First Look: Osprey Hornet 46

[Jennifer W]

Not sure, but the M/L size fits me perfectly. I'm 5'7" and usually take a medium pack.

[David Ure]

Thanks Jennifer.

Note to Roger and others who received this pack. Please don't post pics and initial specs and not expect questions and then because of an info embargo, not be able to discuss the pack. Keep it to yourselves or post in some Mlifer forum.

[Nick Truax]

Thanks Jennifer. The additional info is much appreciated.

[Michael L]

David

So NO information is better than SOME information?

[Aaron Reichow]

I may not be the one who makes the rules, but I'm with Michael- I'd take a little information and a few photos over no information. But it would cut down on frustration to make it known if you're under NDA or have been asked not to say anything more.

[David Ure]

Michael – yes.

[Konrad .]

Hey Josh, based on my experiences with male/female packs, I've determined that there really isn't much of a difference between the two, regardless of what the manufacturer has claimed. Take for example, the golite jam, which golite claims to have spent tons of research and testing on in order to find a suitable fit for both their male and female versions. In reality, the only differences I saw between the two (i own the female version, and I've handled a males version on multiple occasions) was that the females versions hipbelt was slightly angled more, for obvious reasons. But the increase in angle was negligible, and the belt effectively transferred the same amount of weight as the male version. The only other difference I saw between both version was that the shoulder harness was stitched a half inch or so closer at the top by the neck. However, the contoured shoulder straps were the same angle, and the same length, so other than being narrower at the neck, they were identical on both versions.

It seems to me unisex packs or gender-based packs are more of a marketing gimmick than anything else. If the pack fits, then use it.

[Michael L]

David – fair enough. :)

no Nda, and unsure of the secrecy required. Don't think anybody wanted to mess up this cool deal for themselves or BPL. I know I didn't!

[Anonymous]

True I don’t want to mess up this cool opportunity for myself or BPL. I forwarded my initial findings to the Osprey PD Team.

Here's a summary of what I’ve found:

I found the Hornet 46 pack to be well built, lightweight and include some very nice options but I am having issues with the torso length (this maybe due to a shipping mistake) as there is no indicator for pack size (found the tag M/L dam hoping it was a small pack). (I wear a size L and the torso length is short on my 6’4” frame. Note others have reported similar findings.

[Nobody You Know]

There's an MLife thread? BPL going all Navy Seal on us? Secret handshake?

[Andy Berner]

Mine hasn't arrived yet but I'm 6'2" and will let you know how it fits me.

[Gary Dunckel]

Roger, the sizing tag on my pack is located where the top of the left hipbelt is sewn to the pack body. Is it not there on yours?

[Jennifer W]

Roger's pics do show the tag.

I was wondering if that was the pack size or the hip belt size.

[Roger Caffin]

> unisex packs or gender-based packs are more of a marketing gimmick than anything else

Having tested a lot of framed packs of Mans and Womans varieties on both male and female testers, I have to disagree here. Not all packs are significantly different, but we did see significant differences in the tilt at the lumbar region and in the design of the hip belts. Those differences are to accommodate the different female hip anatomy. It was quite noticeable in some cases.

Cheers

[Gary Dunckel]

Roger, from your experience with the differences between male and female packs, I'm wondering which of the following situations would be more comfortable for the one that wears the pack: A man wearing a women's pack, or a woman wearing a man's pack?

The reason I ask this is that I have an '09 women's Pinnacle, which seems to fit me fine. I'm wondering if a men's Pinnacle (e.g.) would NOT fit a woman well, due to anatomical reasons. In other words, can a man wear either, but a woman needs a specific pack design in order to be most comfortable?

This info would be helpful for a guy looking for a pack, since Go Lite women's packs can occasionally be found on sale, with usually a bigger discount than the men's version of the same model.

[James holden]

im a member, but not a member for life …. hmmmmmm

guess i need to get the BPL ML tattoooo …

[Michael L]

You guys don't know what you're missing. The super secret MLife BPL store is fully stocked! Didn't y'all ever get suspicious about the shortages?
;). J/k of course.

[Ken Thompson]

Are all of the test packs red? Anyone receive a different color?

[Michael L]

Red

[Nobody You Know]

You MUST be talking about the $150 merino wool hoody that you can poke a hole into with your thumb. Damn we are missing out.

[David Chenault]

Re, women's packs: I imagine that differences in design are far more relevant with heavy internal frames and the resulting big hipbelts, backpads, etc. Sewing nuances can only provide so much structure to frameless packs.

Re, canyoneering with the Hornet: Jen, you'll need much bigger grommets for draining. And if it's the same fabric used in the Talon series one slot will shred it.

The pack itself looks like a very nice amalgamation of the Talon and Exos series. The shoulder straps on the last generation of Talon 22/33 weren't thick enough to work for heavier loads, the Hornet looks like it fixes that with Exos straps while still keeping a lightly/unpadded hipbelt. Add the usual Osprey refinements (ex, highly functional hipbelt and side pockets) and you have a pack that might supplent that Talon 33 and 44, and the smaller Exos.

To the 10 chosen folks, please go beat the heck out of the packs. No usual BPL forum armchair reviews. Thoughts with less than 100 trail miles mean little.

[Jennifer W]

Much bigger grommets for draining?

Hmmmm, I've managed to get through 50+ canyons, including Kolob (exiting at the Temple of Sinawava) Heaps, and Imlay, with a pack with grommets only 1 millimeter larger than the ones on the Hornet–I won't be replacing them.

It's not the fabric I'm worried about. It's the elastic mesh that will shred, if I'm careless.

[Konrad .]

"Re, women's packs: I imagine that differences in design are far more relevant with heavy internal frames and the resulting big hipbelts, backpads, etc. Sewing nuances can only provide so much structure to frameless packs."

Exactly David! I guess I should have been more clear in my original posting. WIth packs like golite jam's and other frameless lightweight packs that are meant to carry ~25lbs (which appears to be the case with this new framless osprey hornet), I find the differences negligible between packs meant for different genders. In my experience, these types of packs have very soft waistbelt straps, where regardless of the the angle they are sewn, one can have a secure wrap-around fit by cinching down hard on the buckles.

If we were talking about packs meant to carry 40+lbs, with super stiff suspensions/belts, than yes, gender specific packs will have a noticeable difference in comfort

[Sam Farrington]

Saw the references to some of the Osprey suspended mesh backband packs, but could not tell it this was one, of if the mesh is backed up by foam and/or a framesheet as in some other Ospreys.

Would appreciate knowing if this is a true suspended mesh backband pack. Thanks.
Sam

[Jennifer W]

It's backed by foam.

It does not have the "AirSpeed" suspension and backpanel like the Atmos, Aura, Exos, Stratos, and Manta series packs.

It's more like the Talon with the "AirScape" backpanel with ridge molded foam.

[Author]

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