Why I Will Always Travel With an Osprey Backpack
Oh, man, this is going to sound really lame, but when I went shopping for my first backpack, I felt like I was Harry Potter picking out his wand. At first, everything felt wrong. Empty backpacks were surprisingly heavy and tugged on my shoulders, causing me pain within minutes of pulling them on. Front-loading packs were too wide and looked ridiculous. Backpacks I liked were too long for my tiny frame and dangled over my ass rather than resting on my hips. As I tried on and discarded uncomfortable backpack after uncomfortable backpack, I couldn’t help but feel like a fraud. It had to be a sign: how could I expect to travel the world when I couldn’t even find a backpack that fitted properly? But then: magic! I threw an Osprey Exos 46 litre pack up onto my back and the world faded away, until there was just me and my backpack. I couldn’t believe how it could settle on to my hips and seemingly disappear. It was so light, I felt like I wasn’t even wearing it anymore. I felt as...