top-heavy and tippy in comparison.
Backpack Frame and Suspension System
The Vargo ExoTi 50 external frame backpack has a classic rectangular box shape with three horizontal struts for extra rigidity. The pack bag is attached to the frame vertically with a webbing strap and along the sides with velcro, like a classic Kelty external frame backpack.
The suspension system is entirely separate from the pack bag and consists of a hip belt, lumbar pad, and adjustable shoulder harness which can be moved up or down to accommodate different torso lengths. The hip belt has two zippered mesh pockets, large enough to fit an iPhone, but the mesh isn’t very strong or durable, so I’d caution you to keep this pack on-trail. Like the hip belt, the shoulder straps are backed with lightly padded breathable mesh, with one horizontal hydration tube keeper on each side, and a rail-based sternum strap.
The hip belt has a central buckle and pull forward straps that provide a mechanical advantage for getting a tight fit. The hip belt wings are 4″ wide and lightly padded compared to a conventional external frame backpack, like a Kelty, which has a much beefier and heavily padded hip belt for carrying heavier loads. I found the hip belt wings a bit short on my 38″ waist, barely reaching around my hip bones, despite the fact that the hipbelt is 60″ long. This also compromised the usability of the hip belt pockets which I had to reach backwards to use.
The lumbar pad is fairly assertive, but I’m very sensitive to pressure in that spot, and other people might find it more comfortable depending on where you wear your hip belt (high or low). It is a permanent part of the hip belt and cannot be “reduced” in size, unfortunately, like a Gregory Baltoro 65, which has removable padding shims that you can take out to reduce the lumbar pad’s profile.
The torso length is adjustable by shortening or lengthening a webbing strap that connects the shoulder harness to the hip belt. It doesn’t have any length indications so you have to adjust it by feel and by inspection, making sure to keep the lifter straps at a 30-45 degree angle (see video below). This may be a bit intimidating for beginners, but more experienced backpack users will find it to be a straightforward process.
While the hip belt and shoulder harness are backed by breathable mesh, the rest of the frame is uncovered and ventilated, which helps keep you cooler and allows your shirt to dry faster. Lest you write off the benefit of a ventilated backpack, they do cut down on the amount of sweat you experience between the cheeks, and are one of the key benefits of external frame backpacks.
Compression and External Attachment and System
The ExoTi 50 has two orange webbing straps that criss-cross over the front of the pack bag and can be tightened to bring the load closer to your hips and core muscles. They work well as long as your pack contents are compressible. The effect is similar to REI’s uplift compression system (see REI Flash 45 review) which pulls loads up and closer to your back, so that you’re not pulled backward and off-balance.
However, the crisscrossed front straps don’t work well as external attachment points for bulky objects if you want to attach gear to the front of the pack. In that case, your best bet is to lash it to the top of the pack, under the floating lid, and not underneath the pack bag like you’d normally do on a conventional external frame pack. This is because the bottom of the ExoTi 50 pack bag is flush with the bottom of its titanium frame and there’s not really any room to attach it. While you could scrunch it under the top lid, I’ve found that attaching the item to the top of the titanium frame with ski straps is even more secure and comfortable to carry. The top lid is also easily removable if you don’t need the extra pocket.
Comparable External Frame Backpacks
| Make / Model | Volume (L) | Weight |
| Mystery Ranch Terraframe | 50L, 80L | 5 lbs |
| Seek Outside Gila | 57L | 2 lbs 10 oz |
| Seek Outside Divide | 74L | 2 lbs 12 oz |
| Seek Outside Unaweep 4800 | 79L | 2 lbs 11 oz |
| Vargo ExoTi AR2 | 46L | 2 lbs 12 oz |
| Vargo ExoTi | 50L | 2 lbs 11 oz |
| ZPacks Haul Ultra | 60L | 1 lb 3.6 oz |
Recommendation
The Vargo ExoTi 50 backpack combines an internal-frame style pack bag with a titanium external frame, combining the best of both worlds, a bag that’s easy to pack and organize, with an adjustable-length, ventilated external frame that can carry heavier loads. Weighing just 2 lbs 11 oz, ExoTi 50’s low center of gravity and compact size make it possible to use almost anywhere you’d use an internal frame backpack. That’s not to say that the ExoTi 50 carries like an internal frame backpack, because it doesn’t. It’s far stiffer, less body-hugging, and will make you stand up straighter. But the ExoTi 50 is by far the nimblest external frame backpack I’ve ever used and a great way to experience the benefits of an external frame backpack without giving up the packability of an internal frame backpack.
Likes
- Stiff frame improves your posture
- Good back ventilation
- Internal frame style pack bag is much easier to pack than the pack bags on “old school” external frame packs.
Dislikes
- Lumbar pad is assertive and may be uncomfortable for some people
- Hip belt wings are shorter than the hip belt sizing would indicate.
- External mesh durability could be improved.
Updated 2023.
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Vargo donated a backpack for review.
