Backpack review: Osprey Momentum 22 Daypack

Before our recent trip to Central America, my husband and I decided his daypack needed to be replaced. Since we often travel together, we share lots of things including our luggage, which means I got to try out his new backpack too. Now I’m jealous, and I wish I had bought one just for myself!

What’s your backpack brand and model?

It’s an Osprey Momentum 22, which is a unisex daypack, and it sells on Amazon for $129.95.

>> Check out the Osprey Momentum 22 on Amazon.

How long have you had your backpack and where have you traveled with it?

We’ve only had this backpack since late December, but it’s already gotten a lot of use. We traveled for three and a half weeks through Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador with it. Andy uses it all the time when we’re home and he wants to bring his laptop to a cafe to work.

What factors were most important to you in choosing a backpack?

I love pockets, and I’ve managed to convince my husband how important and useful they are, so I made sure there were lots of pockets to organize smaller things in the bag. Another important thing we were looking for this time was a specific laptop sleeve. It helps protect the laptop better, and it makes it easier to take the laptop out at security checks at the airport. This feature on the Osprey bag is making me really want to either steal Andy’s bag or buy my own.

What do you like most about your backpack? Any down sides?

That laptop sleeve is my favorite feature. It’s bigger than necessary for my 13 inch laptop and works really well for Andy’s 15 inch laptop. I can fit my laptop plus my Kindle and my external hard drive in the sleeve. It also has a rain cover, which is essential for a bag designed to hold a laptop, but it was surprisingly hard to find a bag that had both a rain cover and a laptop sleeve.

I also like that the backpack has side pockets that can hold flip flops or a water bottle. It sounds like a weird thing, but I really like that the zippers have little loops to grab onto to open and close the bag. And as I mentioned earlier, having several smaller internal pockets really helps keep things organized.

There aren’t many down sides to this backpack. I think the material is a little stiff, but I think it’ll have a little more give once it’s more broken in. I guess that means we need to plan another trip soon!

Tell us about the fit and comfort level of your backpack.

Despite a significant height difference (I’m 5’1″/155cm and Andy is 5’11″/180cm) the backpack fit well for both of us. The straps were easy to adjust when we switched from one person to the other. It was comfortable to wear too. The laptop sleeve is at the back, which means having something flat against your back. This made the bag feel balanced, and nothing ever felt like it was poking my back.

If you want to take your backpack as carry-on luggage, can you?

Yes, definitely. Since it’s a daypack, it’s small enough to easily pass as carry-on luggage.

Have you found the size to be too small, just right, or too large?

For a daypack, the size is just right. While traveling, here’s what we typically had in the bag: laptop, external hard drive, Kindle, headphones (the big kind, not earbuds), one medium packing cube, one liquids bag, a rain jacket, long sleeved shirt, some food, and some pens and paper. One pair of flip flops was in an outside pocket, and usually a water bottle in the other. There was a little wiggle room where we probably could’ve squeezed in a few other small things.

Overall, would you recommend your backpack?

Yes, this has turned out to be a really great daypack. If you travel with a laptop, this is a good option to protect it. It also makes repacking after passing through security so much easier since the laptop has its own home in there. And you can’t go wrong with those extra pockets!

>> Check out more of our backpack reviews for women travelers.