Customer Reviews Osprey Kyte 46

Great size for petite female (5'1"). Perfect for weekend trips. Could use external loops to add more gear for longer trips.

Took this pack to the summit of Kilimanjaro. Moderate load (lots of water) and it was comfortable for days on end. Access to various gear was easy. It adjusted well as conditions and clothing changed and the multitude of attachments points was really handy. Its more ordinary use is for day hikes and backcountry skiing. Most comfortable pack I have every owned.

I have carried this bag on multiple flights, carried it around Scotland, Iceland, and Ireland, and carried on many trails for camping and back packing. It fits like a glove and has plenty of space. For travel it just needs a packing cube or 2 and you're good to go. Love this bag!

I made a decision in June to hike the Camino de Santiago, all 500 miles of it. So when it came time to choose a good backpack that I could fully depend on to carry me through I had no hesitation about selecting Osprey's Kyte 46. It was big enough to carry what I needed and with plenty of straps to secure it down. The side entry zipper came in handy for retrieving items at the bottom of the bag without unpacking. I really liked the sleeping bag compartment too. All of the small storage compartments, from two on the hip belt, the top compartment and a back mesh one for odds and ends all totaled up to lots of secure stowaway places. My pack performed like a trooper and I completed my Camino in 38 days, no problems at all. I look forward to this coming summer to get out on the trail once more! Thanks Osprey for a great product!

i use it for overnight hiking

Quite impressed upon initial assessment. To me, Osprey is known for the best/most comfortable frame system: the comfort of an internal frame pack with the weight distribution of an external. No other brand has beat it. This is Osprey's selling point and for most of the brand, if you're willing to sacrifice some of your favorite features, you'll be satisfied with the trade off. The Kyte 38 and 46 are essentially the same pack, with the 38 not having the 2 additional outside pockets, and the second zip pocket on the top outside lid that the 46 has. However, the Kyte 46 is feature-rich and a really great choice for short trips, or long trips for lighter packers, but it holds an amazing amount of stuff. I love the two huge outer zipper pockets: something I've gotten used to having thanks my old beast: Dana Terraplane X during 2 week adventures. The Kyte's pockets are big enough for one clunky trail hiker per pocket and then some. The 46L has two zipper pockets on the outer hood (the 38 only has one), which helps for organization, and one mesh zip pocket on the inside hood (you cannot detach the hood from the pack or adjust it's height huge pet peeve!). The water bladder compartment is accessed through the outside of the pack, behind the adjustable harness. The harness is adjustable via velcro, which I'm not completely sold on in terms of durability, but this is something Osprey has employed in their packs for years, I assume if there was an issue, they would have changed it by now. Also, there are no further pockets on the inside of the main compartment, a small drawback when trying to stash away important papers. The biggest problem with the Kyte is that doesn't have that wonderful mesh and air space between you and the pack...I don't know why since so many of Osprey's packs do have this feature (even a few smaller styles). However, despite being as hot as most packs, the back is quite comfortable (at least as much as my old benchmark, the before mentioned Dana), yet the Kyte feels as nimble as my old Marmot Talus. A few other nitpicks: the pack isn't a panel loader (I forget if Osprey is against panel loading for the potential of busted zippers due to over-stuffing), but the sleeping bag compartment helps make up for that shortcoming pretty easily. I'd prefer additional compression straps at the center-sides of the bag (not just the top and bottom) and the fact that the lid isn't adjustable or detachable is just about the only big negative I can think of. It's big competitor, the Gregory Jade 38 hits a couple sweet spots that make it worth checking out: air/mesh back, panel loading and sleeping bag compartment, and a good frame (although not as lovely as Osprey). Finally, let's talk about color, because to me, that's one of the most striking features, and not necessarily in a good way: the rose-red (pink) really turned me off before seeing it in person, and I'm not entirely opposed to pink things, I just don't like to wear it. However, it really isn't that awful or too terribly prissy, (as long as you have the outdoor chops to back up a prissy pack. It's a jewel tone, slightly muted and just a bit darker than in the picture, so it's not bright or too garish. The color you see in the pictures would be the color in really bright sunlight. In the shade or dimmer lighting, the rose red is actually quite nice to look at. If you hate pink/red then by all means, go for the pretty jewel toned teal, which is also lovely and slightly darker in person than in the pics, but if you're indifferent or like pink, I think you'd be quite happy with rose red. Hope this helps some of you!

