(Photo Credit: Dan Holz for Osprey Packs)
Osprey packs have been setting the standard for pack performance for years, and this spring they’re raising the bar once again by incorporating the popular Anti-Gravity suspension system into a new series of daypacks.
The perpetually popular Manta for men and Mira for women are among the Osprey packs that received a coveted makeover for 2016. The Manta AG and Mira AG feature the AG Lightwire Suspension that lifts the packs off your back as well as the AG Airspeed backpanel that is made from a durable mesh material. This combination of innovative concepts helps create a pocket of air between your back and the main compartment of the pack, providing unmatched ventilation without sacrificing the tight, secure fit you need for all-day hiking.
The AG system not only keeps you cooler, it also keeps you more comfortable by helping to disperse the weight of the pack to the prime points of contact instead of letting the weight to slump down wherever gravity happens to take it. As part of the system, the new Manta and Mira feature a rigid hip belt made with a comfortable foam that actually conforms to your waist, allowing you to cinch it down for an even more secure fit that takes additional weight off your back without the strap pinching or binding at your waist.
The addition of the AG system wasn’t the only upgrade that Osprey made to the 2016 Mira and Manta. The packs also include a new hydration system as part of Osprey’s recent partnership with Hydrapak. While the larger volume packs in Osprey’s Hydraulics collection will still feature Osprey’s signature hard-backed reservoirs, the smaller volume packs such as the Manta and Mira will include flexible, soft-sided reservoirs designed for light and fast activities. All of the reservoirs will still have Osprey’s popular bite valve and the magnetic sternum strap that fans have come to know and love, but they’ll also include the extremely welcome addition of a QuickConnect hose, which allows you to disconnect and fill up the reservoir without having to completely pull the hose out of the shoulder sheath.
Innovation to pack design is nothing new for Osprey, but judging by the upgrades they’ve made to the 2016 Manta and Mira, it seems pretty clear that they have every intention of remaining at the leading edge of the category where they so obviously belong.
