Osprey Centauri 22 Review

Osprey has developed a prestigious reputation for producing high-quality, affordable outdoor gear over the years. It’s also highly committed to ethical production and a high level of customer service – so much so, in fact, that the company covers all its products with its famous ‘Allmighty Guarantee’, which means any defective Osprey product will be replaced without any cost for an entire lifetime.

Founded way back in 1974, Osprey has had plenty of time to fine-tune its products, and its backpacks are certainly its flagship product. Although their backpacks were traditionally designed for life on the trail, Osprey understands the ever-growing demands of daily urban life. The Osprey Centauri 22 is the perfect inner-city bag, yet it exhibits many of the features we’ve come to know and love in Osprey backpacks.

Here, we’ll take a look at how the Osprey Centauri 22 performs in some key areas before giving it an overall rating and verdict. Hopefully, this will save you some time and give you all the info you need to decide if this pack is the one for you, enjoy!

Materials and Durability

Okay, so there are tonnes of high-street backpacks out there in the same price range as the Centauri 22, so is there anything setting the Osprey apart from the others? In short, yes.

Materials

Nylon is one of the most popular materials used for outdoor gear thanks to its durability. You’ll be pleased to know, therefore, that the Osprey Centauri is constructed from a mixture of 210/420/630 denier nylon dobby blend. But what are deniers? Well, deniers (denoted as simply ‘D’) is a unit to describe the firmness of nylon fibers, and the greater the denier the greater the durability.

Around 400-600D is common for outdoor backpacks, so the Centauri scores well in this department. Plus, by using a combination of different deniers, some parts of the pack are tougher than others. This provides a pleasant degree of flexibility and softness in some areas, while others are reinforced – for instance, the base features double-layer construction so you don’t end up with holes in the bottom.

We also love that the seams holding everything together are constructed from durable grosgrain tape (a durable, nylon fabric) and the zippers to the main compartment are durable YKK zippers (our favorite).

Overall, this pack is certainly more durable than your average backpack, and you can tell it’s been produced by a brand that’s been producing outdoor gear for years.

Water-resistance

The nylon used for the construction of the pack is itself naturally water-resistant, so don’t worry if you get caught in a shower – you’ve certainly got time to run for cover before worrying about your gear getting wet. On top of that, the Centauri features impressive weather flaps that make sure no pesky leaks find their way in through the zips.

They also hide part of the zipper itself, contributing to the overall ‘seamless’ appearance of the backpack. It would be nice to see an integrated rain cover installed in this pack (especially if you’ll be carrying your electronics around) but we guess you can’t have everything.

While this pack won’t keep your gear dry in a monsoon, for day-to-day life, it’s got you covered in terms of water resistance.

Organization and Accessibility

Organization is key when you’ll be carrying around a lot of gear, especially if you’re taking it to the office or a meeting. Aside from a spacious 22L main compartment, how does the Centauri help to keep your gear in order?

Main compartment

At the back of the main compartment is a heavily padded laptop compartment capable of cushioning laptops with screens up to 15 inches. In front of this, there’s a second, smaller sleeve that’s perfect for tablets or even a notebook. And in front of this are yet more organizational pockets, including sections ideal for chargers, pens, and all your other bits and bobs., although we wish there was a small zip pocket for tiny items such as keys or batteries.

Pockets

We must admit, the exterior pockets of the Osprey Centauri aren’t much to write home about – there are two dual water bottle holders (and they’re nice and deep, yay) plus a scratch-free pouch on the top. Although we’d like to see another, larger pocket on the front, we suppose it might ruin the ‘seamless’ appearance of the bag, so maybe we should let this one go.

Overall, this bag has enough organizational features to keep your basic office gear in order, but the sleek design has clearly come at the cost of a reduced number of pockets and compartments.

Carrying Comfort

All outdoor backpacks should be comfortable to carry, even when loaded with gear. So have Osprey retained this comfort in their inner-city design?

Straps

For a small bag, we have to say that we were impressed with the traps and belts of the Centauri. The shoulder straps feature a good degree of padding, so they won’t cut into you even when this thing is fully loaded, and there’s a sternum strap to help distribute the weight of your load.

We were also pleased to see a hip strap – a feature often missing from smaller packs – which adds great stability if you’ll be cycling into work as well as helping direct weight away from your shoulders and onto your hips. If this is too much, however, you can simply remove the hip strap – a really nice touch.

Although this unisex bag is only available in one size, the straps are all adjustable, enabling you to get the perfect fit for you. The pack lacks compression straps, but we wouldn’t really expect to see them in a bag so small.

Back Panel and Handle

The mesh-covered back panel aids airflow to stop you from arriving at work with a sweaty back (or at least, not as sweaty), and we like that the mesh extends down over the shoulder straps too. There’s also a top-handle for ease of maneuvering your pack when it’s not on your back.

Overall, this pack offers great weight distribution usually reserved for bags with larger capacities and hasn’t skimped on padding either – nice one Osprey.

Extras

We’ve touched on a few extra features already, such as the scratch-free pocket and the removable hip strap, but does the Centauri have any other perks?

Well, remember the scratch-free top pocket? Turns out it has an internal key attachment clip so you can always whip your key out when you arrive at your front door. On top of that, there’s an LED light attachment point, which is great news for any cyclists out there. Finally, the sternum strap features an emergency whistle on the buckle for times of need.

Aside from that, the no-frills design means that Centauri isn’t as packed full of extra features as some of Osprey’s other models.

Value for Money

The Osprey Centauri provides a streamlined design perfect for inner-city adventures, yet we recognize lots of its features from outdoor backpacks. The overall result is a durable pack with great weight distribution that’s far better than your average high-street backpack.

But does this mean we should be worried about the price tag? Nope. At the time of writing this backpack costs around $60 USD, depending on the retailer. For this price, you’re getting durable materials, features often reserved for larger packs, and a backpack that you can wear into the office without turning any heads AND an included lifetime guarantee – what a steal!

Rating

With an overall score of 90/100, the Osprey Centauri has performed well against our rating system. Although it lost some marks for a lack of organizational features and extra touches, the minimalistic design is part of its charm after all, so maybe we’ve been a little harsh.

Verdict

So, what do we think of the Centauri overall? If you’re after a high-quality bag for urban adventures that won’t break the bank, then look no further.

This super stylish bag features high-quality construction and offers great weight distribution, yet comes at a fraction of the price we’d expect. Sure, it might not have as many pockets or external attachment points as a bag built for the outdoors, but this bag isn’t built for the outdoors!

Well suited to commutes by foot or bicycle and covered by a lifetime guarantee, there’s no reason why this bag won’t be a colleague of yours for life.