Quasar 28

I love my Quasar backpack. It is almost perfect and I would not want to miss it. I especially love the many compartments so that everything can be kept in place. Just two ideas for improvement:
# 1 The back Panel makes me sweat. Maybe another back panel (similar to DEUTER backpacks) would be better.
# 2 I really wonder why so many backpacks have that front bungee compression system. I personally never use it and I never see others using theirs. I also own the Osprey Flare 22 backpack which has a stretch front pocket. I like that one much better and I find it very useful. If the Quasar had this, it would be perfect. Or, maybe a combination of both the bungee system and the stretch pocket?

I have been using this backpack for just over 18 months for my nightly/daily commute on the train. I got this pack to replace my old and tired Berghaus 24/7 30 litre, which is also very good. Lots of room for all of my college and work items (2 x A4 pads of paper, a Surface Pro 3, a spare jumper/t-shirt, a packed lunch and a book). The padding looks and feels secure, never had any damage issues or items moving around my bag. Also some useful compartments/pockets for storing smaller items such as pens, calculator, loose change and I.D cards. This pack is very comfortable, even when fully loaded. The pack is still in excellent condition, with no signs of deterioration.

I have given this pack a four star (really it's a 4.5) rating because of one issue - the back panel. This pack makes me sweat a fair bit, even more so when the air temperature goes above 12 - 15 degrees Celsius. If this pack had the airscape back panel, it would be perfect for me. I am not an out-of-shape couch potato, I regularly go for 15+ mile runs and 80 mile bike rides as well as gym work, and it usually takes me a fair bit of activity to get a sweat on. I am tempted by another Osprey pack (Escapist) that has the airscape feature, but I really like how this pack holds all of my gear, especially the double sleeve feature in the main compartment (actually a triple if you count the small zipped compartment).

I am 6ft 1, slim build and I have the M/L size, and the pack fits perfectly. Can also be used as a carry-on for flights as I used it on EasyJet and British Airways.

I also own the Osprey Kestrel 48.

Hope this helps.

I bought this backpack 2 1/2 years ago as a daypack for commuting to work and the occasional hike on holidays. I have used it daily for the last year, before this every it was in use infrequently. Overall it looks like a good backpack, but I'm quite disappointed in the quality of this Osprey pack (and Osprey in general, as the warranty covers nothing and the lifespan is apparently less than 3 years).

The positive points are the different pockets, in different sizes. I used the back compartment meant as laptop sleeve for documents or my tablet as it didn't fit my laptop (sizes advertised in store were incorrect, but luckily not the reason I bought this!). The front pocket also has handy pockets for phone, pens and other small items. The mesh pockets on the site will hold a bottle of water quite well, and I usually had a plastic bag in it. I've kept jackets or a hoodie strapped to the front when it was too warm to wear them. The shoulder straps are comfortable while wearing it. The overall size is quite good and it can potentially hold a lot of items without it becoming too heavy to carry.

The negative points are basically it's very short lifespan, as things started tearing (side pockets for one, the mesh at the back started wearing through quite quickly) and after 2 1/2 years (and only 1 year using it day to day to carry lunch and paperwork) the zipper lining has come lose. After inspecting it, it's worn down from the zipper itself as it basically slides past the fabric when opening and closing the bag. Might be production error, but Osprey claims it's ' reasonable wear and tear' and doesn't give any warranty whatsoever. Would expect this when buying a cheap backpack, but honestly expected better quality from a brand as Osprey. I'm now looking at other brands to replace this backpack as it's unusable (well I need safety pins to close it) and will be triple checking my larger backpack when I use it for travel.

Would have given this product a higher rating if it weren't for the bad production quality or the short lifespan. I've had packs in the same price range lasting for 10 years easily, so less than 3 I feel it's quite short. So if you don't mind replacing the backpack after about 2 years, I can recommend this pack.

I bought this 1 year ago, after a lot of research on backpacks. The backpacks I usually bought (cheap ones), kept breaking after a few months of usage, so I decided to give this Osprey Quasar a go. And I couldn't have been happier about that choice. I use this bag every single day, and I just love its many features. As a CS student, I always carry my laptop around, and I feel perfectly safe letting the laptop slide down its pocket. One of the things I love, is that the internal laptop-sleeve is raised a bit from the bottom of the bag. This means that if I should, for some reason, drop my bag on the ground, the laptop will only take a minimal of the impact.

Another feature I think is worth to mention, is its many small pockets. There's a protective pocket for my sunglasses, there's a lot of small mesh pockets in the 2nd compartment, where I put stuff like USB memory sticks and my keys.

There's only one single flaw that I have found with this bag (and it's a minor one). Sometimes the little zipper-handles (those made of cord), falls off. Fortunately I haven't lost any of my outer zipper-handles yet (only one that was on an internal pocket in the main compartment), but they do come of quite easily, so it is probably just a matter of time.

Overall this is an awesome bag, sits perfectly on my shoulders, and doesn't feel heavy at all when using the sternum strap.

A quality item with well thought out and genuinely useful features - and almost half the cost of some other brands with similar spec. No hesitation in recommending this product. *****

(This review was left for a previous version of the product)