Osprey Fairview 70 Backpack Review

When looking at luggage solutions for backpacking, Osprey stands tall with some of the highest quality options on the market today.

Although most of their bags are great, there’s a couple of backpacks that really stand out for backpacking and the Osprey Fairview 70 is definitely one of them. A 70-litre capacity, detachable 13-litre daypack and lightweight (2.3kg) design are enough to get any bag-geek excited – so let’s take a deep dive to see what the pack is really made of.

Outside the backpack

Starting with the outside, the main feature of the bag is instantly recognised as that piggyback-style joining method of the main hold-all inspired backpack with the smaller 13-litre Farpoint Day. 

We’ll separate the two for just a second and turn our attention to the main pack which, on first impressions, is a good-looking, smooth, harness-less design, perfect for throwing into the hold luggage at the airport. The harness is actually located inside the zipped pouch, great for avoiding snags and keeping everything neat in the cargo hold.

Unpacking the harness with a single zip and folding the cover away, a pair of sturdy shoulder straps, a typical sternum strap and an incredibly useful waist strap will greet you. The bag is comfortable to wear for long distances, although a little more padding in the shoulders would be a welcome improvement.

When manoeuvring the pack, you’ll find a pair of grab handles, great for throwing your belongings into overhead lockers or carrying them between buses and taxis. A single, sturdy grab handle at the top makes lifting lightwork whilst another located on the side allows the pack to be carried similar to a big ol’ 70-litre briefcase.

Moving on to the daypack and the 13-litre Farpoint Day meets all of our expectations of what a typical daypack should be. Externally, you’ll find a single zip compartment and additional top-stash (for sunglasses etc.) as well as a pair of netted compartments, designed to hold water bottles. A pair of great quality shoulder straps and a sternum strap keep the pack where it should be and a small but mighty grab handle is perfect for throwing the bag into those narrow overhead bins.

Heading back to the party piece of the pack with the joining of the two and you’ll find not one, but two methods of pack combination. A perimeter zip and additional pair of compression straps allow for a ‘piggy-back’ configuration (as pictured) and is the way that most will wear the pack in transit. Alternatively, you can clip the daypack to the harness of the main pack, forming a ‘kangaroo’ configuration, keeping any valuables in sight on your chest.

We do love options and with plenty available with the Fairview 70, it makes carrying your travel essentials a breeze, wherever you may be.

Inside the backpack

If you’re looking for space, there’s no need to look any further with a huge 70-litre hole (and a further 13-litres), prime to stuff with essentials.

The main pack opens to a large main area complete with a pair of compression straps, making it easy to fit packing cubes into the body. Opposite this, a smaller, zip-secured mesh pocket is great for storing laundry, dirty shoes, or just about anything else you can think of. There’s even a small section, found inside the harness cover, to store ID information, although luggage tags and/or identifiable marks are always encouraged.

The daypack comes ready to pack essentials and with just 13-litres to play with, you are required to pack lightly when heading out for the day. There’s a 15″ padded laptop sleeve which takes priority in the main compartment, complete with a zip pocket, perfect for keeping documents, hard drives or cables. The zip-secured top stash is perfect for keys, sunglasses and headphones. 

Material and durability

The bag material used throughout comes in the form of the Osprey 210d Nylon Mini Hex Diamond Ripstop. For those of us that aren’t technical wizards, that means that it’s made of really tough stuff.

There’s a total of three great-looking colours with Black, Misty Grey and our personal favourite, Rainforest Green to choose from. We’re personally huge fans of the way that the bag looks and although it can look a little clumsy when arranged in the “piggyback” configuration, overall it’s a very purposeful pack.

Testing the backpack

Although we’re yet to test the Fairview 70, we have given the Farpoint 70 (the men’s equivalent pack) a true travellers shakedown. 

As the pair of packs are virtually identical, we can safely say that new travellers will love the 70-litre and 13-litre pair as a simple solution for backpacking. The large pack has enough space to pack all the essentials alongside some creature comforts and, with the ability to combine the two bags together, it makes for a great travel companion.

The daypack is great for taking on day trips, out to explore a new city or to the beach with the laptop sleeve proving incredibly useful. However, the netting without the elastic is near useless when items are inside the pack and I would tend to carry water bottles instead of packing them.

Although the party piece of the packs is the ability to join the pair together, we’re not convinced that the tech is there just yet. The idea is great, but it does take some getting used to and if you’ve packed the main bag a little optimistically, it can be very difficult to “Piggy-back” the day pack.

When the pair are joined, the depth of the pack is noticeable and I often found myself off-balance and/or in the way. This isn’t too much of a problem when in transit, but walking long distances through tight spaces can be tricky.

Overall verdict

After a total of 5+ months and a total of 6 different countries, we can safely say that the Fairview 70 and Farpoint Day worked fantastically in their purpose.

The two have been thrown around in Japan, made their way on overnight busses in Thailand and navigated the chaos that is Vietnam without a hitch. There are zero rips, marks or failures in the packs and both are in top condition. 

The Osprey Fairview 70 is one of the best travel backpacks for beginners and is a great recommendation for those looking to test the travel waters. It’s cost-effective, it’s two bags in one and there’s more than enough space to allow for plenty of packing errors. 

For new backpackers, Osprey will do nothing but look after you!

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