HMG Aero 28 Review
An overall excellent fastpack held back from true greatness by undersized vest pockets
Hyperlite Mountain Gear Aero 28 is the latest contender in the fast-growing and highly competitive vestpack genre, and we’re stoked to see HMG entering the fray. At baseline, this is a smaller version of your quintessential Dyneema roll top pack, adorned with exterior pockets. However, this model is designed to sit slightly higher up the torso with vest harness straps that reduce bounce and sway while moving fast. It’s a generally dialed-in design, but diminished by overly tight vest pockets that make access much harder than it needs to be. Compare this to more great options in our guide to the Best Fastpacks.
- Weight: 17.8 oz
- Price: $349
- Materials: DCH, Dyneema Gridstop, Dyneema Stretch Mesh
- Frame: None, 1/8″ thick back panel
- Load Capacity: 25 lbs
- Internal Volume: 28L
- External Volume : 8.5L
- Useful add-ons: Versa or Vice Versa Fanny Pack, Drawstring Stuff Sacks, Roll Top Stuff Sack, HydraPak UltraFlask 500 ml
- Peer Group Competitors: Zpacks Nero Ultra, Outdoor Vitals Skyline, Nashville Cutaway, Gossamer Gear Fast Kumo
- Pros: Best-in-class materials. Ultralight. Highly water-resistant. Carries securely without bounce and sway. Roll top cinches down on sides. Excellent pack body and body pockets. Durable stretch mesh.
- Cons: Vest pockets are too small. Expensive. Single-not-double vest strap connector to bottom of pack body. No option for hip belt pockets.
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HMG Aero 28 Pack Body, Features, & Materials Composition
The pack body of Hyperlite Mountain Gear Aero 28 is nearly identical in form and materials composition to most of the brand’s other ultralight backpack designs. Most specifically, it’s like a smaller version of Contour 35. Same mostly-seam-taped, highly water resistant, durable DCH chassis in white or black, same roll top opening with side buckles for top down compression, same Dyneema stretch mesh bottom and front pockets (though the latter could have been a couple of inches taller), same 1″ removable waist belt, same Dyneema gridstop side pockets.
And at 28 liters of internal volume, it’s the perfect size for storing a fully dialed-in overnight kit. Aero 28 comes with a built-in 1/8″ thick foam back panel that increases comfort via lump-blockage, while providing some structure to the pack body to ease the loading process.
Rounding out the feature set are side compression straps, trekking pole and ice axe holstering loops, bonus tie off points around the mid-body, and a top strap for additional compression or storage. In short, we agree with every design choice and feature on the chassis, and find it to be exemplary within the fastpack genre.
Lastly, because there is no hip belt, and thus no hip belt storage, we recommend pairing the HMG Aero 28 with an HMG Versa or Vice Versa fanny pack.
Hyperlite Mountain Gear Aero 28 Vest Harness & Pockets
As the vest harness fastpack is still an emerging niche, almost every vest design is still unique. HMG Aero 28 utilizes a continuous harness where the left and right sides wrap around the back of the neck. It has minimal strap padding, just a thin sheet of spacer mesh and the least we’ve seen in any vestpack. But despite its thinness, the straps are fairly wide and do a good job at dispersing pressure. Unfortunately, the lack of structure can cause them to easily invert or get twisted by the weight of loaded vest pockets as you take the pack on and off, requiring semi-frequent untangling.
One design element we prefer vest harnesses to have is dual connector straps wrapping around the sides of the rib cage connecting the lower side of the vest harness to the lower side of the pack. Generally, this creates a more secure fit, pulling the vest both farther downward and backwards. The HMG Aero 28, however, only has one strap, which yields a less dialed-in, albeit-still-perfectly-sufficient torso hug with a diagonal downward/backwards pull. We are keen on the triple sternum strap configuration, which connects parallel daisy chains. This is highly preferable to slider bars, which tend to drift or come undone. The top two sternum straps are static, while the bottom is elasticized for stretch.
But where the Hyperlite Mountain Gear Aero 28 falls shortest is undersized vest pockets – both the opening and girth are too small, and the material is not stretchy enough to compensate. In our testing, the bottle pockets are so small that it was a struggle every time to get even the narrowest of 500 ml soft flasks in and out while full, a frequent and annoying task in the backcountry.
A 500 ml Smartwater bottle can fit, but can also be uncomfortable. Instead of contouring to the curves of the chest like a soft flask, its stiff flat sidewalls sit uncomfortably due to the combination of rounded pectoral muscles and the fact that the pack needs to be worn with a tight fit. Furthermore, the tight opening of the lower vest pockets intersects with the bottom of the bottle pocket and pushes the bottom of bottles upward and out of the pocket. The cinchable hydration pocket openings are too narrow to fit wide headed flasks like Katadyn BeFree .6L. And as it barely even fits the narrowest of bottles and soft flasks, we can’t imagine ever using the cinch feature.
Basically, everything about the vest hydration pockets is just too small. Though to be fair, this problem is endemic to the vestpack genre, and in our opinion, every hydration pocket on every vestpack is too small except for the Zpacks Nero Ultra series.
The secondary/lower pockets, which run from the base of the vest and meet up with the bottom of the bottle pockets, are good for storing flat snacks, like energy gels and bars, but can’t fit very many, and cannot fit bulkier items. Unlike the bottle pockets, they’re only a bit to small, but should still be larger. However, the most annoying part about these pockets is that their elasticized opening pinches the lower section of the bottle pocket, and further complicates the insertion of both hard and soft-sided bottles.
