It’s time to assessment my present backpack, the Osprey Kestrel 32. Having a backpack that matches correctly and is geared in the direction of the actions you’ll be doing is essential when selecting a backpack. I took this pack on many hikes and treks throughout our very outdoorsy journey by means of Mongolia, Central Asia and the ‘Stans and I used to be very impressed with it.
We’ve now completed our epic 5 month journey, and right here’s what I can report about my backpack:
Comfort
This backpack deserves excessive marks on this space. I stuffed this bag with 10kgs of substances whereas trekking by means of the Mongolian steppe for 8 days, carrying every part from meals to firewood to sleeping baggage.
This pack sat good and cushty on my hips and completely distributed the load between my shoulders and my waist. There is an effective quantity of padding on each the shoulder and hip straps as effectively.
During an everyday journey day, I barely even observed I used to be sporting a backpack as a result of it was so snug.
Design
I completely love the best way the Kestrel 32 is designed. I can’t stand top-loading backpacks as a result of you may by no means see what’s within the bag! This backpack is a panel loader, which implies it opens like a sea shell, permitting you to simply and shortly see every part in your bag, and cargo it up quicker.
The harness adjusts as effectively, utilizing a very robust Velcro, to make sure the proper match. They’ve additionally added a again panel that permits air to flee out of your physique, which is ideal for while you’re trekking, mountaineering and even simply strolling. There’s nothing worse than having sweat dripping down your again whereas travelling!
At the again is a pocket good for a hydration system like a CamelBak.
The weight and dimension of this backpack is wonderful. Weighing in at just a bit over 2 lbs with 32 L of room for gear and capable of deal with as much as roughly 20 kgs of weight, what extra might you need?!
The Kestrel 32 is available in two totally different sizes: small/medium and medium/massive. As effectively as 4 totally different colors: Fire Red, Tarn, Conifer Green and Grey.
Features
Osprey has added a mesh, stretchy, lycra pocket to the entrance of the bag, which stretches such as you wouldn’t imagine! I put my sneakers in there, maps, meals and the rest that wouldn’t fairly match into my bag.
On the aspect, there are additionally 2 of the identical kind of pockets which can be good for water bottles, or in our case, the underside finish of Nick’s fishing rod.
On the waistband, there’s a little zip pocket on either side. They’re the proper dimension for placing belongings you’ll must have quick access to when you’re on the transfer, ie: level and shoot digital camera, lip balm, iPhone, snacks, a lighter, drugs, and so on.
Running alongside the mesh pocket on the entrance of the bag they’ve added one thing referred to as “front daisies” that are these good little loops that you would be able to hook carabiners onto. I hooked water bottles off of the entrance of my bag, and generally sneakers. It was excellent.
There’s a spot proper close to the waist belt for storing trekking poles whereas on the go.
My favorite characteristic might be the compression straps on either side of the backpack. Not solely does it assist to maintain the pack cosy in opposition to your physique, however it permits for storing objects on the perimeters of your bag. On one aspect I had Nick’s fishing rod, and on the opposite aspect, I rolled up my jacket and strapped it in.
If you had been doing any type of climbing the place ice was concerned, there are ice-pick loops on the base of the backpack. However, I used the loops to safe the bottoms of my 1-liter water bottles.
The mesh, zip pocket on the prime of the bag is a superb place to place smaller objects that you just don’t need getting misplaced in the principle compartment, ie: playing cards, headlamp, jewelry, and so on. There’s additionally a hideaway raincover.
Cons
In my opinion, there are 3 cons to this backpack.
The first and most vital is that the zippers can’t be locked collectively. You can solely lock collectively the zipper ties which might simply be minimize open. This is ridiculous as a result of clearly, each traveller needs to have the ability to correctly lock their bag.
The second is that I might have preferred to have one other pocket or two within the backpack for small objects. The one on prime of the bag is helpful, however it will be good to have one or two which can be hid contained in the bag.
The third con is that not like the Osprey Farpoint Series, the harness unit can’t be zipped away with a view to defend the backpack straps from harm, both from getting caught on one thing or from airline employees being just a little too tough with the bag.
Apart from that, every part is a “pro”.
In Conclusion
I might advocate this backpack to anybody. Even although the Kestrel collection is technically a males’s backpack, it labored for me. Because I’m tall (5’10”), the harness adjusted to suit my torso completely!
If you propose to do any type of climbing, trekking, tenting or mountaineering, this backpack is right. If you don’t plan on doing any type of out of doors actions, I nonetheless suppose this backpack has a great deal of options that the on a regular basis traveller might use as effectively.
An enormous bonus is its dimension. Technically, it’s sufficiently small to suit as a carry-on bag when flying. The price can also be fairly first rate: I obtained mine on sale on-line for about $90, however from the shop, it’s normally about $130.
It’s time everybody grew to become a light-weight traveller. Downsize your backpack and purchase the Osprey Kestrel 32, it’s the proper dimension for any journey. Hopefully, this assessment helped. Good luck discovering the proper backpack for you. Click here to see the backpack on Amazon.
Update: Since scripting this assessment, we switched to Osprey Stratos 34 backpacks which served us very effectively on numerous hikes, together with the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.
What sort of backpack do you utilize? Would you advocate it? Why/why not? Share with us beneath!
The put up Backpack Review: Osprey Kestrel 32 appeared first on Goats On The Road.
