Osprey Daylite Expandable Travel Pack 26+6 Review

Maybe you’re running out of closet space or don’t want to make room in your budget for a second backpack. That’s where a travel backpack like the Osprey Daylite Expandable Travel Pack 26+6 can come in handy. It functions as a rather large (but not overly big) daypack for your daily commute but can grow by 2 inches for an extra 6 liters of capacity when you need to pack it up for a weekend trip. We’ve been testing it in and around Detroit, where we’ve found it very comfortable to carry, even when stuffed full.

So, is an expandable backpack right for you? Read on and find out.

External Components

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of the bag’s design, let’s talk about the materials making it up. If you’re a sustainable traveler, you’ll be happy to know that Osprey uses bluesign® approved recycled polyester for the main body, bottom, and main liner fabric. The main body has a 300D diamond ripstop, the bottom is 600D for additional durability, and the lining is a lighter 200D. The materials include a DWR made without PFAS for eco-friendly water resistance, whether you’re caught in a downpour or need to wipe up a spill. We had no issues with gear inside getting wet when we got caught in the rain, so we think it works well.

A beefy carry handle is on top of the bag, which helps you move it from place to place or hang it up on a hook. It’s comfortable enough to carry for a little while, though we prefer wearing it as a backpack. There are two other carry handles, as well: one on the left side and one on the bottom. They help you to pull it out from the overhead bin on a plane or from the back of a vehicle, yet they don’t get in our way when we’re not using them. They don’t have the same amount of padding or breathable mesh lining as the top handle; that one is the most comfortable of the three.

The front of the bag has four small loops where you can connect gear using a carabiner, like a hat or a packable jacket. The Osprey name and logo are centered between the top two loops on the front of the bag in a lighter shade of our Night Shift Blue Colorway, and “Daylite” is spelled out in all caps between the bottom two. Osprey also offers it in another solid, Black, as well as a few color-blocked designs: Blue Spikemoss/Alkaline, Kakio Pink/Purple Ink, and Tumbleweed Yellow/Tunnel Vision, as of the time of this writing. Colors seem to go in and out of stock quickly, so be sure to snag one if you see one you want or bide your time if nothing floats your boat at the moment.

Osprey uses YKK zippers on the Expandable Travel Pack, with double pulls on the main compartment. Those zippers and the one on the laptop access include holes where you can slide through a travel lock for extra security. There’s also a loop covering the end of the laptop compartment zipper so you can slide the pull through for a little extra security (i.e., it will catch the zipper unless you feed it through the loop, slowing down access).

All of the zippers have cords woven through them, with molded plastic ends that are easy to grab everywhere on the bag, and we haven’t had any issues with any of them. They slide easily but don’t slip out of place.

We’ve already talked about the zipper for the main compartment (double pulls, lockable) and the laptop access (single pull, lockable), but you’ll notice a third zipper track running around the bag’s perimeter. It’s the expansion zipper, which gives you an additional 2 inches of depth in the bag. The expanded material is the same polyester as the remainder of the bag, so you don’t have to worry about durability when you need extra capacity. It’s super easy to use, and the extra material stays out of the way inside the bag, folding neatly into a crease along the edge of the bag’s interior when you have it cinched down.

The other hardware on the bag includes buckles from ITW on the sternum strap, with a built-in whistle so you can call for help in a sketchy situation. We hope you never find yourself in one of those, but it’s nice to have if you do. Or if you just want to holler at your family to get a move on. A whistle can come in handy in many places, but we digress.

The sternum strap slides on a rail for granular adjustment, and the shoulder straps include adjusters at the bottom that are easy to use yet stay where you place them.

If you’re pairing this with some rolling luggage for a trip, you’ll be happy to see a large luggage pass-through incorporated into the back panel where you can slide the bag vertically over the handle of your suitcase. It has the same ridged, mesh-lined padding as the remainder of the back panel for breathability and comfort and to blend into the background when you’re not using it as a pass-through. The contoured shoulder straps also include a nice amount of padding and denser breathable mesh underneath, and the tops of the shoulder straps include the same open mesh we find on the back panel. We’re not sure why, as nothing will likely be sweating there, but at least then you can see the amount of padding you’re dealing with in these straps, as it’s visible through the open mesh.

