Osprey Men’s Transporter 90 Pewter (Backpack)

Overall impression: The Osprey Transporter 90, a combination backpack and luggage, made an ideal companion for the remote locations we visited during our Southern Africa adventures. It was soft sided allowing it to conform somewhat to the shape of the space we placed it in. It was versatile and sturdy; handsome enough to accompany us to five star properties and sporty enough for camping accommodations. The padded sides provided extra protection for our contents. The Transporter had straps across the front, which made it possible for the bag to shrink or grow depending on how much we wanted to carry in it. This feature was useful when we purchased a large souvenir that would not fit into any of the other bags. The souvenir fit into the Transporter because the bag expanded to accommodate the extra contents.

Thanks to the Transporter concealable shoulder straps we could carry it as a backpack, a useful option to anyone who had to walk a long distance over terrain unsuitable for rolling wheeled luggage. We successfully used this backpack feature on several occasions. A tough piece of luggage, the Transporter held up well under our African game viewing travel conditions. Though the transporter 90 was the intermediate sized bag of the Transporter line, it was surprisingly spacious. We were originally going to use the transporter 130, but the manufacturer’s representative advised us to size down to the transporter 90. This turned out to be good advice because the T90 carried more than our original estimates based on the dimensions of the bag. It was also just right to fit in the bush planes we flew in from camp to camp in Botswana .

Manufacturer/distributor : Osprey Packs, Inc.

Made in: Vietnam

Type of product: Backpack

List price: $139

Release date: 1999

Size: 27x14x14 inches

Weight: 3lbs., 11oz

Capacity: 5500 cu. in/9 0L

Features: Straight jacket compression, shoulder and hip straps, two (2) pockets, Padded (foam) Sidewalls, made of 500d Broken Twill Nylon, top slash pocket with key clip, oversized zipper pulls, Excessory attachment D-rings, magazine pocket on frontal panel, tubular carry handle.

Also, a zip-away fixed harness along with a tuck-away fabric wing hip belt, to comfortably carry it through long airport concourses and from the airport to wherever your final destination may be. The front panel offered a spacious magazine pocket. Inside, there was a flap mesh pocket and a handle side mesh pocket.

Other: Though usually our first choice for travel is luggage with wheels, the Transporter 90 made an ideal companion for the remote locations we visited during our Southern Africa adventures. On the same trip, another new, but less sturdy, bag with wheels broke down on its maiden voyage. The Transporter weathered the same conditions and returned home no worse for the wear. More than once we worried the porters, who were using the wrong handles to hoist the backpack onto their shoulders or luggage carts by mistake, would end up with the fabric in their hands. It never happened on nearly 40 occasions over five weeks of travel.

Number of days tested: Five weeks

Countries tested : Botswana , South Africa and Zambia

Date of review : June 2004

Would you use this product again? Yes

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