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- Verified Buyer
I had a tough time comparing this backpack with the Gregory Tribute 55. There were a couple features I liked about this pack over the Gregory.1. I like the way the straps tuck in behind the zippered panel for checking your bag at the airport.2. I like the way the daypack can clip on your front quickly. It adds extra security and convenience.Ultimately, however, I went with the Gregory. Here’s the reasons:1. The harness is adjustable for height, far more comfortable, and balanced the load be.2. The bag that comes with the Gregory, while slightly less convenient than the zippered panel on the Osprey, completely covers the pack for transport, and doubles as a rain cover. The Osprey still has exposed straps even when it is zipped up.3. The daypack carries water bottles better on the Gregory.4. The zippers on the Gregory feel like higher quality and seem to work more smoothly.5. The Gregory has padding around the perimeter that makes loading easier and protects the cargo better.While they are both high quality packs, for me, the Gregory was the logical choice.I've been a long time supporter of Osprey and have traveled the world using my Talon 44. I love my Talon for how light weight the pack is and the 44 liters forces me to pack only what I honestly need for my entire trip. I don't like checking bags when flying, save for possibly on the return trip when I want to lighten my load of all the treasures I found along the way. With my old set up for air travel I had collapsible bags for 2 things, the day pack backpack and and a duffel for that return checked bag I mentioned. I also take a collapsible water bottle that worked really well as long as you are in an area where you can refill. There were 2 main reasons why I "upgraded" to this Farpoint 55 set up for air travel, the luggage style opening to load (versus the top load of my Talon) and the added day pack that snaps in. I have always used the front bag across my chest for my important personal items and having a way to lock that in will be great since when you are really moving and shaking through an area the shoulder straps tend to slide down (I'm not too broad shouldered). To hit on the luggage style loading, that's a huge plus. Trying to rummage through a top load bag a few times a day becomes a repack everyday if you are traveling to new locations a lot. The luggage style allows you to see everything without needing to move everything. The ability to put the straps away is great. There has been a few times on smaller flights that I had to check my Talon 44. I had it down to a science on how to tie all the straps together to help protect them on the belts. However, I have and a plastic clip snap off and I am assuming it was caught in a belt somewhere along the way.If you have never owned an Osprey, they offer the most amazing warranty. If something rips, tears, breaks...they fix it for free. If they cannot fix it they replace it at no cost to you. That goes with all of their packs no matter the size or how old they are.If you are considering the Ozone Duplex or Porter lines (the 2 air travel ultra light options that generally get mentioned in the same conversation as the Farpoint line) : Make sure you try them on before you commit to them. Make sure you add weight to them to see where the pack sits. Consider where you will be walking, is it going to be hilly, a lot of stairs, only airport to hotel or air bnb, walking miles...my friends and I feel the Ozone Duplex and the Porter doesn't sit well with weight. They are wider versus longer and the middle back takes on a lot more stress than the Farpoint. The Farpoint is just enough longer to distribute the weight much more evenly across the shoulders, mid back and lower back areas. I felt a bit more tipsy with the wider packs and for walking stairs or any hilly areas that would become a bit of an issue.Now to the few things I wish Osprey would consider adding to the Farpoint to make it even better: The day pack is really great with the soft micro fleece material liner for your electronic protection. The bag has enough space for a day carry. However, I want more dedicated loops to add carabiners. I want to clip on things I do not want to stop and open my bag for, especially if I am on a hike. I want a few loops on the back and on the shoulder straps. The 2 water bottle holders are a bit annoying as to where they are placed all the way on the back of the bag. I cannot easily get to them without removing my pack. I know the older model of the Farpoint 55 had a earphone hole at the top of the bag that people would hijack for a makeshift water bladder hose. Why isn't there a thin waterproof section for a water bladder and a hole at the top for the hose? Most of the people buying this set up travel light and do outdoor activities while traveling no matter if they are going for business or pleasure. Osprey being a trekking company has missed on this day pack in a few big yet easy fix ways.I have the same request for the 40 liter portion of the bag, give us more carry loops. Sure I can use the straps, but now I'm putting more pressure on parts that were not specifically designed to be carry loops. There are 4 dedicated loop locations on the back, give us a couple on the front and a few small zipper sections on the hip pads for little things like gum, chap stick, a few bucks...The only other wish is that there were more choices in color. I love my citron yellow Talon because it is easy to see in a crowd. Red and especially black are 2 colors that are so common that if you do check your bag that it could be a bit more work seeing yours versus all the other bags. I will put a few specific colored locks or carabiners on the bag to make mine stand out.I used this on a month long trip to Chile where I primarily stayed in hostels. I also used it for three weeks when I was sent to another state for work. I got it onto planes no problem by removing the little zip-off backpack part. At home I use the zip-off backpack constantly as my main day pack for hiking. Overall this backpack is great.There were some potential downsides which are worth mentioning since there are other Osprey backpacks that might fit your needs better. First, there were some times