Osprey Talon 44 Tested

Osprey Talon 44 Tested

New for spring, Osprey says the Talon series - 11, 22, 33 and 44 - is aimed at the legendary 'fast-moving mountain enthusiast'. That's longhand for lightweight, but where the Talon packs differ from most lightweight stuff is that they're also fully featured with lots of handy pockets, more straps than you can shake a buckle at and different sizes for different back lengths.

The two larger versions are also adjustable for back length, which is unusual in a lightweight pack. The Osprey 44 we've been using is aimed primarily at lightweight weekend and back-packers, but we know that in testing Osprey sponsored athletes also used it for lightweight mountaineering.

We've come to expect extreme thoroughness from Osprey and the Talon is no different with features borrowed from previous Osprey packs like the Atmos and tweaked to work better.

The key stuff with the Talon is the low-profile but vented back system which uses ridged moulded foam with air channels behind a mesh covering. The rest of the back system is a development of the one used on the Atmos.

The fabric's been carefully specced too. The main body stuff is light but tough 70d x 100d Cordura siliconised Nylon, while the more vulnerable, light grey areas like the base use a 210d Shadow Check reinforcement.

Lots of pockets and thoughtful touches including a hydration pocket that sits between pack and back system externally to allow easy access even with the pack loaded up for action.

Finally all the buckles and fasteners - in fetching colour-coded YKK guise - have been chosen to minimise weight which is nice.

You'd expect a pack that weighs just 1100 grammes for its 44-litre capacity to compromise when it comes to carry, but the good news is that like its Atmos cousins, the Talon has a lovely, stable, back-hugging fit that makes it feel lighter on than you'd expect from hefting it in your hands.

That's partly down to the aluminium/fibreglass frame, but also due to great fit with easily adjustable back length, well-shaped straps and all the tensioner adjusters you need. In other words the Talon carries light as well as being light.

It's intended primarily for lighter loads of course, but wasn't overwhelmed by a climbing rack and ropes either. We also like the ridged foam back padding. It's not so much that it ventilates your back, though perhaps it does a little, but more that it doesn't absorb moisure which means no wet sponge syndrome in hotter conditions.

And for a lightweight pack, there's no shortage of features. We like the hip-belt pockets for easy access to frequently-used staples for example and the shoulder strap stretch 'goo' pockets which will take gels, bars or even a small phone with ease and it's nice to see a manufacturer provided slotted buckles to tidy away excess waist strap ends.

Big stretch pockets allow fast and easy stowage of surplus clothing as well. The external hydration pocket has pros and cons. Yes, it's easy to remove an empty bladder, but with a full pack it can be a struggle to get a re-filled one back in place, though at least you don't have to open the pack and rearrange the contents to do it.

The 44-litre capacity is ideal for lightweight backpacking if the rest of your kit is light and compact enough and external sleeping mat straps give you outside stowage options too. The smaller capacity Talons, would, we think, be more suitable for day-walking, over-nighting and, in the case of the smallest 11-litre version, biking and running as well.

We were a little concerned that the light grey reinforcing fabric and buckles would discolour quickly in the UK, but so far they've been fine and Osprey UK says the fabrics have been carefully chosen and tested.

Our only real downer is that somewhere along the line, the toughened base picked up a small nick in the fabric. We're not sure where or how, but we're assuming that it was something very sharp that the pack was dragged over inadvertently. Osprey says that in all their testing, including mountaineering use, they've not had a similar issue, so we suspect we were just unlucky and we have no reason to think that any other pack would have fared better.

All the details are thought through. Even the zipper direction on the belt pockets has been changed from the Atmos to allow more logical closure and security.

Our only reservation was the small nick that appeared in the base area, but we suspect we were just unlucky with that one.

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