Osprey  Escapist 30 Pack

The front compartment pockets make the backpack front-heavy, making it awkward to insert items into the main compartment. The zippers don't glide smoothly and often get stuck, which detracts from a premium feel. Additionally, it lacks dedicated storage for a pen and a laptop compartment. The phone pocket is also located at the front, adding weight to the front and hindering access to the main compartment. The narrow design, combined with the heavy front compartment, makes packing shoes a less pleasant experience. If you enjoyed using the Osprey Momentum 30 and found it to be a great bag, this 30-litre cycling backpack may not meet your expectations.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I like to use the hydration bladder holder as a laptop carrier. It is almost too narrow for that. My old Escapist 25 was plenty wide to do that. The side pouch used to be a top pouch. Gravity says everything will go to the bottom anyway, so this geometry is less useful. The divider holders are not robust enough for a heavy load on top. The old zipper was a better idea. Waist pockets with horizontal zippers are better than the old curved zippers. So I really don’t think the new design is better, but I was wearing out material in my old pack.

I received this backpack as a warrantee replacement for my old Escapist 30 which served me very well for a dozen years. Thank you Osprey! Overall, I am very happy with this backpack and would buy it new. However, the design of this model is not as good as the old one for two reasons. 1. There is a small pocket on the bottom of the pack, below the main compartments. On the old model this small pocket was completely sealed off from the main compartment by a zipper, which could be unzipped to make one large pocket. On the new model, the small, lower pocket is only partially separate from the main pocket by a piece of fabric. Items could slip from the main pocket to the lower pocket. An obvious flaw. 2. The old model had a small pocket at the top, right near the hand carry strap. Perfect for car keys, etc. This pocket is gone, and replaced with a side entry pocket lower down. Not at all obvious to me why this is better than the old design. On the positive side, this pack is roomy, well made, looks to be very sturdy, and looks good.

I had the previous 32 version for 8 years and now have the current 30 version. Overall I like it, but the new one doesn't have a small top pocket (which was great), missing side pockets and the divider inside is flimsy as the old one had a zip.

An OK backpack, but doesn't meet the needs of what I wanted form it. The lack of suitable compartments, does make this awkward form my perspective. Its well made and sturdy, but this is not for me.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Have used an older version for years and just replaced with a new one and its even better. Fits great and holds a lot.

I've had the pack for a month now, but had the previous iteration for 8 years. I use this pack daily for commuting, shopping and travel, so it has to fill multiple roles. TLDR: Build quality is good, but the layout isn't as useful or intuitive as previously. The main issues I have are with the assymetric zip on the main pocket, the utility of the small side pocket, and the odd shape of the open hip pockets for water bottles. The main zip is frustrating as it is not as easy to load larger items into the pack as it should be as it only opens a small way on one side. In addition, while I like that the small side pocket acts to provide a divider inside the main compartment, I have often found that this gets in the way when loading. I've tried to make use of the small side pocket to store smaller things and in particular as a quick way to access snacks, but due to its location and orientation I often overlook it. Also, when the main pocket is loaded it is very difficult to fit anything in there without the risk of them getting crushed. Maybe this will change in the future, but I much preferred the small top pocket for storing small items (phone, wallet, snacks) for quick access in the previous version and can't think that I will use the side pocket in the same way and therefore seems like a waste. The hip pockets for water bottles are also oddly shaped (they taper down in an odd way) and therefore don't hold water bottles as securely as they should. Overall I do like the pack, but my experience so far has been frustrating and I can't help but think that the design flaws noted above could have been avoided