in airports where I wished this backpack had some wheels, because it was quite heavy, and sometimes I didn't feel like putting on the backpack to walk somewhere. Second, it lacks pockets on the waist strap that you find on some other models. There were some times where I was walking long distances and I wished I had some waist strap pockets like I saw on the backpacks of some other travelers. Third, there is not a ton of padding on the shoulders. It's still quite comfortable and fine for city travel, but some other packs I've tried had more padding for long-distance treks.This is certainly a nice backpack. Mine still basically looks new and nothing has broken or worn out. Its features seem specifically made for hostel backpacking, mostly through cities. It could be used for outdoor trekking but I think other Osprey backpacks might serve the outdoor traveler a bit more. It gets five stars because it's a great backpack, but make sure you know what you're buying and maybe consider other packs if you're focusing more on outdoor trekking.Great product! Easy, simple, reliable to use!Great for traveling. I did a 9day trip out of country with this bag. Fit all I needed pretty easily, and was able to carry it onto all the planes. The day pack is pretty functional too, definitely came in handy. It has good weight support, was not too bad to have to lug around. Highly recommendAfter quite a bit of research I bought this for a kid backpacking through Europe. I like that it is tidy and can fit in all overhead compartments….. especially with the airline industry strikes going on right now. You can watch many videos on YouTube and all give this pack very high marks. The only problem…. Small water bottle pockets. So I bought Swig bottles as one person suggested. They fit perfectly. Great graduation gift for someone young hitting the road.Overall I quite like this piece of luggage. Originally I bought and 80, a 70 and a 55. Never got roudn to using the 80. When 70 & 55 arrived together, I put against one another but was disappointed the 55 height and width is almost the same as the 70. Only the depth difference make the 55 smaller in effect, i.e. no chance of having the 55 as cabin luggage. So returned the 55 and bought a Red colour 70 instead.There are times when I would want to have hands free while moving around or one hand pull a wheeled Sojourn 80 or Farpoint 65 Wheels (yes have those too) and one hand free to hold hand rails etc. Or travel by train, leave the main pack on the floor and unzip the piggy-back pack to be with me at the seat.The advantage of this piggy-back pack over the other small Osprey packs is that the main zip is lockable. There are two pullers for the main zip where the puller have holes large enough for a TSA approved luggage padlock to slot in. Second advantage over a Daylite is the netted section inside is slightly padded. I have 3 Daylite, Daylite Plus etc. and none have these two useful features.One slight disappointment is the thinness of the materials used for the main pack. OK the harness cover could be this thin but I was hoping the main parts would be thicker, e.g. 600 denier Cordura, or a thick Ripstop material. Basically I would never choose to use the side handle as it is sewn onto the thin material without much backing to reinforce the sewing. The last thing I was is a rip during a 3 month work assignment where I may have to transfer from boat to boat to inspect each of them a few days at a time during the production phase of a project. Hence only giving this 4 stars in consideration of value against the recommended retail price.Wonderful and magnificent bag!The only downside were that the front backpack is now quite difficult to start the zip. This may be dirt but the other zips work well. I would have also appreciated a couple more inner pockets but other than that this bag is incredible.Ive taken it around asia for 3 months where its been chucked about, abused, strapped to the back of a motorbike for several days across harsh Nepalise roads and its come back 100% intact. I kept both bags at brimming maximum capacity for 99% of all my trips.Love this and will keep it for all future trips.So to get right to the point, I bought this for me, and bought my wife the Fairview 70. We went for a trip to London. My wife complained of severe shoulder pain wearing her heavy women's fit Osprey Fairview 70. What happened? We ended up swapping. The Osprey Farpoint 55 looked much more comfortable on her and her facial expression was much more relaxed. I don't know if it is the thicker straps, or the better design of the Farpoint, but my wife said she felt her back supporting the weight, and not pulling on her shoulders. As for me, I was stuck with her Osprey Fairview and I know it is supposed to be a women's fit, but it was sore on me as well as her. It was agony!The Osprey Farpoint is possibly the best heavy duty backpack for its straps, design, centre of gravity being closer to your back (the 70 might be further away), plus having features like the 'day pack'. It lives up to its Hype, unlike the Fairview 70, regardless if you are male or female.If you are a lady, you may actually find the Farpoint 55 much more comfortable than the Fairview range, despite the Fairview being technically a 'womens fit'. My wife said she will be happy to go backpacking again provided I buy her either a case on wheels, or a Farpoint 55.Probably the most over rated backpack I have ever found. It has little if no positives. Sadly I believed all the rave reviews of this bag. The harness is mediocre at best. The detachable day bag is very clumsy for detaching and reattaching. The zips are awkward to access. The front loading is difficult as the fabric is too light. Overall a very poor choice. I suspect the fabric will have a short enough lifespan too!Could not fault this backpack. It has everything you could ever want a back pack to have. The zip opening means that it is really easy to pack and find your things. It also means that it is lockable.The detachable back pack has plenty of compartments to keep documents safe and your day pack nice and organised.The only thing that it doesn't have is a waterproof cover and you could easily buy one of those separately.This back pack is perfect and worth the investment.
