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02/22/21
Bramble
Likes
The concept, the durability, the material, quality construction
Dislikes
I tried this bag in an attempt to pair down. The features sounded perfect, but in reality, they didn't perform as I expected. This all may be personal preference, and may not apply to everyone's likes/dislikes. The straps to attach a foam pad to the outside of the pack do not keep the pack underneath, as most other packs do, but on the front of the bottom of the bag. It's odd, and is frustrating. Additionally, if you plan to use the included rain cover and attach a foam pad to the outside of your pack, this will not work. I expect this is the case with most backpacks with included rain covers. They are exactly the size of the bag, so no use if you attach anything substantial to the outside of your bag. The side mesh pocket, meant to keep a water bottle, failed to keep my 32 oz Nalgene in place. It was difficult to wedge in with a loaded pack & it just worked its way out quickly with movement. The 'stuff it' pocket access isn't as accessible as traditional mesh pockets, but hindered by the straps to compress the bag. As you cinch these to stabilize the load, the opening in the 'stuff it' area gets less easy to 'stuff'. Not a deal breaker, but the traditional mesh is just easier to use. Lastly, the feature I was most excited about, the exterior water bladder storage. The idea is that you do not have to remove all the items from your bag in order to refill your water bladder. This sounds great! In reality, when you attempt to reload the now full water bladder into your packed bag, the full bladder will not go back into place. Sadly, this is the biggest flaw I believe. I had high hopes and could have overlooked the other flaws if this had worked out, but it did not. In order to reload the full water reservoir, I had to remove most of the contents of my backpack, not any differently from a regular internal water sleeve. Keep working on it Osprey. It's a great company with innovative ideas, but this feels like it lacked some real world trials before it was released.
