After looking for the perfect EDC backpack among boutique brands, I decided to give a chance to a more established company. The Osprey Arcane has caught my attention with its unique cloth-like material that stands out from the crowd of ballistic nylon backpacks, its light weight—only 0.64 kg—and affordability—I got it on discount for around 70 USD.
This bag does a lot of things right. Organization is simple but effective, build quality and hardware are both top-notch, and it has genuinely useful features—for example, the water bottle holder keeps the bottle secure and out of sight without eating up too much space inside the main compartment.
Comfort is a miss for me, though. The yoke gets in the way of the shoulder straps fitting well, ventilation is extremely poor on both the back panel and shoulder straps, and the bag tends to curve when there is no laptop inside, which causes a pressure point on my lower back.
Pros
- Excellent value. The base price is 120 USD, but the Arcane can often be found on discount for 50–70 USD.
- Standout cloth-like material.
- Minimal but functional organization with handy features.
- High-quality materials, hardware, and construction.
- Lightweight at only 0.64 kilos.
Cons
- The flap on the zipper of the quick-access compartment is annoying, as it often gets in the way of opening and closing the pocket.
- Lack of webbing keepers.
- Poor ventilation on the back panel and shoulder straps.
- Tendency to curve may cause discomfort.
Read my full in-depth review: https://www.strandedvariable.com/posts/review-osprey-arcane-20l
I've loved mine as my work bag, but am needing to move on to something larger. Great bag if you're not carrying too much. That water bottle pocket is so effective and subtle that I often forget I have something in there. I picked up the new Pakt Mode 22L for a personal bag, and it reminds me a lot of the Arcane... so much so that I'm failing to see why it's worth 5X as much. Hot tip: Sierra seems to have the Arcane all day long (I got mine there a few years ago), currently as low as $39 USD.
Yea I can understand most premium bag pricing, but the Pakt Mode series is way overpriced for what they are.
When I heard the price for that Pakt bag in Nomads Nation's review, my jaw dropped. 220 USD seems way overpriced.
I recently got the Able Carry Daily, and it is by far the most comfortable backpack I've owned. And at 140 USD, it seems like a good deal considering the quality of the materials.