osprey packs

So everybody has stuff. Lots of it. Some we really need, some not so much. The way we move our stuff around, no I don't mean booty shaking which is really nice,says something of who were are.Purses,pockets,boxes,paper or plastic are just some of the ways to get your shit from here to there but today I am talking about a bicycle specific backpack. I just received a new Osprey Escapist 20 in the mail last week. Now I had the Manta 20 for the last two years and while it has held up great it was lacking in a few departments. Mainly it was too narrow and too thick. When it was packed full it was not stable from side to side and while decending it would bump my helmet,very annoying. Let me stress, very annoying.Like back the hell up I am going to fill this place with upper cuts annoying. So I see this new backpack and it looks like the remedy for my growing displeasure with my current setup.

There are a few requirements for a cycle specific backpack that have made my list over the last 20 or so years of riding.It has to have a drinking system,the osprey hydraform is rad btw shove your bladder in with a full pack what's not to like,it has to ride stable and the closer to your body the better. This next detail is critical. I did the colorado trail race two years ago and it rained the whole time I was out there, a rain fly is now a must have detail on all packs. I love having a rain fly even during winter rides, when you stop on long rides and the ground is wet or snowy I pull out the rain fly and sit on that and it keeps wet butt at bay.

This pack has a lot of dope features. I love the sunglasses pocket at the top of the pack and the large pull loops for the zippers. The load straps on the side are great. If I don't have a bunch stuff to carry I cinch them down and the pack feels lighter and more stable.Minimizing the camel hump goes a long way to make a pack feel lighter.I dig the cut out on the back for a blinky light and the mesh pockets, shoulder straps,back panel and waist belt help make this pack really light for the amount of stuff this thing will carry securely.

Now I understand that with anything in life there are compromises and all profitable companies have to make them in order to say in business.With that being said Osprey did a killer job at making a pack that has few of them.The only thing that I would really change is the silly vertical zippered pocket on the left shoulder strap. It is too small for a cell phone and if you got one in there it is too heavy and flops around. That material would have been better spent by adding pockets with zippers on the waist belt like on the manta series packs. Oh ya one other thing helmets go on your head not on you pack so lose the hemet retention device and save the weight. If you have to just clip it to the top handle loop or your handle bars old school style.

Give this pack a try or don't but on your next ride carrying a purse is going to get you to legend status in a hurry but not in a good way.