The Osprey Daylite/Plus system offers a small, quick, lightweight and versatile solution for day outings, for everything from travel to hikes. Though we do have some comfort concerns.
Table of Contents
ToggleGood to know: This pack is good for all genders and is marketed as unisex
Pros / Reasons to Buy
- Versatile and can be combined with other Osprey travel packs
- Lightweight
Cons / Reasons to Avoid
- Shoulder straps don’t offer comfort with heavier loads
- Lacks some of the technical additions in other Osprey packs and is more suited to light adventures
The Daylite/Plus are good offerings from well known outdoor brand Osprey who have made a name for themselves with their sturdy and comfortable backpacks and travel gear. One of this pack systems biggest plus points is that it is compatible with some of Ospreys other travel products (more outlined below).
This pack system is marketed as a lifestyle product rather than a specific hiking pack, but it has risen in popularity over recent times for lightweight day adventures. It’s a fairly no frills product, but used in the right circumstances and it may well just be perfect for what you need.
If you’re looking for something more full on, you may feel a little disappointed with its features, offering and comfort when it comes to carrying heavier loads and more technical items, such as hiking poles, helmets and ice axes. Though the space for a hydration reservoir is a welcome addition.
Editor’s note: This article is part of our overall guide to the best daypacks, see more in this guide:
- Best Daypacks for Hiking
- How to Choose The Right Daypack For Your Hike
- How We Tested Hiking Daypacks
- Compare Hiking Daypacks
You may also be interested in: Best Waterproof Hiking Backpacks
Compare to Similar Products:
Product | Osprey Talon 22 | Gregory Maya 25 | Deuter Speed Lite 23 | Osprey Stratos 24 | Gregory Citro 24 | Rab Tensor 20 | Osprey Daylite/Plus | Mystery Ranch Coulee 30 | Black Diamond Distance 15 | The North Face Basin 24L | Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil 20 | Cotopaxi 24L Batac Pack | Granite Gear Dagger Ultralight | Rab Adrift 24L | Adidas Terrex Climacool Daypack | Cotopaxi Luzon Del Dia 24L |
Buying Options | ||||||||||||||||
Our Award | Best Overall Daypack | Best Overall Daypack - runner up | Best Daypacks For Women | Best Daypacks For Men | Best Waterproof Hiking Daypack | Best Daypack For Hot Weather | Best Daypack For Travel | Best Hiking Daypack With Hydration | Best Lightweight Daypack | |||||||
Type and Style | Lightweight all purpose backpack for hiking, climbing and bikepacking | Active hikes, longer trails, climbing | Hybrid trail running/hiking/climbing | Full suspension backpack | Full suspension hiking pack | Lightweight summer pack | Lightweight lifestyle travel/hiking pack | Full suspension backpack/summit pack | Hybrid trail running/hiking/climbing | Hiking and biking | Ultralight daypack | Basic hiking | All round hiking | Fully waterproof hiking | Basic hiking, travel and general day to day use | Basic hiking, general everyday use, travel |
Material | bluesign®-approved recycled 100D x 210D wave check high-tenacity nylon with a PFC-free DWR coating. | 100D 30% recycled high density nylon, 200D 45% recycled high density nylon | 140D and 100D recycled polyamide | 210D recycled nylon body, 420D recycled nylon accents and bottom with a PFC/PFAS-free DWR | 210D Honeycomb Cryptorip Nylon and 420D High Density Nylon body. EVA foam straps, alloy steel frame. 135D High Density and 50% recycled polyester lining | 100% recycled 420D polyester ripstop | bluesign® approved 300D recycled polyester | 210D recycled nylon, DWR | UHMWPE ripstop body fabric and mesh | 210D recycled ripstop nylon and 600D recycled polyester also all with non PFC DWR | 15D high strength nano nylon fabric with silicon coating for water resistance | Offcut material used from other brands production runs, making a sustainable pack | Nylon (100D and 210D) | PFAS Free ripstop nylon | 100% recycled polyester | Offcut material used from other brands production runs, making a sustainable pack |
Capacity | 22 liters | 25 | 23L | 24L | 24 liters | 20 liters | 20 liters | 30L | 15L | 24L | 20L | 24L | 22L | 24L | 32L | 24L |
Breathability | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | Not as good as some other models | OK | OK | Not as good as some other models | Poor | OK | Good | OK | OK | OK |
Pockets | 6 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 6/7 | 7 | 6 | 5 |
Dimensions | 48 x 28 x 23 cm | 50.8 x 28.4 x 23.3 cm | 52 x 27 x 18 cm | 59 x 34 x 24cm | 52 x 28 x 20 cm | 50 x 30 x 23cm | 43 x 26 x 20 cm | 57 x 27 x 24 cm | 47 x 32 x 13 cm | 50 x 27.9 x 17 cm | 48 x 28 x 20 cm | 51 x 28 x 18 cm | 53.34 x 33.02 x 20.32 cm | 52 x 30 x 25 cm | 50 x 26.5 x 17 cm | 60 x 30 x 17 cm |
Rain Cover | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No - but the daypack is already waterproof | No | No |
Durability | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | Good | Excellent | OK | Good | Excellent | Excellent | Good | Good |
See the Osprey Daylite/Plus in more detail:
Analysis and Test Results
Before we dig in, this daypack is offered as both a Daylite and Daylite Plus variant, so what are the differences? The Daylite offers 13 liters of space, whereas the Daylite Plus offers 20 liters, which is a massive difference. Maybe less important is that the Daylite Plus also has a front zip up pouch. This doesn’t offer a massive amount of extra space.
