Osprey Daylite

I bought this shockingly feather-light daypack for a recent trip through Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, and it was the perfect pack for day trips. It was the ideal size for an airline-dubbed "personal item" while flying, holding my larger point-and-shoot camera in its bag, smartphone, Kindle, passport and other necessities, along with a water bottle in one of the exterior pockets. Once I was at my destination, it was my constant companion while exploring Mayan ruins, hopping to the beach for a day, and tooling around town on urban adventures. The contents stayed dry when I was forced to run from point A to point B in two different downpours, though I'm not sure if it'd be waterproof for longer periods. On the way home, it held a surprising number of small gifts that I purchased for family and friends.

The straps are comfortable and the chest strap makes it even easier to wear for longer periods, which I'm anxious to do on a hike here at home this weekend. It's the perfect size for lunch, a point-and-shoot camera and other hiking necessities for myself, as well as a water bottle and collapsible bowl for my dog.

All in all, this is a fantastic pack and well worth the affordable price. If I were able to, I'd dock it half a star for the rather shallow and oddly shaped side pockets; even a shorter water bottle will fall out when you bend over or set the bag down. However, if your water bottle has a loop on it, you can put an s-biner on the loop and clip the other side to one of the compression straps to solve that problem. Considering that easy fix, I didn't want to take a full star off of an otherwise superior product.

PS: I also picked up the Osprey Porter 46 travel pack, which this daypack clips to. I never joined the two, but they do look nice together, and both are constructed with the usual solid Osprey materials and craftsmanship.

I bought this daypack for my hiking trip to Assisi, Italy. I wanted something super light that wouldn't take up much room in my carryon luggage (I don't check bags) but sized properly to carry typical day hike necessities. I've used it locally in preparing for the trip.

This bag has one big main compartment for a rain jacket, first aid kit, extra socks, etc. with a small flat pocket against the back that easily fits my iPad in it's padded sleeve.

The small exterior zipper pocket is great because it is only 1/3 as deep as the pack itself and has two smaller mesh pockets inside it as well (perfect for phone, note pad, snack bar). This lets me keep small items at hand without having to dig to the bottom of the main compartment. I love the loop zipper pulls! So much easier than little tab ends and you can snap the loops together with a carabiner to discourage pickpockets while in town.

The shoulder straps are comfortable but I ditched the waist strap immediately. It is very narrow webbing and falls far below my waist. I'm a female, 5' 11" with an average body length (I'm very long legged) and the waist strap is attached way too far down on the pack. But you don't really need it given that this a pack for light loads and easy hikes. It doesn't seem to move around much on my back as long as the heavier stuff is on the bottom. The side compression straps keep the contents from shifting.

My big complaint is with the side mesh pockets. They would be perfect for water bottles if they had more elastic or a draw string or were deeper. As it is the bottles fall out of the pockets when I lean over.

All in all, it's a good little pack.

I wanted to buy this product to use as my airplane carry-on. I like to haul my personal stuff for long flights (iPod, magazines, book, flight pillow, eye shades, etc.) in a small bag. I need to have shoulder straps on the bag for getting on and off the plane but while I'm on the plane I like to hide all the straps so they don't get caught on my feet, flight attendant's feet, etc.

From the description I thought this bag would be perfect - "Tuck-away shoulder straps..." Well, that statement is only partially true. The top part of the should straps do tuck away but the bottom of the straps do not (note the waist strap can be completely removed.)

The other issue I had with the straps were that they were very difficult to disconnect for tucking.

So I did not buy this bag. Instead there was one of last year's model in the store. Interestingly, those straps DID fully tuck away (top and lower portions.) So I bought that bag instead.

To solve the difficult strap separation I bought two side-release buckles and some 1" webbing and made a quick disconnect for the bag.

With the modified 2012 model I have the bag I have been looking for.

This bag (the 2013 model) seemed to be well made and very light-weight. I think it is very suitable for a day-hike or an overnight trip. However, if like me, you need the straps to fully tuck away, this is not the bag for you.

