Osprey Arcane Unisex Backpack

A fantastic bag for the everyday commuter. I had to start going to the office more and I quickly realised that my Patagonia Fieldsmith just didn’t have enough compartments and logical storage. So after a bit of researching, I settled on this Osprey Arcane XL and it is amazing. It’s the version with the small less in your face Osprey logo which I much prefer. The quality of the materials if great and shows what you’re paying for. The straps are brilliantly padded and will be comfortable for longer usage. One of the straps also has a carabiner attachment to the main part of the backpack, so that if you’re out somewhere you can unhook it and put it around a table leg for security. The back has a slightly ridged aspect to improve airflow. You’ll also find the side zip for the laptop section that can fit a 15 inch laptop in without any issue. There’s a water bottle compartment on the side and it has access to it from the side and top. When not in use you can hardly see it which is great. Around the front is a soft lined zip compartment for easy access to smaller items. Inside the main compartment you have a J zip for easy access, a document compartment that fits an A4 Pukka pad without issue. The compartment in front of that has more storage with a small zipped compartment for pens, sunnies, etc. a separate pocket that fits my Logitech anywhere 3 mouse and enough space to easily fit more items in. The backpack has a DWR coating but I wouldn’t want to risk it being out getting wet for a long time, but for short periods it’s held up. Overall it’s a brilliant bit of kit that is very comfortable to wear, easy to use and plenty of compartments. I just wish I had found it sooner.

Having bought an osprey backpack previously I knew the quality would be good and am happy to confirm it’s great. It’s a good size and has plenty of space for everything a commuter would need. I managed to squeeze my puffer jacket in along with computer peripherals and laptop. The colour is nice one thing that may put people off is that the zip only opens one full side of the back with the other side opening part way, whilst I have no issue with this some people may not like that. I found it good value, while not the most expensive bags on the market they aren’t exactly cheap but the build quality and comfort I find to be really good so would I would have no issues buying another osprey backpack.

This is a perfect small backpack. It looks very smart and is well made with excellent fabrics. The straps are comfortable and easy to adjust and the zips are very positive. I wanted soemthing primarily to use as an aircraft carry-on for my preciosu things and this fits the bill in every way. Highly recommended.

So annoying to tuck tumblers in the water bottle pocket from the side instead of above. Not enough inner pockets to keep small items in place. Good protection against the rain.

Really not as practical as you might hope. I have the large, and the extra large. I have been using the Arcane large for about a year. On the plus side, it's nicely made, fairly discreet (apart from the large Osprey badge at top back) and is very comfortable on the back. The stretch water bottle pocket is very good, and swallows a standard Chilly's bottle perfectly. Now the not so good... I have the (sort of) black version and the interior is dismal dark, and makes locating things quite difficult. That's probably Ok though, as you can't get much in the bag anyhow. The depth of the back is annoyingly small, and when you indo the J zip, quite often your hand goes straight into the laptop sleeve, rather than the main compartment. Same with putting things into the bag, unless you 'stretch' the front of the bag forward, you may have the same problem. I think you would be better off getting the extra large version. Which is 28l as opposed to 21l, but seems much larger inside. The increase in capacity is achieved by increasing the depth, and not the height or width of the bag, and the pockets/compartments are far more generous. I now use the extra large instead as a daily.