Through testing, I believe that the Daylite Plus is the better option purely due to the capacity it offers – unless you really plan to travel light and stripped back, you’ll likely find the 13 liter Daylite variant just not big enough and rapidly need to move on to a bigger pack. For the purposes of this review, I’m going to be focusing on the Daylite Plus as opposed to the Daylite.
Performance Comparison
Type and Style
Opsrey market the Daylite Plus as a lifestyle daypack – but what does that mean? In reality, its suitable for a variety of applications, from work and travel through to light adventures. It very much feels like an entry level pack that is more designed for brief hikes than more technical treks.
It’s lightweight at 453g/1lb and is offered in a whole range of colorways with new patterns and styles being created throughout the year (alongside plain color variants which seem to stay too).
Material
Osprey use bluesign® approved 300D recycled polyester with a PFC-free DWR for the main body of the Daylite Plus, which is great to see. The fact that it uses a DWR coating means that it handles anything but heavy rain well. I’ve tested this pack in some heavy showers, and it has never shown any signs of saturation.
Even though this is a fairly no frills daypack, the material construction is what you’d expect of Osprey, and this is one of the areas that I think makes it worthy of its price tag (for its category). I’ve jammed this pack as full as possible, and it’s seen its share of scuffs, and it still looks pretty much the same as the day I got it. The side mesh pockets are handy too and show no signs of wear and tear even when using hiking poles in the sides (as this pack has no specific hiking pole holder).
Breathability
Whilst the Osprey Daylite Plus does have the well known and well regarded Airscape back system, I do feel this falls a little short in terms of a breathability on sweatier hikes in hotter conditions. On multiple occasions, my back has been left sweaty after using the Daylite Plus. It just doesn’t feel as full on as something like the Osprey Talon 22, for example.
Can I really quantify exactly why this is? Not really – when you look at the two packs next to each other they look pretty similar in terms of breathability. I just find that this pack doesn’t offer so much.
One reason I think this is the case is because the Daylite Plus doesn’t feel like it sits quite as well on the back. It feels like it’s very close to the skin at the top of the back with more ventilation at the bottom. The shoulder straps are also much thinner too, which, when the pack is filled more, feels much tighter and weighted, which does impact breathability.
Waterproofing
One area that the Daylite Plus performs really well is in the rain. In my tests, I’ve taken this pack out in pretty much any weather you could imagine, and it has never reached saturation and has kept everything inside dry.
Technically, it is just water repellent as it’s only waterproofing is by way of a DWR coating. So, if you know you’re going to be using this daypack in locations where heavy rain is to be expected, adding a non-brand rain cover would be a great way to take this pack further. Something like this would easily fit in the front concertina section.
Dimensions
The Daylite Plus pack is 43h x 26w x 20d cm/16.93h x 10.24w x 7.87d inches which has it sit roughly in line with the likes of the Rab Tensor 20 and The North Face Basin 24 in terms of its general shape and feel.
Osprey actually market this pack as being able to combine and attach a number of other Osprey packs making it suitable for travel. These include the Farpoint and Fairview Trek, Porter, Farpoint and Fairview wheeled travel pack, Aether AG, Ariel AG, Shuttle, Ariel Pro and Volt.
Its dimensions do mean that it roughly fits in with many airlines small carry-on bag instructions too, which do give it an advantage and I’ve found this the perfect daypack to use for travel days. Though it is always advised to check with your airline first to make sure it meets their specific instructions.
Fit
Osprey offer the Daylite Plus daypack as a standard/one size fit. This will be suitable for most wearers, and it is considered a unisex pack. Due to its size, it will suit most smaller frames as well as all others, so in that regard, it is a pretty good option.
