OSPREY DAYLITE REVIEWS UPGRADE

For this article, I set my sights on 17 leading options that work well for 1- to 15-mile day hikes. Over the last five years as a gear tester, I’ve tested dozens upon dozens of different hiking daypacks. I am deeply familiar with the range of terrain, climates and hike difficulties across the country-and that people who love to hike typically want one bag they can use wherever their adventures take them. I’ve long been an avid hiker, whether I was living in a city and trying to escape to the mountains on the weekends, or when I van-lifed around the country and hiked in every corner of the U.S. I’m an outdoor gear writer living in the Rocky Mountains outside Aspen, Colorado-so I know a thing or two about putting adventure gear to the test and seeing how it stands up. At 24 liters, you can fit the essentials alongside nice-to-haves, like extra layers, more water and food or accessories that can be nice for longer hikes, like trekking poles. At 13 liters, it can hold all the essentials without a lot of extra room for you to overpack into.īut if you’re looking for a larger daypack for longer day hikes (upwards of 8 miles, or on technical terrain), our top pick for the best value daypack, the men’s Gregory Citro 24 H20 or women’s Gregory Juno 24 H20, may suit you better. The Osprey Daylite is going to be the perfect bag for the majority of people going on a day hike. How The Osprey Daylite Compared To Other Daypacks

OSPREY DAYLITE REVIEWS UPGRADE

But the cherry on top: This bag has every single feature on our must-have list for a quality daypack-and still comes in at just $65, leaving you plenty of cash to upgrade to a bigger daypack if and when you level up your adventures. I’ve put my Daylite through the wringer over the years and still haven’t needed to leverage any replacements, but I do love that Osprey stands behind its gear with a lifetime warranty. The stitching is incredibly secure and high-quality, and the buckles, clips, zips and other hardware have survived many a hike in the elements. I also love that, in addition to the fully recycled fabric, the polymer coating used to make the bag waterproof is PFC-free, so it’s better for the environment. This bag is made from super durable recycled polyester that I found holds up exceptionally well after years of being scraped against rocks and trees set on wet, saturated ground and coming into contact with pointy hiking poles. The Osprey Daylite may be simple in its design, yet the fabric and craftsmanship are anything but. Rachael Schultz Durability And Construction On the trail, I found these made it easy to grab a water bottle or stash some doggie waste bags.Ĭompression straps on both sides of the pack are great for cinching the bag tight, but I used them more often to secure a handy layer or a hat.ĭurable materials help the Daylite shed dirt, moisture, and debris. The two mesh pockets on the side of the pack sit high, so they securely hold their contents. In addition to its main compartment, the Daylite has a rather large zippered pouch on the outside with small organizational internal pockets that are great for stashing a warm hat and things I didn’t want squished, like snacks and lunch. There’s also an internal sleeve and hanging clip to hold a 2-liter hydration reservoir or a 13-inch laptop. This bag is pretty low on frills, but the small details it does have I found to be lovely, like the harness grab handle at the top of the straps, which made it easy to sling the pack on and off when I needed to grab something without setting the bag down. This daypack has one zippered main compartment that opens more than halfway down, making the bag really easy to pack and very easy to open and grab something on trail. On the trail, I found all of these features together worked to distribute the load of the pack evenly, avoiding any unnecessary strain. The daypack also has a chest strap that you can adjust for more ergonomic placement across your chest, as well as an extendable hip belt. The shoulder straps are lightly padded, which helped to comfortably shift part of the load off my back without causing hot spots or pressure points. That padding is well-ventilated, allowing air to flow through, so it doesn’t trap heat even on hot hikes in the sun. The Osprey Daylite has a lightly padded back panel that gives it a bit of structure to hold its form against your back. The comfort and structure of a daypack are crucial for keeping your muscles and joints happy on a hike, says sports chiropractor Matt Tanneberg, DC, CSCS, owner of Body Check Chiropractic & Sports Rehabilitation in Scottsdale, Arizona. The Daylite's chest and hip straps dial in the fit for all-day comfort.

Osprey daylite reviews