Thinking of replacing my 8 year old Camelback HAWG, any feed back on Osprey hydration packs?

Ta.

I have the 18l which so far has turned out to be nicely designed and put together. It compresses down well when part-filled and doesn't really feel too unwieldy when filled.

Bought the better half a 10l but she didn't really get on with the back panel which is quite rigid. She wanted to keep it though so just swapped it out for a suitably shaped piece of camping matt which seems to have sorted the problem.

I (well, a friend on my behalf) bought the Raptor 14 from Snow and Rock (Manchester) on Sunday. £61:00*
It is by far the best all day pack I've owned and I've only done one 4 hour ride with it.
I have an Osprey 6, Osprey courier bag and now this. It's very comfortable. I filled it with stuff that I didn't even need for the ride just to get an idea of how it performed full. Very comfortable (I bought the large – I'm 5'9") and the Hydraulic system is great.

*Should have been £85:00, 15% discount on any order of £50;00 until the end of the month and then he put another 15% discount on because he was taking a fancy to the purchaser apparently. Quite sad but made me smile and 15% more in my account than there would have been :-}

I've got a Raptor 18 and really like it. As above it packs down really well and sits well on your back once adjusted properly. The bladder is excellent and its a well designed pack in terms of features and performance. I think the material is showerproof but not waterproof but you can buy a raincover for it.

Much prefer it to my old Mule.

I've got the Raptor 14. Really pleased with it. Replaced my old torn Mule which was a bugger to pack if you had a fullish bladder. Seems more stable too.

gota 10 and 14 very very good packs.

the internal dividers in the main pocket are great

ChunkyMTB …you should've 'paid a visit' before starting to pack 😀

Mmm am looking at these too – was thinking of the 10 – although am I right in thinking that if I go for the S/M it's actually 8lts?

I've got a Raptor 10 – on the whole very pleased with it but a couple of negatives I've found:
– It's uncomfy if over-stuffed so make sure you buy the right size (seems to load all the pack weight between your shoulder blades when stuffed, really comfy when not bulging at the seams though).
– I can't fit the bladder in my fridge ice-box so keeping it gunk-free it slightly more hassle (i.e. have to be careful to dry it out if leaving it for a while)
– Zip is easy to catch on the top pocket (I've read on reviews this is was an issue with the original batch that's been fixed, although I only got mine a couple of months ago).

Yip the smaller sizes are usually a couple of litres short of a full pack.

Must add that the bladder and it's ability to be inserted and withdrawn when full and the pack is full is great.

10 is great for summer blasts with a very small showerproof and a small amount of food.

Anything more and i would go for the 14. The 14 also has 4 compression straps which are ideal for armour.

Mmm maybe worth looking at a 14 then. Just looks huge compared to the diddy Dakine number I'm getting away with at the moment..

Have two Osprey Talon (sorry, not Raptor) packs now; the 11litre and the 5.5litre versions – both superb. Light, well made and nice features, pockets, etc.

Hmmm, had a look at the Raptor 14 on the weekend, and was able to compare with HAWG NV and a couple of packs from DaKine. All were well built, but seemed a bit heavy duty. Is there a more lightweight alternative that holds a 3l bladder?

Got an 18 – sooooo much better than my previous basic Camelbak.

The right number of pockets and space in the right places, much smarter bladder set up, comfy, easy to compress down or expand out.

Win.

Yep, been using a 10. Very, very impressed. Bladder is better, strap tidy system is better, stability on the back is better, straps are cooler (better in this weather!). Overall, it's great. My Camelback may be resurrected at some point, but with an Osprey bladder.

I was hoping for a recipe

I've used my 14l for a couple of full-day highland trail jobs, enough storage for most of the consumables + some extra clothing bits. Generally very comfy + body hugging, did have a rubbing issue on one vertebrae but not enough to really notice while riding or break the skin. Might try Jim's suggestion above 💡
Bladder's good though I still get a bit of a plasticky taste, despite flushing it out many times. They are also rather strappy – many doublings-over of cinching straps that mean less-convenient removal / re-mounting. Some scissor work required perhaps.
Some action-shots ( 🙄 ) in Ians thread here, if you're interested.

I'm looking at the camelback octane 18. Really light weight. But not many compartments, so not as easy to organise as the osprey. Worth a look though for those after a light pack.