This Osprey Tropos 32 Backpack Review is about a completely new versatile pack on the market launched recently. It comes with a kickstand, and with a trampoline mesh back which offers the best possible ventilation.
Key features & benefits
- Integrated kickstand on the bottom keeps pack upright.
- Peripheral frame and suspended trampoline style mesh.
- Multi-purpose day pack.
- Removable webbing hip belt.
Who is it for
The Osprey Tropos is a true multi-purpose pack, see some features which show this:
- It is designed with features for cyclists. So you have bottom blinker attachment loops (vertical and horizontal). On the top front, there are two attachment loops suitable for the helmet, see the picture.
- This pack is suitable for commuters; it has multiple sleeves for notebook(s) and tablets.
- The pack is with a removable hip belt and with side mesh pockets and dual side compression straps. These pockets can be used for water bottles or for any other objects (e.g., trekking poles) which can be fixed in place with the side straps. You also have an emergency whistle. So you can use it for quick and light day hiking tours.
- You can remove the hip belt and use the pack as an ordinary tool for city use,. or just fix it on the back of the pack.
Pockets and compartments
When you look from above, there are four different zippers which are entrances to separate pockets and compartments, see them in the picture. So I am going to present them one by one.
The first behind the harness is a separate zippered big compartment for a notebook. It is elevated from the bottom so if you drop the pack, the computer will not be damaged. Here you can store a computer up to 15 inches. Inside of this compartment, you have yet another zippered pocket which is big enough for a tablet.
Next is the main compartment, it contains yet another sleeve which is big enough for a notebook.
On the top of the pack is a smaller zippered scratch-free pocket for electronics. Then follows yet another long zippered entrance into a big front compartment with three mesh organization pockets for mobile and similar small items (see the picture below), plus one zippered pocket below them, and yet another organization element for pencils.
Completely on the front, you have yet another central vertical zipper which is the entrance in the front pocket, see the picture above. It is big but shallow, so here you can carry books or maps and similar flat things.
On both sides you have stretch mesh pockets. They are big enough for any water bottle. But here you can store various longer objects which are then fixed in place by dual side straps which you also have here.
Suspension system
Here you have something really good, shown in the picture below. This is the AirSpeed trampoline style suspended mesh which is completely separated from the back of the pack. It is tensioned by a peripheral frame. This is the best system for ventilation, ideal for packs of this size. This system was introduced by Deuter several decades ago.
The shoulder straps are well-padded and here you have an adjustable sternum strap with an emergency whistle. Note that the harness length is fixed, no torso adjustment.
The pack is equipped with a Kickstand which allows it to stay upright regardless of where you put it. This is a freestanding feature that may be very useful for some users.
The hip belt is thin and removable, no padding here. It is mainly to keep the pack in place and to prevent it from bouncing when you move fast on an uneven terrain. I am not impressed with it but this is the part of the design of this pack.
Other features
I have already mentioned dual compression straps on both sides and dual clips for blinker light attachment on the bottom front section, see the picture below, plus dual top loops for the attachment of a helmet or anything else.
All zippers are with nicely designed large pull loops which you can easily use even with gloves.
The side compression straps are useful for equipment attachment but they also serve to cinch the pack down and to stabilize the load if you do not have much stuff inside. The fabric is quite durable 420 HD Nylon Packcloth. You have noticed the massive carry handle on the top.
Specifications & summary of features
- Weight: 1.24 kg.
- Volume: 32 l.
- Dimensions (L x W x D): 56 x 33 x 31 cm.
- Main Fabric: 420 HD Nylon Packcloth.
- AirSpeed trampoline suspended mesh back system.
- Integrated kickstand keeps pack upright.
- Front panel organizer pocket.
- Front vertical centered zippered pocket.
- Internal laptop and tablet sleeve.
- Internal key attachment clip.
- Internal organization pockets.
- LED light attachment points.
- Separate padded laptop and tablet sleeve.
