PORTER 46

Comments about Osprey PORTER 46:

I bought this pack for a 1-month Europe adventure, travelling in extreme heat as well as wet weather. When I first got this pack, I thought it was very small and was worried how I was going to fit my stuff in it (I bought it to beat the RyanAir regulations). However, this pack exceeded my expectations and it ended up being 3/4 empty by the end of the trip. It does not have many pockets, but that is okay as I just stuffed my itineraries and little things in the outside pockets.

Comments about Osprey PORTER 46:

I just returned from three weeks in Costa Rica and lived out of the Porter 46 the entire time. The amazing thing is I came back thinking I could have taken more clothing if I needed to. I did pack quite light, used some compression bags and the 46 was easy to carry distances of perhaps half a mile and most importantly it fit easily into the overhead bin of a 737/800. I did considerable research on this bag and field tested it and I heartily recommend it. It has heavy duty zippers, and very strong material overall. Check it out before you buy, I think you will be impressed.

Comments about Osprey PORTER 46:

Osprey, this is probably the best travel pack on the market, at least in terms of being maximum legal carry-on size, holding a ton of gear, and weighing very little. Do you want to know what would make it perfect? Really?? You do?? Cool! A Zip-off daypack option like the Farpoint 55. I would buy THAT pack, but the dimensions (even of the small size) might mean some airlines make me check it, which costs me money and time. PLEASE either redesign the Porter 46 pack to make attaching a smaller daypack much easier, OR change the dimensions of the Farpoint 55 to be more strictly airline compliant. THEN you will have a happy, loud customer for life.

Comments about Osprey PORTER 46:

This is a GREAT travel pack. Easy to load and if you are a minimalist like me perfect for trips anywhere throughout the world. I also have a Osprey Farpoint 70 (S/M) which I use for long trips - for me that would be 5-6 weeks. But anything less than that I use the Porter 46L. Additionally, I have a Osprey DayLite which I can attach to the Porter 46L as well which gets me to about 58L total between the 2 packs. To me I feel like I can get a ton of things in the 46L - using compression cubes is key and I think if you are looking to travel "lighter" this would be a great way to get there!

Comments about Osprey PORTER 46:

I LOVE this bag. I have had it now for over a year. I originally bought this for a 3 week long European backpacking trip. Let me tell you I searched and searched for a bag that I could take that would hit all the check marks on my list for travel. It hit every single one. I was very nervous about losing my belongings during transfers but because of this bags compact body style I was able to wear it on the subways, put it on my lap on buses, and put it under my feet on the plane. It fits perfectly in overhead bins as well. We spent on average one or two nights at each stop and took every type of transportation that Europe has to offer including the trains. I was always able to take out what I needed quickly and efficiently without making a mess of my belongings. I was never careful with my bag I definitely put it through the ringer during my trip and you would never even know it still looks the same as the day I received it. I have since taken it on a cross country trip, where it was stowed under my seat which made for less leg room but still I was surprised that it fit. I have taken this bag camping numerous times. It has worked for overnight trips and weekend trips as well. The material is amazing. It wipes clean very easily. The front load style is my absolute favorite thing about this bag. I couldn't imagine my trip to Europe with a top load bag it would have made for an awful trip. This bag makes traveling easy. I was able to fit a full quart size bag for my 311 liquids in the top zipper and pull it out with easy whenever I was going through security. The bag also has options for locks on the zippers which I also loved while staying in hostels, or having my bag plane side checked on smaller planes. The only thing I wish the bag had was a water bottle side pocket. I imagine you could get a clip and store one on the top corners of the bag but a designated pocket would rock! I loved mine so much that I have gotten them for my family as gifts.

Comments about Osprey PORTER 46:

First off, you have to understand that I have been a carry on traveler for decades, long before it was on trend.

Secondly, You also have to understand that I mostly travel for business and science fiction conventions and things like that. I don't off road a lot.

Thirdly, If you want a backpack that weighs twelve ounces that you can carry on a twenty five mile hike uphill both ways in fifty degree ninety percent humidity in the Yucatan, this is not the bag for you. I am not that kind of traveler, this is not that kind of bag. I do planes and cabs and hotels.

