Top positive review
4.0 out of 5 starsA guy's review - almost a perfect bag
Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2017
Okay, so I want to answer the questions that I seem to hard a hard time finding decent info for from other reviews and on the product page itself. For the record I am a 5'10" dude at about 185 lbs so I had a lot of concerns about a smaller bag like this. After trying it out, here's what stands out- hopefully this is helpful to people with similar interests as I had:
Color: I liked it much more than I thought I would. Went with black because frankly the other color options are abhorrent looking (except for the blue with yellow trim, which was $15 more). But it is actually a deep charcoal in person. I think it looks great.
Size: As I said before: 5'10". About 185. Fairly broad shoulders. I will say that this bag looks decent and fits fine, but I DO WISH I had gone with one of Osprey's larger models. You can see in one of my pics how the bag looks when it is just sitting naturally on me - as far as looks go, I think it's not too big, not too small. But it's not the bag itself that's the problem, it's the straps. They are super narrow and very short. You can see in one of my pictures that with the bag at a comfortable position (not hitched all the way up) I have MAYBE about 5" of slack left in the strap. The chest harness has a lot of extra room, but is annoying because there is no convenient way to store the extra slack (one of the reasons I love North Face bags). The belly strap, much like the arm straps, is very small with little extra.The bag fits, but if you are someone much bigger than me, this bag will NOT work for you. Not without some serious modifications, anyways.
Stuff-It pocket: This is cool. There wasn't a single shot of what it looked like inside anywhere I saw online, so I included one. You will notice that it narrows considerably at the bottom... not too big a deal for stowing a sweater or something, but don't expect anything angular like a book to sit comfortably in there.
Water Bottle holders: I saw a lot of questions about this in the Q/A for the product page. To alleviate some concerns, I have some pictures of what my 1L Hydroflask looks like in the bottle holster. It fits securely, but note that it does look a tad bit ridiculous, due to how small the bag is. But bottom line is: it fits fine, though it may slightly displace things at the bottom of the bag.
Laptop Sleeve: What can I say- it works fine. I saw a number of questions about what would fit inside, so I included a pic of my 15" Macbook Pro (2015 model) sitting in there snugly. You hardly feel it when it's on your back- I would say that getting a laptop and a book or something for a night class would be no problem at all. Too much more than that though, and you may find yourself pressed for space.
Additional features: I am annoyed that the belly band strap doesn't detach. I thought it did for some reason but it does not, and there is no convenient way to stash it when not in use. If you are like me and hate those things dangling at your sides all the time, prepare to be annoyed. The chest strap is easily adjustable, but as I said above, I wish I could stow the slack from the extra strap when it is adjusted. Build quality is very nice- this bag isn't advertised as water resistant, but it definitely doesn't feel like it would be easily soaked. Nothing a rain cover couldn't fix, anyways.
Bottom line: Great feeling, great looking bag. This bag would be PERFECT (five stars) with some very small adjustments from Osprey: more slack in the straps, detachable belly band, and somewhat thicker/higher quality straps would make this thing for me. If you are a larger person, expect issues with fit.
I am taking this bag on a serious of day trips at the end of the month, and if anything in particular stands out to me, I will come back and update my review.
To Osprey Marketing people: if you are reading this, PLEASE update/do your videos differently. People don't want an explanation, they want to SEE it; thus the video. If you want to see what a good video for a bag looks like, check out any of the Thule or Peak Design Amazon product videos. They show what fits where, demonstrate all the bag features, and actually SHOW them loading their bags up, item by item. Very handy, and should be the standard imo.
