Six Osprey daypacks, about $70 to $200, from the little Daylite to the Stratos, and what owners say about each one.
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Get the Talon 22, about $175. Its padded hipbelt carries the weight and the back adjusts to fit you.
Want to spend less? Osprey Hikelite 26 · $135.00
Want to spend less? Osprey Hikelite 26 · $135.00
A padded hipbelt with zip pockets for a phone and snacks, a back you can set to your torso, and a place for poles you can stow without stopping. It's heavier than the old Talon.
Of all the daypacks Osprey makes, the one most day hikers should end up with is the Talon 22. The reason is the hipbelt. It's padded enough to take real weight off your shoulders, and its zip pockets keep your phone and a snack where you can reach them. The back slides to fit your torso, and a loop on the strap stows your poles without taking the pack off.
The Talon 22 runs about $175, and the Tempest 22 is the same pack cut for women. The catch: the 2025 version is about half a pound heavier than the old one, and it still doesn't come with a rain cover. To spend less, the Hikelite 26, about $135, is cooler on a hot day and comes with a cover, but its belt carries less. The Stratos 24, about $200, is the one for hot days and heavy loads, and the Sportlite 20, about $90, is the best of the packs under $100.
A padded hipbelt with zip pockets for a phone and snacks, a back you can set to your torso, and a place for poles you can stow without stopping. It's heavier than the old Talon.
About 2.4 lb Torso 17 to 22 in No rain cover
Also on Amazon:Women's (Tempest 22)
A mesh back that keeps your shirt off the pack and a rain cover in the bottom pocket, for about $40 less than the Talon. The hipbelt is the weak part.
About 1.8 lb Rain cover included One size
The coolest back and the most support in the lineup, for extra water, winter layers or a gear-heavy day. Close to 3 lb empty, and it doesn't fold flat.
About 3 lb Rain cover included Adjustable torso
Also on Amazon:Women's (Sirrus 24)
A real hiking pack for about $90, with a ventilated back and a light frame sheet. No hipbelt pockets, and a full load ends up on your shoulders.
About 1.3 lb No hipbelt pockets One size
The commuter that also does a morning hike, with a padded laptop sleeve and room for a jacket. No frame, so a full water bladder tires your shoulders.
About 1.3 lb Laptop up to 14 in No frame
Water, a snack and a light layer for an hour or two on the trail, and it clips onto bigger Osprey packs. A laptop and a jacket fill it up.
About 1.1 lb Clips onto other Osprey packs 13 L
The big split in Osprey's lineup is the back. Ridged foam against your back (the Talon, Sportlite and both Daylites) keeps the load close and steady when you scramble or ride a bike, but your shirt gets damp on a warm climb. Mesh held off your back on a wire frame (the Hikelite and Stratos) leaves a gap for air, nearly two inches on the Stratos, and makes the pack bulkier. If you sweat through your shirt on every climb, the mesh is worth the extra bulk.
The second split is the hipbelt, and it matters more than it looks. My first summer in Pisgah I hiked with a school backpack that had no belt at all, and by the top of Tennent Mountain the straps had left two red lines on my shoulders. Only the Talon and the Stratos have a padded belt that really carries weight, with zip pockets on it. The Hikelite and Sportlite have a webbing belt with padded wings, which steadies the pack but leaves most of a full load on your shoulders. The Daylites are built for town, with room for a short hike. If 22 or 26 liters is the wrong size, the Talon also comes in 26 L and the Hikelite in 18, 28 and 32 L.
| Capacity | 13 L for the Daylite to 26 L for the Hikelite; 20 to 24 L for the rest |
|---|---|
| Weight | About 1.1 lb for the Daylite to about 3 lb for the Stratos, as Osprey lists them; the Talon 22 is about 2.4 lb |
| Back panel | Ridged foam against your back on the Talon, Sportlite and Daylites; a mesh panel held off your back on the Hikelite and Stratos |
| Hipbelt | Padded with two zip pockets on the Talon and Stratos; a webbing belt with padded wings on the Hikelite and Sportlite; a removable strap on the two Daylites |
| Rain cover | Included with the Hikelite and Stratos, sold separately for the others |
| Fit | Adjustable torso on the Talon (17 to 22 in) and Stratos; women's versions of both; one size for the rest |
| Price on Amazon | About $70 to $200 |
Most of what's been written about the new Talon starts with its weight. Osprey redesigned it in 2025, and it went from about 1.9 lb to about 2.4 lb. Adventure Alan says it now weighs more than most of the ultralight overnight packs it recommends, and OutdoorGearLab puts it among the heavier daypacks for its size. Better Trail sees it the other way: it carried around 20 lb in the Talon through the Picos de Europa and never found the weight a problem. That half pound shows most when the rest of your kit is light; with three liters of water and a jacket on board, the padded belt makes up for it.
The Talon's other trade-off is heat. The Talon's foam back sits on you, and OutdoorGearLab finished its hikes with a damp shirt more often than with mesh-backed packs. The Stratos is the opposite case: one CleverHiker editor has carried versions of it for ten years, through desert heat and heavy winter days, and in the heat its mesh back stays drier than a foam back. The trade is nearly 3 lb of pack that won't fold flat in a suitcase.