Lastly, when the bottle pocket and the primary snack pocket are both in-use, there is practically no space available whatsoever inside the small zippered pocket on the left front side, and definitely not enough room for a phone, not even close.
When And When Not To Choose It
The Hyperlite Mountain Gear Aero 28 is a specialized pack, not your daily driver. Generally speaking, its 28L interior volume is too large for day hiking or single-day-running, and too small for backpacking. This is because it’s designed to be used for fastpacking, which means minimalist ultralight gear and some combination of slow running and speed hiking. The vest harness is specifically advantageous for such endeavors because the torso hugging fit reduces bounce and sway as you move quickly.
The Dyneema Stretch Mesh pockets all run tighter than average, creating lots of friction on their contents. As such this fastpack’s pockets deliver an extra secure hold, but at the expense of challenging access. This configuration tends to favor runners over hikers, who would have preferred looser and easier to access pockets, and care little about the contents bouncing slightly.
Put that all together and the sweet spot for this pack is probably three days and 50-100 miles, depending on your endurance and mileage ambitions. Carrying four days is possible with low-bulk high calorie-to-weight ratio food. But generally speaking, for most people, 4+ days worth of food will start to get uncomfortable as the frameless, hip-beltless design transfers no weight off of the shoulders, and the shoulders are not very padded.
When To Choose Hyperlite Mountain Gear Aero 28
- Multi-day running, fastpacking, speed hiking
- Trips in the 2-3 day range
- Used in conjunction with a fully dialed in ultralight kit
When Not To Choose Hyperlite Mountain Gear Aero 28
- The average backpacking trip
- In conjunction with average backpacking gear
- Trips 4+ days long
- Day hiking
HMG Aero 28 vs its Peer Group
For an in-depth comparison of Hyperlite Mountain Gear Aero 28 to its competitors, please reference our fastpack buyer’s guide. But for a quick understanding, here’s how it lines up against four core competitors.
HMG Aero 28 vs Zpacks Nero Ultra 38
Compared to HMG Aero 28, the Zpacks Nero Ultra 38 is slightly less expensive; slightly lighter weight; has as similar sized and designed chassis (the volume referenced in Nero 38’s name counts external pockets whereas Aero’s does not) with similar body pockets and overall features, though no bottom pocket; is made with Challenge Ultra instead of Dyneema (similar best-in-class fabrics); has a superior vest harness with larger, more user-friendly vest pockets, uses a sit pad back panel instead of a built-in foam panel, and has the option for an attachable padded hip belt with optional pockets. In general, we prefer the Zpacks Nero because of the larger more user-friendly vest pockets, but dedicated runners may appreciate the higher torso fit and smaller/tighter pockets of HMG Aero which do a better job of holding gear in place while running. Read more in our Zpacks Nero review.
HMG Aero 28 vs Outdoor Vitals Skyline 30
Of the four fastpacks listed, these two are the closest in design. Compared to HMG Aero 28 the Outdoor Vitals Skyline 30 is half the price; slightly heavier; has a similar chassis design with similar pack body sizing and features configuration; is made with Robic nylon instead of Dyneema which is less durable and not waterproof; has similarly sized vest pockets which are also slightly too tight/small, has a thicker and better aerated foam back panel; and an overall similar fit which does an excellent job of reducing bounce and sway. Due to its use of waterproof durable Dyneema Fabric instead of robic nylon on an otherwise similar design, the HMG Aero is the better performance option, but at nearly twice the price, it’s not as good of a value proposition. Read more in our Outdoor Vitals Skyline 30 review.
HMG Aero 28 vs Nashville Cutaway 30
Compared to HMG Aero 28 the Nashville Cutaway 30 is slightly less expensive; slightly lighter weight; made with ECOPAK instead of Dyneema which is more sustainable, albeit also slightly heavier and less durable; has a unique continuous front/side pocket configuration with a larger external storage capacity; slightly larger vest pockets; foam sit pad back panel; option for padded pocketed hip belts; and finally more customizable sizing and volume options. From a performance perspective, these two are also close – we prefer the Nashville vest, but the Aero pack body. Read more in our Nashville Cutaway Review.
HMG Aero 28 vs Gossamer Gear Fast Kumo 36
Compared to HMG Aero 28 the Gossamer Gear Fast Kumo 36 is slightly heavier; much less expensive; has much more shoulder strap padding; inferior pack body fabrics (Robic vs Dyneema and traditional stretch mesh vs Dyneema stretch mesh) which are less durable and less waterproof; slightly larger vest pockets; complimentary padded removable hip belt with pockets, and a foam sit pad back panel. The Aero 28 is the superior pack, due mostly its premium materials composition, but also because it holds gear higher and tighter and is thus superior for running. That said, it costs significantly more and the Fast Kumo is a better value. Read more in our Gossamer Gear Fast Kumo 36 review.
Hyperlite Mountain Gear Aero 28 Review Conclusion
With larger vest pockets, the HMG Aero 28 could have been one of the very best fastpacks on the market. But as-is, factoring in the undersized vest pockets (an endemic issue to the vestpack niche), it’s still a premium option well-worth considering. It carries well, fits securely, is ultralight, made with best-in-class materials, and the pack body is nearly perfect, and nearly waterproof, and has great front and side pockets. We think multi-day runners specifically will really like this one, since the tight vest pockets are less of a downside for that use case.