- Removable webbing hip belt.
- Dual side compression straps.
- Sternum strap with emergency whistle.
- Dual stretch mesh side pockets.
- 5 colors to choose.
- Guarantee: Osprey’s All Mighty.
Summary & rating
To conclude this Osprey Tropos 32 Backpack Review, this is a quality and reliable pack, versatile and with many great features, to mention just the kickstand and the trampoline mesh. Osprey is a renown company, I trust the brand and can recommend this pack to anybody.
But bear in mind some of my objections mentioned below. Some features are missing, but they may be of no importance for you and if you can afford the price, you will have a great pack with a really modern design.
If you plan to use it outdoor, a rain cover may be essential, but this may depend on your area of course. There are excellent and far less excellent features here. I am not impressed with the hip belt. For a pack of that size, you might need something more substantial to take the weight on the hips when the pack is fully loaded.
On the other hand, the tensioned back mesh is the best system for ventilation, I have been using such packs in the past 15 years.
There is no torso adjustment and the pack is one size, this implies one harness size as well. Many packs of this size have the harness adjustment in place, and there are very good reasons why you might need it.
The pack is designed to be versatile and it truly is. But some of its features (or lack of thereof) are not most suitable for some activities. For example, the thin hip belt and missing rain cover may make it less suitable for outdoor hiking tours.
See how I rate this pack:
Osprey Packs Tropos Laptop Backpack
Pros
- Great suspended mesh back panel.
- Great ventilation.
- Very versatile pack.
- Kickstand feature.
- Great organization.
- Very reliable and high-quality tool.
Cons
- No rain cover.
- Expensive.
- Only one size.
- Not adjustable torso length.
- Very thin hip belt.
Note that they have launched a corresponding pack for women under the name Talia and with 30 liters volume. If you still feel this pack is not for you, please check my page with many packs below 35 liters.
Thank you for reading. In the case of comments and questions please use the comment box below. Have a nice day.
Steve says
Reading your review, i get the feeling you missed the primary point of this bag – It’s an urban commuter with some extra features that make it useable in other areas. A feature that you press on heavily for eample – the thin hipbelt is far more suitable for its primary purpose. A fully padded hipbelt wouldn’t be used 90% of the time and simply gets in the way. Also you dont mention in any detail the effectiveness of some it’s main features – laptop and other commuter equipment storage.
Not sure you really tested this backpack effectively enough to warrant a review?
Jovo says
Hi, I appreciate your comment, but I wonder how closely you have read the text and watched the photos. All is in there either mentioned or shown in pictures, or both. I did not only mention but described the laptop sleeve, and all the storage elements are shown in pictures. On the other hand, haven’t you noticed what the primary subject of this site is? You disliked my objections about the hip belt, it has its purpose as it is, to prevent the pack from bouncing, but it has no purpose to carry the weight because it is so thin and uncomfortable. About ‘simply gets in the way’ – not really, it is removable, so if they had made it wider it would still be removable but much more useful.
Dean says
I just bought one of these and it is hydration compatible. There is a hole up from the compartment that most people would put a laptop in, and it can run down the loops in the shoulder straps. I was easily able to put the hydration bladder from my Manta 36 in it (although I will concede that you might not be able to put a third party hydration bladder in if it needs to be hung on something). Just thought It would be worth clarifying.
For me, this bag is the one that I can take traveling (including doing some hiking) and is also smart enough to pass in a business meeting (especially in black). As long as you don’t fill it to the brim you can fit it under a seat in an airplane. It has enough room for all my camera equipment and the compression straps can easily carry a tripod. The gap in the back panel even acts as a good pass through for going on top of my hand luggage. There are definitely a few changes I would make – and I wish it was at the $100-$120 mark, but no pack is ever perfect.
Jovo says
Thank you Dean, great to hear about your experience with this pack. I have feeling that people are yet to discover it. I also had some objections, as you rightly say there is no perfect pack.