Which pack would you live out of?
Comparing the Osprey Farpoint/Fairview Series to the Ozone Duplex
The challenge of fitting your entire life in a bag for the next little while can seem quite intimidating. For some occasional travelers, plain jane luggage will do the trick, but for those avid globetrotters jumping from hostel to hostel over the period of days, weeks or months (maybe even years!), luggage literally becomes a home, and therefore becomes an investment.
When shopping around for that investment, we tend to be on the lookout for convenience, comfort and organization; and we’d be lying if we didn’t say we’d want it to look decent too, ma’ right?! There’s a long list of backpacks out there we could throw at you that would check off that list, but we want to focus primarily on Osprey packs for this article.
When it comes to Osprey travel packs, you´ve got two major options for backpacking light. The Farpoint/Fairview series and the Ozone Duplex. These two bags are similar, yet designed for two very different types of backpackers. We’ll break down each backpack for you in this article so you can see which backpack may suit your style best.
The Farpoint/Fairview series
Although The Farpoint (men’s version) and the Fairview (women’s version) are identical when it comes to organization and layout, there are a few minor details we’ll focus on right away. The Farpoint is available in Volcanic Grey and Jasper Red, and the Fairview is available in Rainforest Green and Misty Grey. Both genders come in a 40L, 55L and a 70L and the Farpoint comes in an additional 80L size. The Farpoint torso sizing is available in S/M and M/L, and the Fairview comes in XS/S and S/M. When considering torso sizing, keep in mind that the actual litres of the bag may change slightly between torso sizes and genders. For example, the Fairview 40 XS/S is actually 38L compared to the Fairview 40 S/M is actually 40L.
The Farpoint/Fairview series bags incorporate an aluminum frame to prevent your bag from sagging and helps make sure all that weight stays off your shoulders and makes its way to your hips. These bags still incorporate a great harness that we all know and love from other Osprey hiking and expedition bags. Nice broad and comfy hip straps, adjustable sternum strap with whistle and conjoined shoulder straps with a “yolk” at the neck. The entire strap system also conveniently stows away in an easily accessible zippered flap. Whether using the stowaway feature on the carry-on 40L bags or checking the larger 55L, 70L or 80L bags, the straps are safely out of harm’s way during your travel.
The main compartment of the Farpoint/Fairview is a large luggage style opening allowing maximum accessibility. It also features two compression straps to keep your items compact and secure while traveling.
The secondary compartment on the 40L and 80L include a laptop sleeve and a large pocket for your toiletry and other organizers. The exterior of the bag also features a hidden slash pocket for quickly accessing your phone, wallet, passport etc., two deep mesh water bottle pockets and two compression straps to keep your whole bag as small and secure as possible. As for the 55L and 70L Farpoint and Fairview, the secondary compartment is detachable and conveniently becomes a daypack and/or carry-on.
When it comes to the detachable daypack on the 55L and 70L bags, the straps and structure of the bag are fairly basic. This removable daypack is simply to throw over your shoulders for an urban adventure or those light hikes with minimal weight.
In comes the Ozone Duplex
This bag comes in a black 65L (men’s version) and in a blue 60L (women’s version). Although the Ozone Duplex is limited in selection of size, when split into its two pieces, both the 60L and 65L are carry-on compliant! Imagine that, up to 65L of carry-on space. This bag features a similar harness system as the Farpoint/Fairview, but it doesn’t stow away since typically you'll be carrying this instead of checking it. Rather than having varying sizes in torso length, the Ozone Duplex features an adjustable torso height for a more accurate fit. The Ozone Duplex can easily be compared to the Farpoint/Fairview 55 and 70, as they both have a removable daypack. Where the main difference comes in, is the daypack itself.
Right off the bat, you’ll notice that the primary compartment of the Ozone Duplex is located on the outside of the bag. This compartment is accessible by a large U shaped luggage flap. The Duplex still features compression straps on the interior of the primary compartment, but Osprey decided to modify them slightly by adding more material to keep your items more secure.
Now, compared to the Farpoint/Fairview 55 and 70, where the daypack is removable from the main, larger bag, and features its own additional straps, the main storage compartment on the Ozone Duplex is actually removable from the daypack. The Ozone Duplex was designed with a comfortable and technical daypack in mind. The main strap system and aluminum wire frame is actually part of the daypack itself. This daypack is meant to carry much more weight than the daypack on the Farpoint/Fairview 55 and 70. This secondary compartment and removable daypack features a hidden slash pocket behind the harness near your head, a large laptop sleeve with organization behind the straps on your back and a large opening for larger items in its main zippered compartment.
To sum it all up, both these bags each have their own unique features for their own unique travelers. The Farpoint/Fairview series can be preferred by the urban travelers, where the variety in liter sizes and a simple, lightweight daypack is more favorable for a day in the city or those light treks to a nearby waterfall. As for the Ozone Duplex, this bag may be preferred by those globetrotters who frequently do longer day trips where comfort and weight distribution is more critical.
But rest assured, whichever your decision, the quality and craftsmanship of Osprey products along with their lifetime warranty is second to none.