Fit Notes

Whether or not you like seeing the padding, we can assure you that it’s nice to have when carrying the bag around. We find the Daylite Expandable Travel Pack very comfortable to carry daily, and we like that it doesn’t sag or droop when you have less inside than when you have it stuffed full. No matter what colorway you have, it’s a casual bag, as is the rest of the Daylite line, but we prefer our travel backpacks to be durable workhorses rather than fancy ponies, so we don’t mind. Other than from the harness system, there aren’t many straps and buckles dangling around, so it has a pretty streamlined style that fits in on the plane, train, or however else you get from place to place.

Inside The Pack

Like any good daypack or travel backpack, the Osprey Daylite Expandable Travel Pack has different pockets and compartments for your gear. A short horizontal zipper on the front panel opens to a drop pocket for items like a packable jacket, sunglasses, or a small tech pouch, depending on what you need on a given day. Our primary tester uses it for her small toiletry kit and tissues, but it’s a nice open space for whatever you need.

Above that is a U-shaped zipper that opens to reveal a small admin panel with additional space where you can tuck a small 3-1-1 bag for easy access through TSA. It includes a short red key clip and leash. It’s handy for tucking away your house keys on a trip or keeping track of key fobs to get into the office for daily use. Organization in this space includes five stretchy slip pockets: two wider ones on each end and three slimmer ones in the middle. The skinnier ones are best for pens or a stylus, so we didn’t use them a bunch, but it’s nice to have if you carry multiple writing implements around. The wider ones worked best for battery banks, toiletry containers, tissues, or a minimalist wallet, so we got more use out of those.

There are also two stretchy mesh pockets on either side of the bag, which work well for various water bottles, holding them in place as you make your way from place to place. There’s a bit of elastic at the top to keep them from wiggling around and sliding out, which you may appreciate if you’ve lost a bottle after it slid out on the plane or an amusement park ride.

Now, it’s time to head into the main compartment. There are actually two ways to do so. If you just want to pull out your laptop, go for the zipper adjacent to the back panel, as it opens right above the sleeve, which can accommodate up to a 16-inch device. It isn’t a separate compartment, but if you’ve got everything packed carefully on top and need to get some work done on the plane, it’s nice to be able to get to the back of the bag instead of having to dig down to reach it.

On the other hand, the front zipper extends in a backward C shape from the right side of the bag’s front to open fully clamshell for easy packing.

You’ll find a large zipper mesh pocket against the lid for flat gear like hats, gloves, slim sandals, swimsuits, or even some travel tech if you don’t have it stashed elsewhere. You could also use it to organize your dirty clothing, though the mesh liner will let odors and such pass onto your clean gear, so it’s probably not the best spot for that.

The remaining area is open for packing cubes, travel shoes, toiletry bag, and more. One set of tie-down straps runs across the middle, but that may not be the most helpful unless you somehow stash gear directly underneath it. With the height of the bag, you may have cubes above and below it, rendering it useless, but if you were to fold travel pants and tops in half and stack them in the bag, this would hold them in place.

Against the back panel, you’ll spy the laptop sleeve, so you can load your computer through this section as well if you’re opening it up to get at other gear. At the top of the back panel is a small slip pocket. It’s roughly the size of a business card, so you can stash your contact information inside. However, we’d recommend using it for an AirTag, Tile, or other small device to track your pack. Nothing identifies what this pocket is for, so even if someone found your bag and wanted to return it to you, there would be no reason for them to look inside, hence the suggestion of a digital tracker. However, it is too narrow for a credit card-shaped one. If you have that, you can slide it into the admin panel instead, though we like how nicely hidden this pocket is. Without any identifying information, hopefully a thief will just pass it by if they snag your bag and you can continue to track it down.

The design is similar to the Osprey Transporter Global Carry-On, just slimmed down and condensed for better day-to-day use. Many of the organizational features made their way from the large bag down to the smaller, more flexible option, like the tie-down strap, large mesh pockets, and admin panel. However, with the more rounded shape and compressibility, we don’t feel so much like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle when wearing the Daylite Expandable Travel Pack as we did when sporting the more square (and much larger) Global Carry-On. So, if you’re a minimalist packer looking for a bag that works just as well for your gym clothing, lunch, and laptop as it does for packing cubes, toiletry bags, and travel shoes, this may just be the best travel backpack for you.