Osprey Europe Unisex Hikelite 18 Hiking Pack

Product Information

This is a small pack, yet shoulder harness is with some light and breathable padding, while the hip belt is just a narrow strap. Prior to that, Mary wrote for 5280 Magazine in Denver while working as an outdoor instructor teaching climbing, kayaking, paddleboarding, and mountain biking.

Whether you're a casual or experience hiker, the lightweight and streamlined Hikelite 18-litre daypack combines essential features and quality construction with the impeccable ventilation that AirSpeed™ has to offer. This is a tiny pack with an excellent back ventilation system, and it has many features suitable for ultra-light and fast day hiking tours. But if you already have a larger day pack and are looking for something smaller for quick hikes, the Hikelite 18 fits the bill.

The smaller volume of this pack also makes it harder to take too much weight with you, but we did appreciate the full hip belt found on the even smaller (and lighter) Mammut Lithia Speed 15. The side pockets are wide and can fit larger bottles than this one, but mesh doesn't last too long in the desert. The Hikelite 18 is the part if a completely new series that includes also a bigger pack, the Hikelite 26 which has a bit more features. Now, it may look similar to yet another popular pack by Osprey, the Daylite pack, but those are very different tools, see more below. The shoulder straps are thin but still have some padding in them, and are wide enough to go around our shoulders without digging into our necks.

I found it to be spot on with what Osprey designed it for: general daily use and technical trail hikes alike. The Osprey Hikelite 18 can hold a day's worth of gear, but you might not be too comfortable carrying that much in it. Our incredibly ventilated AirSpeed backpanel means you won't have to deal with the discomfort of hoisting a sweaty pack onto your back. We've liked a lot of the women's specific models they produce, and we were excited to test out the new Hikelite 18 this year.Luckily, the webbing is removable so that you can get rid of it should you not plan to use it and not want it dangling around you all day.

For more technical hikes and better versatility (depending on where my day took me), I preferred the Osprey Hikelite 18L slightly more — especially the additions of the larger zipper pulls, trekking pole loop attachments, and rain cover. The Hikelite still has a frame and mesh back panel like the Sirrus, but the smaller volume and lighter materials make it better suited to shorter hikes or for people who don't tend to carry a lot of gear. Note that this is a unisex pack, the only one that we tested here, but we were excited to check it out anyways and see how it compared to the other models in our women's-specific review. This is because it does not look like a hiking pack, it is a panel-loading type with a long zipper, which looks like an ordinary city pack.Whether you're a casual or experience hiker, the lightweight and streamlined Hikelite 18-liter daypack combines essential features and quality construction with the impeccable ventilation that AirSpeed™ has to offer. Its minimalist panel-loading approach keeps it's silhouette clean and uncluttered for simplified use on any trail.