It just came out so I don't think you'll find much about it yet, it does seem to have some good potential. Having traveled with the Porter 46 a lot I would welcome the easy-access second compartment, as there is no good pocket on the Porter 46 to put a folder for paper in, or a computer.
My main question is whether or not the shoulder straps can be taken out without the belt. For a backpack in the range of 20-25 pounds and in an urban environment I almost never use the belt strap, so I would want it to be secured while the shoulder straps are deployed.
Here is the one review I've seen of the bag so far:
I just returned mine. It was well-made, but had just enough design issues that it was a no-go for me.
- The inability to deploy the shoulder straps without the belt flapping around was annoying. - The closure system that kept the harness covering panel secured was ungainly and felt less-than secure. - Putting a tablet and a few small items in the secondary compartment gave the entire pack a bulged out appearance and feel. - The zippers tended to catch on the rain-flap/border next to them unless you folded them out of the way before using the zipper. - The external compression straps were arranged in such a way that they made employing the external mesh water-bottle pockets difficult. - The backpack straps had barely sufficient running end to allow one to don and doff the pack.
Thanks Jawper, that is very helpful, I was debating buying one of these but those issues are indeed a no-go for me, given that the Porter 46 is very good already. It's a shame they don't use the same system for the straps as on the Porter 46, which makes it very easy to use only the shoulder straps while keeping the belt strap tucked away.
The Porter 46 would really be perfect if they just had an extra largish pocket that could fit a folder or thin laptop (like a macbook air).
I always carry a plastic folder with my itineraries/reservations in it and the Porter 46's pocket is under the compression straps, which means each time you want to take out your flight/hotel reservation information you have to undue the straps, and then redo them (which takes some muscle force if they're tightened down well). Very inconvenient and my one big gripe with the bag. Also not having a place for a computer is a little awkward.
I have no problem with my documents or laptops when carrying the Porter 46 - they go in the strap compartment. It's secured by a zipper, is not hindered by compression straps, and is padded on both sides when the bag is packed. It can be a minor fiddle to get at them if you're using the backpack straps, but there's a lot of available volume in that compartment.
Perhaps the difficulty on the Porter 46 to get to the zipper behind the compression straps is good to discourage wily pick-pocketers walking behind you in a crowd. Like so many products, their features are better or worse depending what we are doing, and where we are...
I really like the simplicity of the porter, but wish it came with different torso sizes like the Farpoint...
I recently ordered a Farpoint 40 from an online retailer in the UK (free postage to AU, and the price was nearly half of what local shops sell for).
It was a toss up between the Osprey or a LL Bean Quickload, but I wanted something slightly smaller than max, as the budget carriers love to take an inch or two off the max length compared to the major carriers, so it's nice to have a bag that I know will fit. The carriers I'll be using it on have a 10kg or less weight limit for carry-on, so I wanted something as light as possible that still had a decent suspension system for the times I have to walk.
The Farpoint has it's limitations, as noted by earlier posters, but overall it's still a good bag, and seems to fill a niche where there are few other options. I will probably use it 5 or 6 times a year, so can live with the issues, especially given the price I got it for.
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My main question is whether or not the shoulder straps can be taken out without the belt. For a backpack in the range of 20-25 pounds and in an urban environment I almost never use the belt strap, so I would want it to be secured while the shoulder straps are deployed.
Here is the one review I've seen of the bag so far:
http://www.dead-reckon.com/post/32286509833/ospreyfarpoint40review
- The inability to deploy the shoulder straps without the belt flapping around was annoying.
- The closure system that kept the harness covering panel secured was ungainly and felt less-than secure.
- Putting a tablet and a few small items in the secondary compartment gave the entire pack a bulged out appearance and feel.
- The zippers tended to catch on the rain-flap/border next to them unless you folded them out of the way before using the zipper.
- The external compression straps were arranged in such a way that they made employing the external mesh water-bottle pockets difficult.
- The backpack straps had barely sufficient running end to allow one to don and doff the pack.
Just my read on the product. YMMV.
The Porter 46 would really be perfect if they just had an extra largish pocket that could fit a folder or thin laptop (like a macbook air).
I always carry a plastic folder with my itineraries/reservations in it and the Porter 46's pocket is under the compression straps, which means each time you want to take out your flight/hotel reservation information you have to undue the straps, and then redo them (which takes some muscle force if they're tightened down well). Very inconvenient and my one big gripe with the bag. Also not having a place for a computer is a little awkward.
It can be a minor fiddle to get at them if you're using the backpack straps, but there's a lot of available volume in that compartment.
I really like the simplicity of the porter, but wish it came with different torso sizes like the Farpoint...
It was a toss up between the Osprey or a LL Bean Quickload, but I wanted something slightly smaller than max, as the budget carriers love to take an inch or two off the max length compared to the major carriers, so it's nice to have a bag that I know will fit. The carriers I'll be using it on have a 10kg or less weight limit for carry-on, so I wanted something as light as possible that still had a decent suspension system for the times I have to walk.
The Farpoint has it's limitations, as noted by earlier posters, but overall it's still a good bag, and seems to fill a niche where there are few other options. I will probably use it 5 or 6 times a year, so can live with the issues, especially given the price I got it for.