I ended up returning this item only because it was bigger than what I needed, and I couldn't really tell what it would be like in person just from the video. The blue color is gorgeous, and as the video described, the bag has a ton of pockets and straps for adjusting. It was a bit *too* strappy for me. If you are someone who is going camping and hiking, this bag would be wonderful for you. If you are looking for an alternative to a rolling suitcase to take longer trips, it might a little too "campy" for you, like it was for me. I ordered the "Nixon Shadow World Traveler Backpack" late last year and was a little iffy on that one, but in comparison to the Osprey, it makes a lot more sense for me and I love it now. The other is much better as a carry-on companion for holding a lot, or a weekend away. So to sum up, I love the Osprey Kyte 46, but it wasn't good for my purposes. If you are into hiking and outdoorsy stuff, you will probably love it.

I bought this backpack prior to my first backpacking trip, and anticipate doing many more with this. I went with someone who was willing to carry more stuff in a larger pack, so this worked fine for up to a two day trip. My backpacking partner, who is far more experienced than myself, kept commenting on all the awesome details this bag has. There were plenty of pockets for me and I was surprised how much stuff I could pack, including a completely full 3L Camelback. It takes a little effort to put in, but it does fit. My only complaint is that the trekking pole loop on the upper left side rubbed into my arm to the point of creating a bruise. I will either need to wear thicker shirts, or find some way for it to stop rubbing against my skin.

I love the backpack but was sent in wrong color, it's well made for backpacking and traveling.

I've had this pack for over 2 years - and use it both as a daypack (I'm the sherpa for our family of 4!) and overnight bag. Love how much room there is - easily accessible to the mid-section with the side zipper. I didn't give 5 stars - as I I wish the hip belt pockets were slightly bigger to fit a phone easily, and the side pockets of the bag are not easily accessed while wearing the bag. The trekking pole straps are very sturdy, frequently carrying 3 sets of poles in them. Overall - really love this bag, and can see it standing up well for years to come!

I bought this pack for my wife after we struggled to find a dedicated women's alpine climbing pack. Unisex options like the Mutant just weren't going to work. The Kyte had several key features she was looking for so it seemed close enough. The only significant drawback was the lack of gear loops. Looking close at the pole loop thingy, I realized I might be able to replace the light-duty elastic cord with 3mm cord which I did and it works perfectly. It was a bit fiddly to tie it off inside the space but I managed. Now this pack is ready for the alpine!

It's a great bag for women. Comfortable but not too many pockets. Compartment for water bladder is not too big, can hold 2L platypus bag. Overall satisfied with quality.

Well made tough, lightweight pack, but I found it not practical for more than a day hike. The sleeping bag compartment too small to fit a 3 season bag without taking up most of the pack. Pockets all too small to be of any practical use. Body of the bag just that bit too slim and not expandable at all, making it hard to pack and unpack. The stretchy pocket on front of bag which was written up as being great to store a jacket is really only decorative as too tight to fit more than a t-shirt. The side pockets small and tight, will fit a slim bottle, not a Nalgene size. If the top zippered lid compartment is filled, it won't form and close over the top of the pack. Did not use the water bladder as this would have further reduced the small amount of space inside the pack. The mesh pockets and pack fabric stood up well to being scraped on rocks.

Unfortunately this pack didn't work for me and I should have tested it out a bit more before taking it backpacking. Fit: I am ~170 lbs with an 18-18.5 inch torso so I bought the S/M, but it felt like it was 0.5-1inch too long even on the smallest setting. It was okay when partially filled, but not when full. Comfort: As other reviews mentioned, the straps rubbed my shoulders raw, which was quite painful. The pack also felt really constrictive when full (+hydration bladder) and made it hard to breath deep breaths. One of the days I wore it, I also had problems with my fingers going numb due to where it pressed on my shoulder. Function: The hip pockets are too far back to zip closed after opening them, which made them impossible to close on my own and defeating the purpose of easy access. Zippers in general were a little hard to open and close. The sleeping bag section is a little too small for my bag and the main stuff sack compartment was smaller than I expected. I wanted a pack with extra pockets, but the side pocket is useless if the bag is full. I could also only fit one water bottle in the "bottle" pockets when the pack was full. I could barely get the hydration pack in, even when the bag was empty. The pack worked a bit better without all my backpacking gear on a day hike, but it is really too bulky for just a day hike.