However, I do find one of the main areas where this pack is let down is with the shoulder straps. Their position is fine, and I have never found them to dig in. The fit they offer is just not cushioned or structured enough in my opinion. They’re very thin in comparison to some of its competitors and doesn’t offer a great level of comfort for carrying anything heavier than a coat, a couple of layers and your food/water. Though, if you are mostly looking for a quick on and off pack for light adventures, you may well find that the Daylite Plus offers you all you need.
Storage
The Osprey Daylite Plus pack has 8 compartments, these consist of the large main compartment, the compartment inside of this that can be used either for a water reservoir or a laptop. The outside secondary pouch which goes half way down the pack. This has space sewn in specific for a phone and a key clip.
Then the front concertina pouch which is left partly open and fastens down with two side clips. There’s the front zip pouch which is quite small as well as two mesh pouches on the side that are big enough to fit a 32oz bottle in easily.
As a 20 liter pack, this has pretty much all the space you’ll need for a day adventure and can comfortably carry lightweight layers and some other essentials with no problems. However, due to the lack of padding on the straps, I found in my tests that it pretty much always rubs or feels heavy on the shoulders which has led to trail fatigue more than a few times.
Comfort
I think if you’re looking for a pack that is just for simple journeys out with very little on you, then this is a good option. It’s also a great pack for travel days. However, I think if you need to carry anything heavier (and I found this happen even when just carrying two 32oz Hydro Flasks) then you may find the padding doesn’t offer the kind of comfort you really need.
This really is the only area I can fault the comfort of the Osprey Daylite Plus, as otherwise it feels really comfortable to wear. But I do feel it is a fairly big point. Comfort is of course personal, but I think the fact that even with 2 32 oz Hydro Flasks it feels uncomfortable, it’s something to keep in mind.
Unless you really do just want a pack for light days, I do think this is a pack that you will end up changing or having a second option for more full-on activity. With this in mind, I do think that the Rab Tensor 20 is a better contender (though doesn’t offer waterproofing), or for something like the Osprey Talon/Tempest series for a more general, well built hiking pack.
Features
The Osprey Daylite Plus is a fairly low frills daypack, but it doesn’t really need to be as it kind of gets it right (apart from the areas I’ve already highlighted aboe). It does cut down on some of the features offered on some of the more full on packs but at the price point, is to be expected. It also has features that can be used interchangeably too, for example the laptop sleeve can also be used for a water reservoir.
However, one of the main features that I do think is pretty good is the versatility to add this to some of Ospreys more travel focused packs. For example, amongst others mentioned above, it can be added to the Fairview wheeled travel pack. This is a great option too if you’re already bought into the Osprey system.
Durability
The Osprey Daylite Plus is every bit as well made as any of the other Osprey packs I’ve tried and tested over the years, and I have no doubts that it is built to last. I’ve been testing out this pack for over a year at the time of writing and it shows no wear and tear whatsoever.
Even though the straps are a little on the thin side for my liking, they have held up well and show no signs of pulling or stretch and the pack still holds its shape perfectly. If this daypack suits your adventures or wants, I have no doubt in saying it will last you an extremely long time.
Sustainability
Osprey are pretty committed to more sustainable practices when it comes to their production. The Daylite Plus daypack is no exception being made by fully recycled and bluesign® approved materials all with PFC free coatings. This is of course great to see.
Likewise, this pack is built to last and the fact that it is well made and sits firmly in with Osprey’s other products in this sense means that it will likely last you a long time, and therefore needing to buy less.
Conversely, I do feel one area that could let the Daylite Plus down in terms of sustainability is the fact that it may not be the only pack you need, and you may find yourself needing a second option for more full on adventures.
Conclusion
Overall, I think this is a fantastic daypack offering from Osprey. If all of its positives fit what you need a daypack for, then I think you will be pleasantly surprised. If you need a slightly more advanced pack or need to carry heavier loads, then I think you will feel this falls short.
The shoulder comfort was a big thing for me, as with even two water bottles and a few bits of camera gear, this pack felt too heavy (in comparison to the Talon 22) and I would love to see this offered with chunkier support. In my opinion this would have it sit exceptionally amongst others in this style.
My honest opinion after testing for over a year is that it does everything it is intended for, but it does fall a little bit short as a good all rounder. It’s perfect if you just need a grab and go for shorter adventures, and I’ve found that is generally what I’ll use this pack for. However, for more full on missions, it just doesn’t quite cut it. That said, it’s well made and has great versatility as a general lifestyle pack.
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