As a short female, some packs will never be comfortable on my frame. Too long or too wide and they'll not work so I'm always on the look out for well featured, capacious but relatively small packs. A bit of a contradiction in terms or Holy Grail perhaps!
This review is of a 15L pack I've had and used for a bout 4 years. Including a stint where it was borrowed by one of my clients for a testing on a running commute for a few months. As well as the pack I have the 4L chest pouch which attaches easily to the front of the back pack.
Features
From the top: The pack has a smaller zipped top section suitable for wallet and phone but please see notes about waterproofing later. This section has a key clip sewn in.
The main section has a large entry zip to allow the insertion of A4 files (although take care that the corners don't ripped the fabric if you do this every day!). This main section also has a drawstring about half way down near the side pockets so that it can be 'waisted' to hold smaller items in place.
There is a sleeve in the back which holds the sponge mat that can be used as a sit mat if you're looking to travel very light, it also helps with a bit of rigidity. You can also place your water reservoir in this area and there is a loop to secure it at the top. Whether you are left or right handed or prefer your reservoir's pipe to exit the bag at the top or waist level this bag will accommodate your needs.
On the chest strap for this bag you'll find the built-in whistle, not exactly very loud but functional. The chest strap is adjustable from both sides as is the waist strap and the shoulder straps. Great adjustability - I've managed to get it comfortable for running, walking and cycling.
Each waist strap has a pocket, one zipped, one mesh. Both have sewn in key clips. These are large enough to take a phone, small wallet, tissues etc. When the straps are adjusted on the waist the excess strap can be tucked into the sewn in elastic loop to keep them out of the way (oh boy, I hate it when the lose bits flap about!).
On the shoulder and waist straps and across the base there are plenty of places to clip further equipment via the UGR (Universal Gear Rail) as OMM call it - a length of strap/strong tape sewn on and looped every 2cm or so. I've attached carabiners, lights and the end of my Camelbak pipe to these in the past.
There are also 2 side mesh pockets for extra water bottles or to use instead of a reservoir if you prefer. The size of this pack and the way it wraps around the body allows me to both extract and replace my bottles on the move, no other pack I I have currently allows me to do this. I have 'modified' the pockets slightly (perhaps I'll feed this back to OMM too) by adding a loop of elastic to the rim of the mesh to hold my larger Osprey bottles in place. The side pockets are not large but do stretch, they will hold a full water bottle of up to 500ml well but when empty the light bottles move and can pop out - hence the elastic to loop over the bottle spouts.
The bag has light waterproofing and will withstand drizzle or light rain for a while but I use a waterproof liner if going any distance or in poor weather - which as I live in the West is often!
There are some reflective elements on the rear of the bag for safety too.
Chest Pack
A little extra useful for keeping snacks, keys and phone close to your heart. It has an internal mesh pocket and on the rear a transparent map pocket. You can unclip the pack from the top so that you can read your map with the pack still attached at the base of the bag.
This part also has a light waterproofing.
Overall
This bag gets used a lot. On average about 3 days per week. It gets thrown in the car, dropped on the gym floor, strapped on my back for commutes. It has performed well and the waterproofing is only now beginning to peel although I do look after it using a liner or bags to protect the inside form sharp corners of files etc.
When I originally bought it I did do a lot of research and found OMM came highly recommended for lightweight, strong, useful packs. After all - these guys developed their kit in the mountain ultra marathon arena o it should be good. And it is.
This review is of a 15L pack I've had and used for a bout 4 years. Including a stint where it was borrowed by one of my clients for a testing on a running commute for a few months. As well as the pack I have the 4L chest pouch which attaches easily to the front of the back pack.
Features
From the top: The pack has a smaller zipped top section suitable for wallet and phone but please see notes about waterproofing later. This section has a key clip sewn in.
The main section has a large entry zip to allow the insertion of A4 files (although take care that the corners don't ripped the fabric if you do this every day!). This main section also has a drawstring about half way down near the side pockets so that it can be 'waisted' to hold smaller items in place.
There is a sleeve in the back which holds the sponge mat that can be used as a sit mat if you're looking to travel very light, it also helps with a bit of rigidity. You can also place your water reservoir in this area and there is a loop to secure it at the top. Whether you are left or right handed or prefer your reservoir's pipe to exit the bag at the top or waist level this bag will accommodate your needs.
On the chest strap for this bag you'll find the built-in whistle, not exactly very loud but functional. The chest strap is adjustable from both sides as is the waist strap and the shoulder straps. Great adjustability - I've managed to get it comfortable for running, walking and cycling.
Each waist strap has a pocket, one zipped, one mesh. Both have sewn in key clips. These are large enough to take a phone, small wallet, tissues etc. When the straps are adjusted on the waist the excess strap can be tucked into the sewn in elastic loop to keep them out of the way (oh boy, I hate it when the lose bits flap about!).
On the shoulder and waist straps and across the base there are plenty of places to clip further equipment via the UGR (Universal Gear Rail) as OMM call it - a length of strap/strong tape sewn on and looped every 2cm or so. I've attached carabiners, lights and the end of my Camelbak pipe to these in the past.
There are also 2 side mesh pockets for extra water bottles or to use instead of a reservoir if you prefer. The size of this pack and the way it wraps around the body allows me to both extract and replace my bottles on the move, no other pack I I have currently allows me to do this. I have 'modified' the pockets slightly (perhaps I'll feed this back to OMM too) by adding a loop of elastic to the rim of the mesh to hold my larger Osprey bottles in place. The side pockets are not large but do stretch, they will hold a full water bottle of up to 500ml well but when empty the light bottles move and can pop out - hence the elastic to loop over the bottle spouts.
The bag has light waterproofing and will withstand drizzle or light rain for a while but I use a waterproof liner if going any distance or in poor weather - which as I live in the West is often!
There are some reflective elements on the rear of the bag for safety too.
Chest Pack
A little extra useful for keeping snacks, keys and phone close to your heart. It has an internal mesh pocket and on the rear a transparent map pocket. You can unclip the pack from the top so that you can read your map with the pack still attached at the base of the bag.
This part also has a light waterproofing.
Overall
This bag gets used a lot. On average about 3 days per week. It gets thrown in the car, dropped on the gym floor, strapped on my back for commutes. It has performed well and the waterproofing is only now beginning to peel although I do look after it using a liner or bags to protect the inside form sharp corners of files etc.
When I originally bought it I did do a lot of research and found OMM came highly recommended for lightweight, strong, useful packs. After all - these guys developed their kit in the mountain ultra marathon arena o it should be good. And it is.
