Osprey Radial 26 review

Osprey are a specialist when it comes to backpacks, catering for many different outdoor activities and sports.

TheOsprey Radial 26 is a cycling specific backpack, and with lots of well thought out features it is ideal for commuting cyclists. And incase you were wondering, '26' refers to the bag's capacity in litres.

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So what makes this bag good? Firstly, the back of the Osprey Radial 26 is lifted away from your back using a feature Osprey excitingly labels ‘AirSpeed.’

The advantage of this is creating an air gap, which prevents your back getting sweaty and uncomfortable.

Through a clever stand design, the Osprey Radial 26 stays upright when you place it on the ground too, preventing it from falling over and damaging your gear.

There are a huge number of other useful features into this high quality pack, it's like the bag equivalent of a Swiss Army Knife.

The ‘LidLock’ allows you secure your helmet to outside of the bag, there is a plethora of pockets including a padded laptop sleeve and also a useful rain cover for our all too often brilliant weather.

My first impression was of a bag that is not the coolest, most fashionable out there - I doubt we would see Danny Zuko or the Fonz donning such a haversack, however the Osprey Radial 26 has won me over with it’s shear functionality.

A common design mantra is that form follows function and that if an object performs superbly then it becomes visually appealing. For me, the Radial has done that.

Osprey does a huge range of bags in different sizes, so for more information, head over to www.ospreyeurope.com (opens in new tab)