If you need a mountain biker’s pack for a full day with all gear you need on the trail, this Osprey Raven 14 review is for you. This is a small backpack but loaded with very useful features and with capacity that looks far bigger than its formal 14 liters volume.
Key feature and benefits
- 3-liter Hydraulics reservoir included.
- External reservoir sleeve.
- Great bike-specific organization.
- A magnet for the hose mouthpiece.
- Unique shoulder strap zippered sleeve for the water hose.
Description
The Osprey Raven 14 women’s hydration pack is with all features a biker pack needs, and its organization is hard to match. So you have a lot of gear-specific features in its design and you will see them described below. The pack is panel loading type, with a zippered entrance to the main compartment, and inside of it, you have some mesh pocket for bike-specific gear, plus two side fabric pockets for a pump and such things.
The pack is panel loading type, with a zippered entrance to the main compartment, and inside of it, you have some mesh pocket for gear, plus two side fabric pockets for a pump and such things.
The reservoir
This is a hydration pack and it comes with a bonus 3-liter Hydraulics reservoir. It is stored in a separate zippered external compartment behind the harness.
The reservoir is nicely designed, see the picture, with a rigid handle on the top and, surprisingly, it is with its own back panel which at least partly makes it flat and prevents barreling. The reservoir is roll-top, easy to refill and secure, and it slots easily inside the bladder compartment where you have a hook for attachment.
The mouthpiece is with the bite valve that twists to lock, this is very useful to stop it accidentally leaking. The mouthpiece is also magnetic, this keeps the hose neatly on the chest.
One particularly unique feature is a sleeve along the right shoulder strap to route the water hose through it and have it secure there. So you have a long asymmetric zipper which runs all the way from the water bladder compartment to the chest strap where the hose exits and is then attached to the strap. This is visible in the picture above.
The suspension
The shoulder straps and hip belt are with BioStretch foam, very breathable and good enough on the shoulder straps. But the hip belt, although wide and pleasant, is without padding and it is there merely to keep the pack in place and not to help to carry the load. But this is a small pack in any case so this should not be an issue. You can see the lower back structure in the picture below.
The back panel is flexible, without any real frame, designed to be constantly in contact with your body. There are some ventilation channels in the foam and this all is covered with a very nice mesh, see the picture. This is what they call the AirScape system.
The sternum strap is adjustable and you can slide it quite a lot up and down. You will notice a magnet on its buckle for the hose mouthpiece.
Pockets
There are so many, and it is hard to follow all of them around. So to start with the hip belt where you have dual stretchy pockets, good size for such a small pack and they can take a lot of stuff because of the stretchy fabric.
Roll-out ToolWrap: On the bottom, you have something that looks like a bottom compartment that you have in big packs. So this is a zippered entrance to the separate compartment and when you open it, you have an organizer attached to the pack, the ToolWrap, which is also removable.
When you unroll it you see a lot of mesh organization pockets for the bike gear. All needed for repairs, first aid kit and such stuff can be stored and rolled here and then keep it zipped in this bottom compartment. See this short video which demonstrates how useful this section is:
One scratch-free zippered pocket is on the top, for glasses and electronics. On the front of the pack you have a very stretchy mesh pocket with a buckle on the top, for an extra layer of clothing, maps or anything else.
You also have a front shove-it pocket, surprisingly big and with two side straps to secure items stored there. A lot of stuff can be carried here.
There are two mesh side pockets with straps. Yet another very useful and huge front pocket is behind the front mesh pocket, it is with a vertical side zipper positioned on the left side of the pack, and inside you have several smaller pockets plus a key clip, a simply excellent design.
Attachment elements and compression straps
This is a small pack, but what you cannot put in, you can attach to the pack. There is a blinker light attachment webbing on the bottom, and on the top you have a lid lock to attach your helmet. One quite large carry handle is on the top of the pack as well.
There are dual side compression straps to stabilize loads and to attach gear externally. This is surprising in view of the dimensions of the pack, but this is useful by all means. The adjustment is easy, just slide the nylon strap through the slider buckle and cinch it.
Women-specific fit
This implies a narrower pack shape, and the shoulder harness is designed with different curves to fit a woman’s neck, shoulders, and chest. Also, because women’s hips are conically shaped with a larger difference between the waist and hip, the hip belt is shaped and angled to accommodate this.
You can see all these features in this short video by Osprey where both Raptor and Raven series are presented:
Specifications & summary of features
- One size.
- Women-specific design.
- Weight: 1.54 lb (0.7 kg) – this is without reservoir.
- Volume: 854 cub in (14 l).
- Dimensions (H x W x D): 18 x 9 x 8 in (46 x 23 x 20 cm).
- Reservoir weight: 11 oz (0.31 kg).
- Torso fit: 14 – 18 inches (36 – 46 cm).
- Hip belt fit: 26 – 49 inches (65 – 125 cm).
- Main fabric: 70D x 100D Nylon Shadow Check.
- 3L Hydraulics Reservoir included.
- AirScape back panel.
- BioStretch hip belt and harness.
- Integrated roll-out ToolWrap.
- Internal key attachment clip.
- LED light attachment point.
- LidLock bike helmet attachment.
- Magnetic bite valve.
- Reflective graphics.
- Dual side compression straps.
- Sternum strap buckle with a magnet.
- Zippered scratch-free sunglasses and electronics pocket.
- Osprey’s All Mighty Guarantee.
- Colors: 3.
Summary, rating, pros & cons
To conclude this Osprey Raven 14 review, this pack is so full of features that I do not remember any similar pack for bikers that could come close to it. Like with most of the backpacks of Osprey, here too you have so much attention to detail and this is why people love Osprey’s packs. Just see all those zippers with nice pull loops which you can use even with gloves.
The pack comes with the top-notch water bladder included, so in view of this and all the features, its price is reasonable. Note, if you would order such a bladder separately, you would pay $42 (this is the price at the moment of writing this text), please follow this link to check for updates. So I can fully recommend this pack.
There is no rain cover, and this is what I dislike more than the absence of a frame which is not essential for such a size pack. The harness is not adjustable and the pack is built only in one size, so these things are not so great.
The rating of the Raven 14 hydration pack by Amazon customers is exceptionally high, not surprising for an Osprey’s pack. Please see how I rate it:
Osprey Packs Raven 14 Women's Bike Hydration Backpack
Pros
- Bonus hydration bladder.
- Nice details and features.
- Fantastic organization.
- Great materials.
Cons
- No rain cover.
- Not adjustable harness.
- Looks expensive, but is it really?
Note that the series includes also the pack of 10 liters, and there are corresponding Raptor 14 and Raptor 10 for men, with the same features, see them all in the links below.
Thank you for reading. I hope the text has been useful. If you have any question or comment, please use the comment box below. I wish you a nice day.
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