The Osprey Farpoint 40 Has Been My Travel Bag For 8 Years

As we find out outside the house, busy with tools WIRED comments team writing about our favorite bags and EDCs. Today, columnist Louryn Strampe he enjoys his Osprey Farpoint 40 backpack. You can also read more Bag Check issue to THE WIRE writers share everything they love.

In preparation for ours On a 20-day trip to Asia in 2018, my boyfriend at the time was adamant that none of us would check luggage. As a proud backpacker, this goal both shocked and horrified me. I love options and hate putting things down. I wanted to bring 30 shoes and 348 pairs of underwear; I didn’t want to create a capsule wardrobe and put it together creatively carrying cubes. In the end, I settled on a one-pack trip, and the Osprey Farpoint 40 quickly turned me on to the travel lifestyle.

If you want the best bag, or the most durable suitcase, or the best tote to carry your stuff, my friends have it. many tips for browsing. But if you want a bag that makes packing (by plane, train, or car) and packing (from hotel to hotel to hotel again) a painless experience, Farpoint is my favorite.

During a trip of about three weeks in 2018, my boyfriend and I were constantly on the go, visiting Shanghai, Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Busan, Seoul, and Hong Kong. We took several flights and trains, and stayed in both large and small rooms. Over the years, I have taken my Osprey Farpoint to the East and West Coasts of the United States. He has lived with me in three houses, joined me on several road trips, and stayed with me in hundreds of hotels. I have used trips up to three weeks and as fast as overnight. I’ve thrown it down stairs, sat on top of subway tracks, used it to protect my head from the rain, put it in bottles full of cars, and carried it to the ground almost every time I’ve gone anywhere. It still works like it did on that first trip.

Without a doubt, this bag is cavernous. Its 40-liter capacity allows you to upsize it to a heavier carry-on, but I’ve never had a problem bringing it on a plane, thanks in part to the drawstrings that help keep the silhouette down. (Per Osprey’s website, Farpoint meets the domestic size requirements.) And it offers so many bags, it’s hard to keep track.

The outer shell has two mesh slots that are perfect for shoes or water bottles, plus a small compartment where I like to stash my keys and passport. The pack itself has two large compartments, the first of which is a laptop compartment, complete with zippered sleeves perfect for an e-reader or tablet. The extra large bag has two drawstrings to help you achieve the “sit on top of the suitcase to close” once you’re ready to zip. On the other side, there is another mesh pocket with a zipper that spans the entire shell, which I use to hide my socks, underwear, toiletries, and other things that I need but don’t want to combine with my clothes.

In other words, Farpoint makes it possible and comfortable to carry anything I want. Yes, when you wear a full-featured Farpoint, you look like a turtle looking under a shell. But you won’t need to walk slowly, because of its stability. The shoulder and waist straps are padded, and there are waist and chest straps. The chest strap also has a built-in whistle, which may not improve your comfort, but may come in handy if you’re on the go. (I often use the whistle for fun or to annoy my campers at festivals.)