The Osprey Farpoint 40 is the smallest backpack from Osprey’s ever-popular travel bag series, new and improved for 2023. If you’re looking for a backpacking companion for the coming months, we’d argue this is the pack to choose – here’s our full review of the Osprey Farpoint 40L.
The Osprey Farpoint 40 is the travel backpack, popular with backpackers, global travellers, trekkers, digital nomads and just about everybody else choosing to live out of a backpack.
Unlike the older model of the pack, the new Farpoint 40 is a one-size-fits-all travel bag – making it much easier to order online with confidence.
Weighing in at just 1.6kg, the Osprey Farpoint 40 is one of the lightest backpacks of this size available on the market – something your back will thank you for in the long run.
We’ll get things started by taking a look at the outside of the pack, namely the business end with an impressive harness situation.
There’s tonnes of support with a pair of sturdy shoulder straps, a sternum strap (complete with a jazzy whistle) and a hip belt to keep that weight cemented to your back. But it’s the bags ability to zip them all out of sight that’s the genius solution. It’s not just a fun party trick, but keeps all the strappy bits from snagging on anything and everything when in transit. This is great for storing the bag in the cargo hold on busses or under your seat on planes.
Moving on from geeking out over the strapless scenario and on to the zippers where you’ll find some top-quality items straight out of the YKK factory. In our Farpoint testing, we’ve not had a single issue with any of the zippers and with some serious force applied with some very full bags, we’re happy to see them on all of those in the Farpoint series. But, they’re not just tough, but clever too with the option of padlocking the main compartment of the pack if desired – perfect for peace of mind when you’re separated from your belongings.
As you’d expect from a high-quality travel backpack, the Osprey Farpoint 40 comes with a pair of grab handles located on both the top and side of the bag. These can be used to carry the bag, although, with a travel backpack like this, they’re perfect for manoeuvring the pack into awkward spaces rather than transporting long distances.
Moving inside the pack and the main, large U-shaped zip design is perfect when living out of the bag whilst on the road – a lifesaver when compared to the traditional top-loaded pack.
This design ensures that everything in your pack can be accessed with ease, reducing the need for packing cubes, but not totally. As with every other backpack that we’ve covered, we’d recommend a good quality set of compression packing cubes – it’ll make life so much easier. There is also a pair of compression straps found inside the main compartment, proving incredibly useful for packing everything down nice and tight inside the pack. Finally, covering the front side of the main compartment, you’ll find a large mesh pocket, great for narrow items, laundry and raincoats etc.
Moving on to the second, smaller section of the pack, you’ll find the space drastically decrease when optimistically packing the main compartment. It’s a bit of a shame really, but some smaller or more flexible items such as jumpers can be encouraged into the section, but it will leave you a little deflated. However, it’s the laptop sleeve and separate zip pocket that are the main event of this pocket and the padded pair make for a great addition to the pack. If you would prefer a clamshell-opening pack with equal amounts of room on both sides, we’d recommend the Cotopaxi Allpa 35L.
Although the laptop sleeve is a good addition, it does seem like the padding would benefit from an addition laptop sleeve and the location of the PC is strange being so far away from your back. If you’ve got a bit of a heavier laptop, expect to feel the effects as your body rocks backwards. The sensible option would have been to locate the PC sleeve directly behind the harness, but with the zipper designed to hide the straps away, space is a little tight. There’s no single solution and the placement on the sleeve may be a little strange, but we think that the Osprey Farpoint 40 may have found the best solution.
We’re not quite finished with the inside of the backpack just yet thanks to the top pocket perfect for throwing need-to-reach-but-also-keep-safe items. We’re talking passports, mobile phones and wallets as the perfect candidates. This pocket is the easiest to open compartment so anything you may need to access on the go should be popped in here.
Osprey has been really focusing on its sustainability efforts this year, which has become clear with its new use of recycled fabric. The standard Osprey 210d Nylon Ripstop once used across all Farpoint products has now been replaced with 450D Recycled Twist Dobby Polyester.
The Farpoint 40 is available in four colours – Gopher Green, Black, Tunnel Vision Grey, and Muted Space Blue. The grey was our test choice for the 70L equivalent and we’ve spotted a number of the same – if you want to stand out and spot your pack from distance, green might be the winner for you.
Although we’ve not yet given the Osprey Farpoint 40 a good run out, we have spent the best part of 6 months with its big brother, the Farpoint 70 and we’ve learned plenty along the way.
First of all, we can guarantee that the 40L pack is the size to have and when carrying the 70L for distances long and short, I cannot emphasise enough how much I wished for the 40L. Durability-wise, the pack is incredible with a near-new feel after months of hard travel and the ripstop technology proves to be a tough and lightweight solution backpackers can really rely on.
From customer reviews, we can see that the second compartment is a little on the frustrating side and that is something that could be improved with a backpack rework.
It’s difficult to confirm that the Farpoint is carry-on friendly across all planes, as baggage restrictions can differ massively between airlines.
However, Osprey claims that the Farpoint 40 can be carried onto most flights without issue – provided you don’t overpack the bag. If you leave a little extra room in the pack, it will be much easier for you to squeeze into the dreaded luggage testers at the airport!
Even if you do end up checking the bag once or twice during your travels, it will still work out way cheaper than checking a larger pack on every flight you take – just make sure to plan ahead so you aren’t met with unwanted charges at the check-in desk.
Both looking at the facts and with near 6 months of everyday testing with the Farpoint 70, it’s clear that the Farpoint 40 is the best backpacking solution in the Farpoint lineup.
The Osprey Farpoint 40 is one of the all-time best backpacks for travellers whether they’re new to backpacking or are experienced global wanders. The 40L size has more than enough space for all travel essentials within a carry-on size for a large number of airlines.
To cut a long story short, we think that the Osprey Farpoint 40L is one of the best backpacks for travelling available to purchase today.
Looking for the answer to one of the many questions about the Osprey Farpoint 40? Check out the Frequently Asked Question section below and (hopefully) we’ll be able to answer your query!
The Farpoint 40 is on the smaller side of travel backpacks, but we would argue that it is the perfect size for backpacking.
Backpackers will easily be able to pack everything they need for a 3, 6 or even 12 month trip inside the 40L pack. You may be sceptical at first, but after that first trial pack you’ll know you’ve made the best choice!
The rules of what qualifies as a carry-on and how strict these policies actually are when arriving at the terminal vary massively. We’ve known plenty of backpackers to get away on every flight with the Farpoint 40 whereas others find themselves needing to check their luggage.
If you want to play it safe, it’s best to check the carry-on policy of the airline that you’re looking to fly with and compare this against the dimensions of the pack.
The dimensions of the Osprey Farpoint 40 can be found below:
The Osprey Farpoint 40 is not claimed to be waterproof but is recognised as water-resistant.
To ensure that your belongings are kept nice and dry when backpacking we would always recommend either the Osprey waterproof raincover or to treat the pack with a waterproofing spray before travel.
The Osprey Farpoint 40 is available in four colours – Black, Gopher Green, Tunnel Vision Grey, and Muted Space Blue.
Still not managed to find what you’re looking for? Reach out to us on social or send an email through the contact page and we’ll get back to you with any helpful information!