The budget packs share one complaint: the belt. On the Hikelite, Better Trail calls the hipbelt a disappointment next to the rest of the pack, and an Advnture reviewer found it uncomfortable after a long day in the fells and broke the sternum strap early on; he'd take the 28 or 32 for mountain days. Osprey's 2026 version adds padded wings to that belt, but it's still webbing, not a padded belt like the Talon's. On the Sportlite, a CleverHiker editor came home from a fully loaded eight-mile hike with a stiff neck and shoulders. And on the Daylite Plus, a full water bladder tired the shoulders after a few hours. One owner, writing in 2017 about an older version, went as far as asking whether it was the worst daypack around, for side pockets too small for most of their bottles and shoulder straps that bunched up against the back.
The Talon also has a few small irritations. The elastic that holds your pole grips rubbed an OutdoorGearLab reviewer's arm until all the slack was taken out, the hipbelt pockets sit a little far back, and the hook for a water bladder is sized for Osprey's own: a non-Osprey bladder needed a small carabiner. CleverHiker adds that the side pockets suit a Nalgene better than a tall, thin bottle.
Talon owners tend to keep theirs for a long time. One Colorado hiker has used an older Talon 22 for five years, Longs Peak included, and the only thing that broke was a zipper pull, with a spare already in the box. One owner of the older Talon carries three liters of water and hardly feels it, and another learned on vacation that the pack is water resistant, not waterproof. OutdoorGearLab found the bigger Sportlite 25 more comfortable than the Talon in its own comparison, for considerably less money.
The 2025 Talon 22 comes in one size that adjusts for torsos from 17 to 22 inches: you slide the shoulder harness up or down the back and set it once. If you need a longer hipbelt or longer shoulder straps, look for the Extended Fit version. The women's Tempest 22 adjusts from 14 to 19 inches and has a different harness, but OutdoorGearLab's female reviewers preferred the Talon's wider-set straps, so try both if you can. The Stratos adjusts too, in a men's fit, with the Sirrus 24 as the women's version. The Hikelite, Sportlite and Daylites come in one unisex size with no adjustment.
If you never carry more than water, a snack and a shell, the Sportlite does that for about half the price and weighs about a pound less.
The Daylite holds 13 liters and the Daylite Plus 20. That's the real difference: a 13-inch laptop, a light jacket and a few small things fill the Daylite to the brim and leave room to spare in the Plus, which also adds two front pockets and padding on the laptop sleeve. Both have a ridged foam back and a removable strap at the waist, and the shoulder straps are the same size. For an hour or two on the trail, the Daylite is plenty. For a commute that ends at a trailhead, take the Plus. For a full day of hiking, take neither, and look at the Sportlite or the Talon.
Not set on Osprey? The best hiking daypacks puts the Talon next to Deuter and Gregory. The Gregory Miko 20 is the closest thing to a Talon with a laptop sleeve. The Deuter suits hikers who move fast and pack light, and the Gregory Zulu 30 picks up where the Stratos stops. And to load whichever pack you buy, here's how to pack a backpack so the heavy things ride against your back.
| Pack | Capacity | Back panel | Hipbelt | About |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Osprey Talon 22This review | 22 L | Ridged foam | Padded with pockets | $175 |
| Osprey Hikelite 26This review | 26 L | Mesh held off your back | Webbing with padded wings | $135 |
| Gregory Miko 20 | 20 L | Ridged foam | Padded with pockets | $160 |
| Deuter Speed Lite Pro 25 | 25 L | Light ventilated panel | Hip fins with pockets | $140 |
| Gregory Zulu 30 | 30 L | Mesh held off your back | Padded | $200 |
A padded hipbelt with big pockets and a laptop sleeve, for about $15 less than the Talon. The torso range is short, so try it on if you can.
About 1.5 lb, with vest-style straps and a soft-flask pocket up front. It hugs you for fast hiking, and carries a heavy load less well than the Talon.
The step past the Stratos when your day load starts to look like an overnight. Full-length mesh back, a frame and a hipbelt that moves with you. Even bulkier.
Six Osprey daypacks and three rivals. Osprey's specs come from each pack's Amazon listing, and the long-term reviews at CleverHiker, OutdoorGearLab, Better Trail, Adventure Alan, Advnture and The Next Summit filled in how each one carries, along with owner reviews of the Talon and the Daylite Plus. Prices come from Amazon and update on this page.
The Talon 22 for most hikers: a padded hipbelt with pockets, an adjustable back and room for a full day. The Hikelite 26 costs about $40 less and runs cooler, and the Stratos 24 is the one for hot weather and heavy loads.
Yes, if you hike for more than an hour or two. What you pay for is a back that breathes and a belt that takes the weight, and owners keep these packs for years. If your hikes are short and your loads light, the Sportlite at about $90 does the job for about half the price of a Talon, and the Daylite Plus at about $80 also works for the commute.
It's fine for an hour or two on the trail. It holds 13 liters, enough for water, a snack and a light layer, and weighs about a pound. Its waist strap is a thin removable one, so for a full day with a lot of water, the Sportlite 20 or the Talon 22 carries much better.
No. The fabric sheds a drizzle, but steady rain gets in. The Hikelite and the Stratos come with a rain cover in a bottom pocket; for the Talon you buy one separately. For a pack built to stay dry, see my waterproof backpacks guide.
It is for most day hikes. Twenty-two liters takes water, lunch, a rain jacket and a warm layer, and OutdoorGearLab never ran out of room on five-and-a-half-hour hikes. If you carry winter layers or gear for two, the Talon 26 is the same pack in a bigger size.
If you hike all day, the Talon 22, about $175, is the pack to have: the load rides on your hips, and once the back is set to your torso you never touch it again. If you hike in the heat, want a rain cover in the box or would rather spend about $135, take the Hikelite 26.