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REVIEW: Osprey Fairview Women’s Travel Backpack

  • £169.99 Select options

Fairview 55 is in stock!


Including a new adjustable back system and constructed from recycled materials

A counterpart to their best-selling Farpoint series, the Fairview benefits from the same great features but with a female specific back system. Now updated for 2022 it has a few key changes including sizing, colourways and back system which I’ll outline in this review.

First Impressions

The Fairview is basically a women’s version of the Farpoint, the key difference here is the back system, which has a female specific fit with an ergonomically shaped hip belt, harness and back panel. The shoulder yoke is also narrower than on the Farpoint, another female specific feature that adds to the Fairview’s overall comfort. Then there’s the choice of four new colourways: Black, Night Jungle Blue, Winter Night Blue & Zircon Red.

If you’ve been trying to choose a backpack for travelling, you’ve probably come across the Osprey Farpoint on forums and travel blogs. The Farpoint is one of the most popular travel backpacks out there, so a female version was a great move by Osprey. The Fairview is available in three sizes – 40L, 55L or 70L to suit different trip durations and packing requirements.

Osprey have now constructed the Fairview from recycled materials 450D Recycled Twist Dobby Polyester to be specific. This is a lightweight yet durable fabric that keeps the bag under 2kg in weight. A PFC/PFA free water repellent coating adds additional travel protection from dirt and incidental showers but I would always recommend getting a rain cover if you are planning on trekking in bad weather.

Price

As you’d expect from any travel pack from a premium brand, the Fairview sits at the higher end of the pricing spectrum, with an RRP of £175.00* for the Fairview 55. The Fairview 40 has an RRP of £140.00* and the Fairview 70 has an RRP of £185.00*.

Travellers are generally on a tight budget, so may overlook the Fairview and opt for one of our mid-range backpacks. If you’re going on a longer backpacking trip or have several trips in the pipeline over the next few years, spending a little more on your backpack is possibly worth the additional cost. The backpack also includes a detachable daypack, so that’s one more cost you don’t have to consider if you buy the Fairview.

Construction

The Fairview comes with a lightweight peripheral frame which keeps the shape of the pack and helps distribute the weight of your gear into the hip belt when you are wearing it.

Comfort Features

The back system is the main difference between the Fairview and Farpoint, with a shorter torso length and ergonomically shaped hip belt, shoulder harness and back panel. As with most female specific backpacks, the shoulder Yoke is narrower to provide a more comfortable fit for women. The hip belt, shoulder straps and back panel are all padded with Osprey’s die-cut spacer mesh, with cut out sections to help to increase air flow and aid ventilation. The padded foam is also covered with two layers of mesh material, which contribute to the backpack’s overall comfort and breathability.

The Fairview is designed for women and comes in one size with a new adjustable torso length of 38-53cm. To measure your torso length, locate your C7 vertebrae (the knobbly bump at the base of your neck), then locate the iliac crest (the very top of your hip bones). Once you have located your C7 vertebrae and iliac crest measure the length between the two to get your torso length. The Fairview should be suitable for most women, but the Farpoint larger sizing if the Fairview isn’t quite right for you.

Of course one of the key features of any good quality backpack is the hip belt. If your backpack’s hip belt isn’t strong and supportive enough to take the main weight of the bag’s load, it’s essentially useless. Luckily this isn’t the case with the Fairview’s hip belt, which offers plenty of padding and flexibility whilst being fairly rigid and strong enough to support heavier loads.

Like the Farpoint, the Osprey Fairview is a great backpack for those long walks to your next hostel or when you have no choice but to carry your luggage around with you. It can even cope with more adventurous activities due to its durable and comfortable design.

Backpack Features

As with many travel backpacks on the market, the Fairview comes with panel zip access to the main compartment, which allows you to pack it like a suitcase. Although most travel backpacks benefit from a zip panel opening, the Fairview’s front panel zip extends right down to the base of the pack, which allows you to open it even further for easier access to your gear. Zips on both the main backpack and detachable daypack come with lockable zips and easy grab zip pullers for easy opening and closure.

internal mesh pocket

The main compartment includes a large mesh zippered pocket (approx. 46 x 29cm), which I used to store dirty laundry, as well as a pair of internal compression straps for compressing its contents and keeping everything in place.

Osprey have included a protective zip panel to cover the backpack harness during flights, and as both the Fairview 55 and 70 are too big to use as carry-on luggage I would strongly recommend using the cover when you check your bag in at the airport to prevent damage to the straps. The smaller Fairview 40 also comes with a cover for its straps, but I probably wouldn’t need to use this all that often as I wouldn’t need to check it in.

As travellers tend to want a rain cover for their backpack, it would be great if one was included as standard, but unfortunately you will need to buy one separately…If you want an Osprey branded rain cover, you’re looking at spending a further £25-£30*, but there are cheaper options available if you don’t care about your gear matching.

The Fairview also comes with padded top and side grab handles, which made the bag nice and easy to grab from the baggage claim carousel. I also found it easy to load the bag into taxis and onto boats using the handles and used them to carry the bag for short periods of time. I’d love to see a detachable shoulder strap on the Fairview 55 and 70, but this is only available on the smaller 40 litre size.

fairview - luggage area

The main bag doesn’t include any external accessory pockets, but does feature several external lash points for attaching additional items and a set of removable sleeping mat straps. I managed to fit all my luggage inside and didn’t have to utilise the external attachment points, but I can see how these would be useful for travellers who have more outdoor gear and camping equipment to transport…Or for those with a tendency to over-pack!

external lash points

Daypack Features

  • Dimensions – 44 x 29 x 23cm
  • Weight – 0.51kg
  • Capacity – 13 litres

As well as its main bag, the Fairview comes with a removable 15 litre daypack. The capacity is pretty generous and you get a padded 15.4″ compatible laptop sleeve (34 x 28cm) and padded zippered pocket (24 x 28cm) inside the daysack’s main compartment. The internal pockets are great to separate and organise tickets, passport, documents and other items (and by other items I mean snacks) and there is plenty of space to pack some emergency clothes in case your main bag gets lost. The front dual mesh pockets can be used to store your water bottle and keep your hands free when out exploring.

Security-wise, the daypack comes with a kangaroo style attachment, with clips for attaching it to the front of the main bag’s harness. This is a good feature for travelling in areas with a high crime rate, or when you need quick and easy access to your wallet or other items without having to take your bag off your back. Zips on the main compartment are lockable with interlocking zip housings, again a useful feature if you’re travelling in pick-pocket hot spots or countries with a high crime rate. If you don’t want to use the daypack on its own, you can leave it attached to the main bag for additional packing space.

I used the daypack fairly often, especially during more adventurous activities, including a Mount Batur sunrise trek in Bali. The back panel and shoulder straps mimic the main backpack harness with a ventilated die-cut spacer mesh construction, but you don’t get a hip belt due to its capacity (not that you need one). The shoulder straps are also shaped, so they don’t dig into your chest.

Summary

Like the Farpoint, this backpack has a solid construction while remaining lightweight and provides plenty of travel related features, as well as a comfortable and supportive female fit back system.

The new colours also add to its appeal and the choice of three different sizes make the Fairview accessible to most travellers, offering a 40 litre size for shorter trips and carry-on only enthusiasts, and the 55 and 70 litre versions for longer backpacking adventures. The Fairview 55 main bag is now the same size as the Fairview 40 meaning it will be classed as carry on with many international flights

*Prices correct at time of publishing and may be subject to change.