Rucsack: Osprey Talon 44
19th Mar 2009
Weighing in at just over a kilogram for a 44 litre sack The Talon 44 is pretty light, but not the lightest model out there. This pack, although very well made, functional, and stylish, has a single drawback that really winds me up: it has too many straps. Unless it is fully laden and all the straps are used to their full effect, there are simply too many dangly bits to get in the way. A couple of weeks ago I was running errands in town and was in a hurry. Whilst crossing the road at a run I was brought to a very sharp halt as one of the many plastic buckles caught in a railing as I was literally stepping into the road. A second later, the buckle broke and my momentum carried me out into the road in front of a bus. Fortunately I lived to tell the tale and have since had to knot the end of the waist belt which is minus a buckle. It’s still usable, which is testament to the versatility of the bag I suppose, but it was an accident that happened as a direct result of over-engineering.
Moan aside, I do actually like the pack. The lid is HUGE which is a real bonus as I seem to have so many bits and pieces that I like to keep handy. The back system is pretty comfortable, and the whole thing is well balanced meaning that walking, climbing and even running with is on is no bother.
Actually I do have one other gripe: although it is a top loading sack it has a zippable bottom opening. I can see that this is a feature handy on some of the very largest load carrying sacks, but don’t think that it is necessary on a medium sized model. On another occasion when running through town (to the climbing wall) I had a pair of rock boots, a chalk bag and a pair of shorts in the bag, and the zip managed to un-zip itself depositing my kit on the pavement.
Despite the downsides I do actually like it still! It’s very light, pretty well featured with decent ice axe attachments, a hydration bladder pocket, handy pockets in the hip belt (one of my favourite design features in some modern packs), and as I have already pointed out, a massive lid.
I’ve seen it on the net for £69.95 which is a pretty good price and outweighs some of the cons.
Reviewed by Matt Heason on behalf of planetFear