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Sigh. This looks extremely cool. I sigh only because I have just recently replaced my Mariposa with a new Mariposa ;)
Interesting. I wonder if titanium will catch on for pack frames or remain a niche product, like Zpacks’ carbon fiber. Your table showing comparable packs is especially useful. It looks to me like Zpacks’ carbon frame packs are significantly lighter, with greater volume for about the same price. Which one would be more comfortable for carrying a given load on rough terrain would probably depend a lot on an individual hiker’s body type, but my bet would be on Zpacks’ tensioned arc over Vargo’s straight titanium rods.
I’ve been thinking about dropping zpacks from that list but I’m on the fence about it. Is there any value in having an external frame you can’t lash gear to? Or does an external frame count as an external frame as long as it’s visible. Follow my quandry?
As for whether titanium will remain a niche product. Most definitely. Carbon fiber is the material of the future.
I see your point about being unable to strap gear directly to the Zpacks tension-curved frame, but the stays provide enough structure to the pack to make it easier to strap unwieldy items to the outside of the bag. It’s kind of a hybrid between internal and external frames, bending categories like a “tarp tent.” I consider it an external frame due to the airflow and structured suspension. I had never considered Seek Outside until seeing your chart. Interesting website. I still own an ancient and huge REI external frame pack, using it mostly for hauling stuff for winter basecamp or cabin trips, with a small pack for day trips from base.
You asked, “Is there any value in having an external frame you can’t lash gear to? ”
I think so, yes. There are a couple reasons – admittedly, nothing major. But they would include the fact that on some external packs, the design is such that worn or damaged soft parts can be replaced (e.g., hip belt, shoulder straps, sometimes the bag itself). I don’t think that’s generally true of internals, though there are some cases (IIRC you’ve reviewed them) where hipbelts are held on merely by Velcro and can be changed out. Not sure I’ve ever seen replaceable shoulder straps on an internal though, but Kelty sells them for some of their externals.
Another reason is that most externals I’ve seen are fairly vertical in their main “chute” orientation. To provide similar airflow benefits, many internals have a curved main compartment, sometimes dramatically so, giving you a hunchback look. This can make packing – and searching for an item – a little tricky.
Finally I’d say that, regardless of how much external frames is open for lashing more gear, they tend to have a rigidity that many internals can’t match with their stays and HDPE framesheets.
I honestly don’t know why people call Zpacks Arc series “external frame” packs. They’re just internal frame packs with the “frame” on the outside. Yeah, I know how that sounds. But lots of other pack makers have a “curve” in the back with “internal” stays that produce the same effect. They also *feel* much more similar to the Zpacks, compared to any real external pack. I have a Zpacks Arc Air sitting next to me with 24 pounds in it that I’ve been walking around the house wearing. It is not at all the same feeling as a true external frame pack.
Do you think the pack might be better with a bit of vertical curve in the frame ? Can you even bend titanium ? At that price I sure would hate to find out that you can’t the hard way.
Not sure how that would be different from their curved lumbar pad…you can bend titanium. They make subs out of it!
I truly loved my old Camp Trails Model which I carried until the bag rotted apart and I could not find a replacement since the Company had been swollowed up some 10 years earlier.. I then switched to a Kelty 50th Annaverasry Model which I found out Collectors are wanting, so I went to the next best pack I could find and that was a Osprey Kestrel…Which I may replace with an Osprey Aenther soon. I like the weight of the Vargo frames and the belt looks like an old patagonia model, but I do not plan on downsizing my pack space nor pay more for less as in $300.00…. Not thanks, that killed it right there, titianium or not…
“Tank youse veddy nice”, but I’ll stick with my Osprey EXOS 58 pack. It is THE most comfortable UL pack I have ever used. The “trampoline” back meshes comfortable, cool and a place to store my Thermarest eggshell sit pad. I just cannot see the Vargo back being as cool or as comfortable.
And the X’d straps on the front of the pack are way too wide (weight) and may be unnecessary. So back to the drawing board for Vargo’s pack.
Hi Philip,
Do you have any thoughts on the more modular ExoTi BOG version? It has a removable dry bag instead of a fixed bag, which seems like it could be either a really clever idea or a big fail!
Cheers
Dominic
It makes perfect sense, but there are a lot of other people who make similar packs. I’d take a look at them too.
The ULA Epic
Mystery Ranch Terraframe 50 (see review)
https://sectionhiker.com/mystery-ranch-terraframe-50-external-frame-backpack-review/
Packs from Seek Outside
Its a pretty common design theme in hunting packs.
And of course any Kelty external frame pack bag is removable.
I just returned this pack. I really wanted to like this pack but found the belt to be inadequate for my 34″ waste line. It’s going to sound contradictory, but while I loved the way my hips moved and felt when walking with this pack, I hated the belt. Not only should the padded portion of the belt be a few inches longer, I think the belt itself should be a little bit wider and heavier to give a more secure feeling. If Vargo beefs up the belt, even if it adds 4-6 oz., they will have a fantastic pack in my opinion. The lumbar pad did not bother me. Next stop, a Granite Gear Crown 2 38L, which I will order thru the link at your site. I hope it works out as I’m not a returner by nature.
You did the right thing. Manufacturers that don’t sell adjustable length hip belts should expect returns. I hope you like the Crown2 38L. I used mine again yesterday and just adore it. Their adjustable length hip belts are fantastic!