Osprey Fairview Trek 70L Backpack Review

The Osprey Fairview Trek 70L backpack is fantastic for female backpackers who want to enjoy a few luxuries without compromising comfort. This large backpack tailored to the female body opens like a suitcase, making it easy to pack up and go at a moment’s notice.

Osprey Fairview Trek 70L Backpack Review

The Fairview Trek is part of a series of travel and trekking backpacks from Osprey. It’s the female alternative to the Farpoint Trek- the bag has all the same great features of an Osprey backpack, but is built to fit the female frame.

The Fairview Trek is perfect for first-time backpackers or those who like to travel with a few luxuries in-hand. Its huge 70 litre capacity means you’ll have plenty of space for everything on your backpacking checklist.

Outside the backpack

Osprey took all the best bits from its previous travel bags and combined them with a ‘trek-ready’ design to create the Fairview Trek. Don’t mistake this bag for the Fairview 70L, which has a detachable daypack and less travel-ready features. 

You can tell this pack is prepared for everything and anything just by taking a glance over it. You’ll notice durable fabric, chunky handles, and minimum mess. When worn, the backpack is suspended from the back using an ‘AirSpeed’ ventilated mesh panel. This means no rubbing, and no back sweat. 

The Fairview Trek fits the female frame well with adjustable shoulder, sternum, and waist straps. There’s a good amount of padding around the waist and shoulders and the bag feels stable when worn.

The one issue I did find concerned the shoulder straps. They were never quite tight enough to support the weight on my back, and I would often grab onto them to make walking a little easier. I was using the smaller of the two strap lengths that come with the backpack, though my problems were likely down to my own frame.

You’ll find a fantastic number of compartments in this bag. The main section opens lengthways like a suitcase, meaning you’ll never have to rummage around for your toothbrush at the end of a long day. The main compartment is also super deep and comes with compression straps, so you’ll be able to really load it up should you wish.

The Fairview Trek can be accessed at the base or sectioned off to create the perfect pocket for dirty shoes.

Other compartments include mesh side pockets for water bottles and other essentials, hip belt pockets, and a top compartment. The only stand-out feature I didn’t like was the laptop pocket. Situated on the outside of the bag, it felt a little risky to put any valuables in there while my bag was through onto coaches or aeroplane holds.

A key feature of this rucksack is, undoubtedly, the integrated Aircover™ which works to protect your pack in transit. The cover doubles up as a rain cover, too, to ensure your gear stays dry. It’s highly unusual to find a backpack at this price which comes with a rain cover – you’re usually talking another £70-£100 on top.

The Fairview Trek 70L is clearly built to suit a range of climates. Keep the sweat off your back when trekking through Thailand, but also protect your belongings from the snow when moving around Finland.

Inside the backpack

A 70L bag is a whole lot of litres to play with. Combine that with the depth of this pack, and you’re onto something good if you’re a heavy packer.

The bag was great for my first few months of backpacking as I was getting used to the items I really needed, and the ones I could live without. Now I have that experience, I’d probably go for a 50 or even a 40 litre pack in the future.

I carried a ridiculous amount on my first backpacking trip as it’s very easy to overpack this bag due to its size. My bag got up to 14KG at one point, which meant I inevitably passed it to Adam to carry on occasion. My advice? Keep checking the weight of the bag as you pack, rather than judging on how much space is still available in the main compartment. Also, keep in mind that the weight that feels good stood in your kitchen might not feel so great when wrestling for a spot on a train or climbing hills in the heat of SE Asia.

While there’s plenty of outer pockets and various compartments to the Fairview Trek, I still kept a smaller backpack on my front to hold the essentials.

Material and durability

The Fairview Trek is made with 420HD Nylon Packcloth which is super durable, though doesn’t have the Ripstop technology of the Fairview 70L.

Choose between charcoal grey and amulet purple – both of which are great for hiding the odd bit of wear and tear. The purple colour has a black interior which is undoubtedly better at hiding stains and marks than the light blue insides of the grey.

The backpack is pretty fuss-free with minimal straps and unnecessary bulk. We like that it’s also easy to pack and carry. Note that this pack doesn’t have the same smooth exterior of the original Fairview.

Testing the backpack

This backpack is great both in theory and practice. As long as you adjust the straps to fit your body correctly and maintain overly-cautious about the weight of your belongings, you’re good to go.

The Fairview Trek 70 travelled through the end of summer in Spain, Autumn/Winter in Japan, dry season in Thailand, and rainy season in Kuala Lumpur without issue. It really stood the test of time and weather.

Overall verdict

The Fairview Trek was pretty much the best choice I could have made for my first-ever long backpacking trip. It was easy to pack, carry, and lift – which are really the only three things you need to worry about when choosing a bag.

Despite being thrown into the boot of many a coach, dragged through airport security, and carried in torrential rain and storms, my rucksack safely made it home without a scratch. It now sits happily in my wardrobe, waiting for the next big adventure.

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