With all of those caveats in place, this bag is perfect for me.

I was looking to replace an eight or nine year old 22" roller board suitcase which is getting a little long in the tooth with something that would be (a) lighter and (b) hands-free. I have an ACL brace, so I need mobility.

The main compartment is cavernous. I stood up a paperback book vertically along one wall and still had some breathing space. This is both awesome and terrifying, as I could very easily load this thing up to the point where I won't want to carry it. I use cheapie packing bags I got from a local travel store (they were like $20 for three, they're plain black mesh and not very thick but they work for me), and it holds one large, one medium and one small in the main space with some give.

I really wish the waist strap was a little bigger. I'm pretty heavyset, and I couldn't have closed that belt across my hips with an army of shoehorns. And no, the Farpoint's M/L belt isn't any bigger. I looked. Which means it's more of a "waist" belt on me than a "hip" belt.

Comments about Osprey PORTER 46:

I've had this bag now for 6 years. I've used it for cross country road trips, camping, backpacking through Europe, and on flights as a carry on. I was reluctant at first to purchasing a travel bag, but this bag has been one of the best purchases I have made. One thing that I should stress is that it is the perfect carry on size for airplanes. If you are planning on going backpacking and need to fly, you will never need to check this bag since it fits in the overhead compartment of the airplane. It also can carry a deceptive amount. I was able to carry enough clothes to last me several weeks before I had to wash anything. I normally don't write reviews but I had to highly suggest this after 6 years of use.

Comments about Osprey PORTER 46:

We bought this bag on the way to the airport for a three week trip through Italy, Malta, and Switzerland in December. We also had borrowed the larger version, the Porter 65, from a friend who did China with it as her only bag. I'll try to compare a little between both packs, because having the chance to use both on the same trip was nice.

First, the Porter 46:
I'm 5'3" and 120lb, and I found the hip belt and shoulder straps comfortable, even when the Porter 46 was overloaded (I packed way too heavy - wish I'd gone with three sweaters and two pants instead of more). I note this because while this bag seems small, it's totally possible to carry TOO MUCH STUFF in this bag (I had five books, way too many clothes, camera gear, and more jammed in there).

The Porter 65:
This bag was similarly built as the Porter 46, but it had a fantastic shoe pocket in the bottom of the bag, which was super handy. Overall however, we found the bag to be too big, and even though it was possible to "batten down the hatches" and make it almost the approved carry-on size, we found that we were pushing the weight limit for the international carryon size regularly.

Both the Porter 46 and the Porter 65:
The zippers were smooth. The construction was great. I didn't notice any tendency for the bag to be coming apart at any point. The dark grey color hid dirt, and I loved the fact we could jam the straps into the back for checking the luggage or carrying it into a nicer hotel (we alternated between cheap and fancy on this trip, but got backpacks so we didn't have to lug rolling suitcases through the mud/rain). Both were solid pieces of luggage, and we travel thousands of miles a year for work and have used a wide variety of backpacks and rollaboards, and this is the first review we've written about luggage. It's that good.

One other point, once battened down, it was hard to get into either of the bags, so the photograph above with credit cards in there is a joke. That wouldn't work.

Comments about Osprey PORTER 46:

Shoulder strap snapped on the way out the door for a one month trip. Missed my flight. This is not a backpack that can carry any load. Rethink if you're planning to use this for a long trip.

Comments about Osprey PORTER 46:

I've used this pack for several cross country trips and it carries everything I need. I have never had an issue carrying it on an airplane, even the smaller commuter prop planes. The compression system works great is making sure the pack will fit in even the tightest overhead bin. I took it on an extended trip through China, Vietnam and Cambodia and it was perfect. It carried everything I needed with room to spare. It was easy to handle on buses, tuk tuks, ferries and taxis. Even fully loaded, carrying it as a backpack was comfortable. To me this is the perfect travel pack for those who want a versatile, durable carry on travel pack.