I bought this daypack primarily to go with my Osprey Porter. I wanted to get the daypack that attaches to the Porter before it got discontinued.

The pros first:
1. It fits on the Porter nicely and makes a good carrying bag system.
2. It is small and ideal for using as a bag for day trips from the place you are staying.
3. It can also be used for regular day hikes if you pack it carefully. It is small. I can get my essentials plus a small camera and rain gear, with some room to spare.

Cons:
1. It does not have a padded waist belt. I has a web belt the keeps the pack from slipping side to side, but you will not be transferring any weight to your hips.
2. It takes some practice to learn how to attach the daypack to the Porter-there were no instructions.
3. I just did a brief search and it appears that Osprey has discontinued this bag, although the new Porter series does have the attachment system for this pack.

I like the system that Osprey developed and I am hoping that they have not discontinued it. I use daypack frequently and have been happy with it.

I volunteer for a couple of "site steward" programs and for a rock art research project, so I use a daypack constantly. It has to be comfortable and not get in my way when I'm climbing over large boulders and through scrubby woods. It needs to be big enough to hold my lunch, rain gear, camera, notebook, extra shirt, etc., but I need to access my water bottles easily and find small items quickly. This pack meets my needs admirably: The main compartment is a good size, and the outside pocket keeps my keys, phone, pencils, etc. within easy reach, but protected by a zipper. And it's a cool color too (violet)!

My only quibbles: I haven't figured out the use for some of the outside straps, which seem too much for a small daypack. Also, when the main compartment is full, it squashes the two netting bottle holders, so it's hard to slide the bottles in, and they tend to slip out easily when I set the pack down. I think those need to be redesigned.

Originally, I was looking for a simple, well-constructed bag that would be great for everyday use -- on the trail, going to the gym, airplane carry on. This is exactly what I got! However, after using this bag for a few days, I realized that it isn't what I was looking for -- I'd rather spend an extra $20-30 for a bag with more bells & whistles (ie. these straps have VERY light padding and this pack is sorta water resistant -- okay in light rain/mist but gets wet in harder rain).

Overall, this is a very nice and simple bag that is swell for quick trips on the trail or to the gym -- exactly what I was looking for but turns out, not really what I really wanted.

So most of the reviews seem to be of this pack as a stand alone pack. It works great as a stand alone pack like others have said so I won't spend time talking about that. I love this pack as an add-on to my Aether 85. I have always had issues with what to do for a day pack on backpacking trips. This makes day trips away from base camp easier. Having it attach to the pack both increases the packs over all capacity as well as gives you a day pack that is actually comfortable. This is something that you don't see too often in backpacking packs. I am surprised other companies aren't making their own versions of this. It is a wonderful idea and it actually works.

Bought this for a two-day trip to Disneyland with my 5-year-old grandson. This was exactly what I had been looking for!

It is small enough to wear in crowds and while standing in line. Enough carrying capacity for a hat, two jackets, wallet, keys, etc. plus two pockets for water bottles.

The sternum strap and waist strap took the load off of my shoulders and put it onto my legs, which was wonderful.

Despite 12-hour days and 10 miles of walking each day, my shoulders never got tired.

Love this daypack! It was perfect for Disneyland!

I wasn't even looking for a pack when I was in the store, but I saw this was on sale and picked it up. I've used it twice so far skiing (even though it isn't designed for that), but it was nice to have my stuff with me. It's small and light enough that it didn't get in my way. I'm sure I'll be using it for my day hikes. I have an REI daypack that I've been using and love, but when I don't need to carry a lot of stuff, this will be my go-to pack.

I purchased this for easy day hikes when I don't need a water bladder - just a bottle of water for me and another for the dog.
This is a well thought out back with lots of little details. The harness is slightly padded with a breathable mesh backing, a slash pocket on the outside, front bungee, and two side compression straps.

It's very lightweight and was surprised it included both a chest and waist strap.

The description states 4 pockets but I only counted three. I would've liked another pocket inside the pack.