The Fairview 40 is Osprey’s lightest travel backpack. It will suit the baggage specifications of many EU flight companies. However, make sure you check before flying. This is a useful latest cabin luggage guide.
Features of Osprey Fairview Women’s 40l pack:
- Weight: 1.44 kg
- Designed for women
- Conforms to EU maximum Carry-On luggage size (check as above)
- Maximum dimensions: 54 x 35 x 35
- Zip-away mesh hip belt and harness
- Die-cut spacer mesh hip belt and harness
- Lightweight peripheral frame
- Panel zip access to main compartment
- Main compartment has lockable zippers
- Padded laptop and tablet sleeve
- Dual front mesh pockets
- Zipped scratch-free sunglasses and electronics pocket
- Grab handles
- ID card holder
- Internal compression strap system
- Internal key attachment clip
- Sternum strap with emergency whistle
- Twin compression webbing straps
£100 at Osprey Fairview 40 pack.
There are also 55l and 70l versions and a full men’s collection.
Mesh pockets on the outside for carrying extra items.
Review: Osprey Fairview Women’s 40l travel bag
If I can, I like to book flights and take hand luggage only. It keeps down the cost of a trip and if I pack cleverly I can usually manage to do so.
So a travel pack that is designed to be the right size for EU hand luggage is likely to be a hit with me.
The Fairview 40 is also lightweight yet shows all the usual durable and robust qualities of an Osprey rucksack.
I confess I am a huge fan of Osprey packs with so many to choose from to suit many different sports and occasions. Search for “Osprey” in this website to see other reviews.
This rectangle shaped Fairview pack can be carried as a travel bag with a shoulder strap or as a rucksack with pop out shoulder straps and hip belt.
The “popping out” seems strange at first but it is really clever the way the bag transforms from travel bag to travel rucksack by unzipping the back of the bag and popping out the shoulder straps.
I usually carry a bag as a rucksack because I prefer the more evenly distributed weight.
Padded laptop pocket inside.
I really like the wide and padded hip belt. Many travel rucksacks have only a mesh waistband so it’s great to have a waistband that is more comfortable and useful. The hip belt is adjusted by puling the straps together, which is great.
In fact, the whole rucksack set up is well thought out. There is a padded back, padded shoulder straps and a sternum strap for better carrying support. The shoulder straps can be adjusted to bring the pack closer or further away from your back/shoulders.
Other nice features include the two large padded and very sturdy carrying handles. There is one at the top of the pack and another at the side. These are really useful when lugging the pack around at the airport and when getting on and off transport etc.
It’s great that Osprey have thought to create a female specific collection, too, because women are generally smaller in physiques and that means they need a rucksack to suit their body shape.
Great sized zip pulls.
The main packing compartment is large and roomy. There is a two-way zip that opens three quarters of the way around the pack so you have easy access. Inside are packing straps for keeping clothes in place. I never use these but I am sure there are travellers who do! In fact, I probably should use these for compressing my items to the smallest size.
There are also outer compression straps that allow you to keep the bag as neat as possible. This is very useful when you are stuffing the bag as full as you can but still need to comply with strict cabin baggage size requirements.
A zipped mesh inner pocket is useful for spare bits and pieces.
On the outside is another large zipped pocket where you can keep a laptop safe. This pocket has a lightly padded inner mesh pocket for the laptop. A Velcro closure stops the laptop slipping out of the pocket.
There is also another zipped mesh pocket inside this compartment.
On the outside you find yet another zipped pocket. This one is for keeping valuables, such as sunglasses.
Two more mesh outer pockets can be used for items that you need to get to in a hurry. Perhaps I might put a small waterproof jacket in one of these.
I like some of the details such as the large plastic zip pulls that avoid fiddly zip opening and the two main compartments have zips with holes to allow you to lock them if you need to.
I am struggling to find anything that I do not like about this pack. I guess the green colour is not really to my taste and the alternative is black, which is too similar to all the other bags you see people carrying. I like a bag to be bright and different so it is easily spotted. The green is simply not to my taste but it is different!
The addition of a technical rucksack system does add extra bulk to the pack. If you are looking for more space for packing and are happy to carry a bag with a shoulder strap only it might not be the perfect bag for you.
However, in terms of small rucksack style travel luggage I think this is one of the best I have seen for a while.
Find out more about the Osprey Fairview 40 pack.