The Osprey Talon Earth 22 is a 22 litre backpack made of 100 denier high tenacity regen robic (recycled nylon) and integrates a feature called Lid Lock, which is a neat T hook solution for securely attaching a cycling helmet to the front side of the backpack. The LidLock helmet attachment consists of an aerated shield (7.5cm long x 3.3 cm wide x 0.5cm thick) with an elastic adjustable bungee cord. The LidLock attachment inserts through the helmet's middle ventilation gap, creating a secure attachment against the helmet so, the helmet won't fall off accidentally mid ride! 

Talon Earth 22 has three external zippered compartments: a front facing compartment, a quick stash compartment (small pocket) in the middle and a rear facing compartment designed to carry a laptop. The front compartment is the roomiest with the most volume capacity for storing bulky items. The internal dimensions of the front compartment are 48cm high and 26cm wide and can expand 8cm outward, making it ideal for storing a helmet, jumper or pair of shoes. 

 

The Talon Earth 22 front compartment opens up via metal dual YKK sliders and, the zipper has a U shape opening. While the zipper sliders only open half way from side to side, it is wide enough to easily reach the bottom. The Talon Earth 22 front compartment is no ideal for storing a laptop because the front and bottom of the front compartment are not padded - protected only by the thin outershell nylon fabric. The front compartment runs all the way down to the bottom of the backpack.

Inside the front compartment, there is zippered pocket built-in to the underside of the stash pocket liner. The zippered pocket opens via a single YKK 5RCZ metal slider with a fabric cord pull tab. The zippered pocket measures 19 cm long and 16cm high and has a front facing mesh for ventilation, as well as a non-detachable red plastic keyring.

The top loading stash pocket measures 20cm high and 23cm wide and opens up via a single YKK 5RCZ metal slider with rubbery finger-loop pull tab. The Talon Earth 22 stash pocket internal liner feels water resistant and made of light cyan colored. The Talon Earth 22 rear facing compartment is designed for storing a laptop safely, thanks to the back and front thick padding (EVA foam) and bottom suspension, which keeps the laptop 2 inches (5cm) above the bottom of the pack. 

The rear facing laptop compartment is a lot narrower so, only suited for a laptop, Pixelbook, graphics tablet, A4 binder, etc. While you can't store bulky items in the rear compartment, it has elastic hinges, which allows the compartment to stretch wide enough to accommodate any thick laptop. The rear compartment also has a clip to attach a water bladder as well as passthrough openings to the internal front compartment and rear backside to route a drink tube or charging cable. The rear compartment measures 45cm high and 23cm wide and opens up via dual metal YKK 8RCZ sliders with finger loops.

 

The Talon Earth 22 backpack has a sturdy backsystem that consists of breathable mesh and HDPE (plastic) framesheet with a bottom curvuture to support the lower back. The framesheet back panel base layer features ridges of EVA foam for air to flow between the pack and your back. This makes the Talon Earth 22 a lot less sweaty than the foam padded backsystem on most backpacks such as the Arcane XL Day pack.

 

The Talon Earth 22 backpack has torso adjustment too, which is a useful backpack feature that lets transfer the weight of the backpack down to the hips. Torso adjustment is not the same as adjusting the length of the shoulder straps, which can be done on any backpack by fastening and loosening the shoulder straps ladderlock buckles. With torso adjustment, you can increase and decrease the distance between the shoulder straps and the hip belt so that most of the weight rides on your hips, making it more comfortable to carry the pack on your back.

Speaking of shoulder straps, they are not individually sewn. They are integrated within the velcro-actuated torso adjustment sewn into a single piece of fabric. The shoulder straps have a comfortable S shaped design with breathable mesh and perforated EVA foam. 

 

The shoulder straps measure 42cm long and 6.5cm wide and integrate a chest strap adjustment system, as well as elastic webbing loops (2 on each strap) and a small elastic pocket (17cm long x 5cm wide) on the left shoulder strap perfect for storing a small flashlight. On the bottom of the shoulder straps, you find the usual ladderlock buckles for managing webbing excess.

 

The Talon Earth 22 backpack features a set of stabilizer straps (load lifters) at the top of the shoulder straps and another set of stabilizer straps on the waist belt for adjusting and balance the load. The neat thing about load lifters is that they help transfer and distribute the weight from the shoulders evenly throughout the back and hips, while keeping the load snugly pushed against the back, which prevents you from having to lean forward and fatiguing yourself quicker. 

 

The Talon Earth 22 pack has a proper padded hip belt with dual sided zippered pockets, which turns the Talon Earth 22 hip belt into a nifty fanny pack/bum bag. The hip belt zipper pockets aren't waterproof but have hidden teeth, which should minimize dust and water ingress. The hip belt pockets use YKK 5RCZ metal sliders with a finger loop pull tab. The dimensions of the pockets are: 20cm long and 10cm high. The hip belt pockets are roomy enough to store small bulky items.

 

The side pockets look small but they are made of stretchy mesh fabric material with decent width (17cm) and internal depth (20cm), which is high enough to store a 500ml water bottle, small tripod, etc. The side pockets also integrate compression straps, which are useful when carrying small loads to prevent the contents from shifting around. The side compression strap is also useful for strapping a tripod inside the side pocket. You can also strap a tripod or walking stick on the outside of the pack via the elastic bungee cord located next to the side pocket. The bungee cord integrates an open hook to cinch the cord, which is useful for quick release and deploy.

Selling points for the Talon Earth 22 pack

You can buy the Osprey Talon Earth 22 from Osprey and amazon