Osprey Sirrus 24 Review

The Osprey Sirrus 24 is made with 210D nylon with 420D nylon on the bottom. It comes loaded with many great features, including a rain cover and open mesh back design.

Performance Comparison

Checking out the Yellowstone river in the Sirrus. This pack is loaded with features for a variety of day hiking uses.

Comfort

This pack received a high score for comfort. There's ample padding on the shoulder straps, though not quite as much on the hip belt. The suspended mesh back design is comfortable and kept the air circulating. No more soaking wet shirt! The hipbelt didn't fit us very well though, and that affected our comfort a bit. We'd tighten it down around our hips, but as soon as we started moving it would ride up to our waist. This goes to show that it's not enough to try a pack on in the store to see if the torso length fits — you should always load it up and walk around a few minutes to see if everything else works for you as well. If you like the open mesh back concept but still want some padding on your lumbar area, the Gregory Jade 28 provides just that and is more comfortable than the Sirrus.

We really liked the suspended mesh frame on this pack. It helps air circulate and keep any bulky items in your pack off of your back.

Versatility

The Sirrus is loaded with useful features that are handy for just about any adventure. There's a rain cover that stores in a pouch at the bottom of the pack, side compression straps and top buckle compression straps (for attaching a rope around the top of the bag), an ice axe holder loop with a bungee cord, and several different smaller organizational pockets. It also has Osprey's "stow on the go" trekking pole attachment, which lets you stow them quickly under your arm and up into a shoulder strap. This is great for quick stowage when you want to scramble up a boulder or other hands-free needs, but not so great for any longer than that. Overall though, the features are great and well-thought out.

Weight

At 41 ounces, this is one of the heaviest packs in our review, though it does include an integrated rain cover. Additionally, the open mesh back requires an internal frame (which more and more daypacks are ditching), and that and the more durable material adds to the overall weight of the pack. If you don't need or want the extra airflow, carry minimal stuff in your pack, and want all of your gear to be as light as possible, there are other, lighter options out there that forego the internal framing. But for what you get, we think the weight is justified.

Ease of Use

We think that overall this pack is fairly easy to use, with long zippers and decent organization for on the go. It comes in only one size, but it has an adjustable torso length that takes the back from 15 to 19 inches. In that sense, it is one of the most adjustable packs in our review group. However, we are disappointed by the adjustability of the hip belt. It barely wraps around our testers' hip bones, and they are a size 2 and 4, so if your hips are any larger, you might not get great coverage with the hip belt.

The hipbelt just barely reached around our hips, and we're not that big! It also kept riding up onto our waist, which was not that comfortable.

Durability

As we've come to expect from Osprey packs, the Sirrus impresses us with its durability, and we gave it top marks in this metric. It's made with a heavier 210D nylon in the body (many other packs in this review use only 100D nylon, which won't hold up as well to spiky plants and sharp rocks) and there is a 420D panel on the bottom for extra durability in that high-wear spot. Osprey also stands by their products and will repair or replace defects or structural damage (but not cosmetic wear and tear).

The lighter green material on the bottom and sides is much thicker than the rest of the pack for extra durability.

Value

This is one of the more expensive packs in this review, but considering all of the features, extras, and level of comfort that you get along with the durability, we think it's worth the price.

Checking out Yellowstone Falls on a wet day. The pack cover kept our snacks and extra layers dry. The Sirrus is a great choice if you live in a wet climate, or need extra space for your kids' gear as well.

Conclusion