Osprey Packs Kestrel 28 Daypack - 1600-1700cu in

We've owned our Osprey Kestrel 28 daypacks for a few months now. After many day hikes, I believe this is the best day pack I have owned. I'm no expert, but I've been using day packs for 25+ years, so I do have some experience with them. My wife thinks the pack has too many features, which I think she finds a bit overwhelming. I say if you don't need the features, they're there should you ever change your mind. The plethora of features don't add significantly to the weight, so all is good. The Airscape back panel is very good, though it is not as efficient (that is, cool) as the Osprey Stratos AirCore suspension. The integrated rain cover is a plus as are the hip belt pockets. The stretch woven side pockets are adequate; however, they really need to be deeper to more securely hold longer bottles. One feature that I didn't like (before using it) was the Stow-On-The-Go trekking pole attachment. This feature has proved to be one of my favorites. I use trekking poles. There are those times when hiking on treacherous areas of the trail or going over rocks and boulders that trekking poles get in the way. I have used the Stow-On-The-Go feature to hold the trekking poles and keep them out of the way while I maneuver through rough areas where the trail is too narrow or so overgrown with brush that using trekking poles becomes impractical. The hip belt and shoulder straps are easy to adjust and comfortable. For winter use, I can easily strap snowshoes on the back of the pack with belts I purchased from REI. The zippered top pockets are convenient for car keys, wallet, Clif bars and other items that you may want to access quickly. I didn't like the zipper pulls, so I purchased the O ring zipper pulls from Osprey and swapped them out.

Originally, I purchased the Osprey Stratos,32 which is a very good pack. The AirCore Suspension really does what it's designed to do: ventilate and keep you cool. However, the necessary curve required for the AirCore Suspension limits easy access to the bottom portion of the pack's main compartment. And as someone else has already mentioned, if you also use your pack for school or work in addition to hiking, it is difficult to carry a notebook computer. I returned the pack and replaced it with the Osprey Kestrel 28. I purchased two: one for my wife, who describes the lichen color as very fashionable, and one for me, who prefers the twilight. One other item: The Stratos has "O" rings on the zipper pulls; the Kestrel has a more simple pull. I prefer the "O" rings so I purchased a dozen from Osprey ($0.50 each) and replaced the pulls on both of our Kestrels. Nice.