Wednesday 5 February 2014

osprey fanboy

I love Osprey. I am sure that other companies make good kit, but I did an awful lot of research before I bought my Osprey Talon 22 rucksack four or five years ago and it has been brilliant - comfortable, bigger than advertised and incredibly well-thought out. It's got side pockets and loops which let me carry a hockey stick. It's got a stretchy panel which I thought was pointless but which is invaluable for stuffing a book into when commuting. It's got a whistle. Seriously, a whistle!

I got my wife and her friend to buy them in different sizes for an expedition. They love them too.

I'd never heard of Osprey before I researched and bought mine but you see them around London more and more. I think they might be on the verge of being mainstream, which might almost upset Ospreyists because they get really culty. I've also got the Sojourn luggage (again amazing, again I have persuaded about five other people who have borrowed it or seen me using it to buy their own). I've got the hydration pack which attaches to a little magnet on the strap of the rucksack with an immensely satisfying little click.

I've used the Talon 22 very heavily. This happened:
Well, fair enough, I thought. Osprey do offer a lifetime materials guarantee, though. This has to have some clause for reasonable wear, which this has definitely had. I sent an email saying that I loved my pack and I presumed that I was out of any possible warranty. Osprey replied within an hour saying that they didn't have a new suspension system (the straps, basically) in blue, but they could send one in black and was that ok? It arrived a day later.

This feels like a very boring story, but that's only because you aren't a Cultist. If you join the Cult then you will enjoy it and others like it. It's great being in a Cult.

(For info, you should also buy a Contigo Double-wall vacuum mug and an Arc'teryx Atom LT hoody.)

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