Backpack Review: Osprey Kestrel 32

It is time to evaluation my present-day backpack, the Osprey Kestrel 32. Acquiring a backpack that suits appropriately and is geared in the direction of the functions you’ll be accomplishing is really important when choosing a backpack. I took this pack on many hikes and treks in the course of our pretty outdoorsy journey by way of Mongolia, Central Asia and the ‘Stans and I was incredibly amazed with it.

We have now finished our epic 5 month journey, and here’s what I can report about my backpack:

This backpack warrants high marks in this location. I stuffed this bag with 10kgs of equipment although trekking via the Mongolian steppe for 8 times, carrying every little thing from food items to firewood to sleeping luggage.

This pack sat wonderful and cosy on my hips and flawlessly distributed the fat between my shoulders and my waist. There is a superior sum of padding on both of those the shoulder and hip straps as properly.

Through a common travel day, I scarcely even found I was putting on a backpack mainly because it was so at ease.

I unquestionably adore the way the Kestrel 32 is made. I simply cannot stand best-loading backpacks since you can under no circumstances see what is in the bag! This backpack is a panel loader, which suggests it opens like a sea shell, allowing you to quickly and immediately see every thing in your bag, and load it up a lot quicker.

The harness adjusts as well, making use of a genuinely powerful Velcro, to guarantee the great fit. They’ve also extra a back panel that makes it possible for air to escape from your physique, which is great for when you’re trekking, climbing or even just going for walks. There is practically nothing even worse than obtaining sweat dripping down your back even though travelling!

At the again is a pocket fantastic for a hydration technique like a CamelBak.

The pounds and measurement of this backpack is astounding. Weighing in at just a tiny around 2 lbs with 32 L of place for gear and able to cope with up to somewhere around 20 kgs of body weight, what a lot more could you want?!

The Kestrel 32 comes in two distinctive sizes: tiny/medium and medium/big. As well as 4 unique colours: Fireplace Crimson, Tarn, Conifer Environmentally friendly and Grey.

Osprey has extra a mesh, stretchy, lycra pocket to the entrance of the bag, which stretches like you wouldn’t feel! I put my footwear in there, maps, foods and just about anything else that wouldn’t pretty healthy into my bag.

On the facet, there are also 2 of the exact same variety of pockets that are best for water bottles, or in our case, the base conclusion of Nick’s fishing rod.

On the waistband, there is a very little zip pocket on each individual facet. They’re the best size for placing points you’ll will need to have uncomplicated accessibility to when you are on the go, ie: stage and shoot digital camera, lip balm, Iphone, snacks, a lighter, medication, etcetera.

Functioning alongside the mesh pocket on the front of the bag they’ve included a little something known as “front daisies” which are these best tiny loops that you can hook carabiners on to. I hooked drinking water bottles off of the front of my bag, and from time to time sneakers. It was best.

There’s a location appropriate around the midsection belt for storing trekking poles when on the go.

My favorite feature is almost certainly the compression straps on each sides of the backpack. Not only does it assist to preserve the pack cosy towards your body, but it will allow for storing products on the sides of your bag. On a single facet I experienced Nick’s fishing rod, and on the other facet, I rolled up my jacket and strapped it in.

If you were being doing any kind of climbing the place ice was concerned, there are ice-decide loops at the base of the backpack. However, I made use of the loops to safe the bottoms of my 1-liter water bottles.

The mesh, zip pocket at the prime of the bag is a good put to put lesser things that you never want having lost in the primary compartment, ie: cards, headlamp, jewellery, etc. There’s also a hideaway raincover.

In my opinion, there are 3 disadvantages to this backpack.

The first and most important is that the zippers just can’t be locked with each other. You can only lock collectively the zipper ties which could conveniently be slice open up. This is preposterous due to the fact naturally, each traveller wishes to be able to correctly lock their bag.

The 2nd is that I would have favored to have a further pocket or two inside of of the backpack for modest things. The 1 on top of the bag is helpful, but it would be awesome to have one or two that are hid within the bag.

The 3rd con is that compared with the Osprey Farpoint Series, the harness device just cannot be zipped away in order to protect the backpack straps from harm, both from finding caught on a little something or from airline team staying a little much too rough with the bag.

Apart from that, every thing is a “pro”.

I would propose this backpack to everyone. Even though the Kestrel series is technically a men’s backpack, it labored for me. Due to the fact I’m tall (5’10”), the harness adjusted to suit my torso completely!

If you strategy to do any sort of climbing, trekking, tenting or climbing, this backpack is suitable. If you do not strategy on carrying out any sort of outside actions, I nonetheless imagine this backpack has loads of capabilities that the daily traveller could use as well.

A enormous bonus is its size. Technically, it’s smaller more than enough to match as a carry-on bag when flying. The cost is also fairly decent: I got mine on sale online for about $90, but from the shop, it’s ordinarily about $130.

It is time absolutely everyone became a lightweight traveller. Downsize your backpack and invest in the Osprey Kestrel 32, it is the excellent dimensions for any journey. Hopefully, this evaluate served. Superior luck discovering the great backpack for you. Click in this article to see the backpack on Amazon.

Update: Because crafting this evaluation, we switched to Osprey Stratos 34 backpacks which served us quite perfectly on different hikes, which includes the Inca Path to Machu Picchu.

What form of backpack do you use? Would you endorse it? Why/why not? Share with us down below!