OspreySyncro 20L Men's Hiking Backpack with Hydraulics Reservoir, Coal Grey

I own several Osprey packs. This might be my favorite. It is the perfect size for a quick day hike. Whether I want to bring along a snack, my and my spouse's jackets, etc... Or maybe just my camera and single lens. Many ways to outfit the pack. Maybe throw my iPad in it and hop on my bike and head down to a coffee shop. Pretty much anything 5min to 4 hours....this pack is it. I have a 35L that I would grab if I wanted something for 4-24 hours and then I have a true backpacking pack for a the 1+ day hikes. But this pack is now my go-to pack!!

So far, I love the Osprey Syncro 20L, great design and feature set. This will be lengthy review but will hopefully answer all of your questions since there aren’t many reviews on the Osprey Syncro 20L. This backpack has the Airspeed back panel on it so the pack has space between your back and the actual backpack, this gives you maximum airflow to help limit how hot your back gets while wearing it. This is the best feature of the backpack if you ask me. It is also very comfortable to wear when using or not using the hip-belt. I find this pack to be very similar to the Osprey Talon 22L but with the main difference being the back panel. Here is a full run down on the features I like and do not like about it and also a comparison between a couple of my other packs.I am a big fan of using a 20-25L sized packs as an everyday carry, day hiking, and travel bag. I have a CamelBak HAWG 20L military pack, an older version of the Osprey Talon 22L, a Direct Action 25L Dragon Egg, and I also have a North Face Router backpack. These are all good packs but they don’t do everything I want them to. I wanted something lightweight that I could take to work with me, take out on a hike, take on a plane, and use as a travel bag while on vacation, etc. I only occasionally bring a laptop with me but I wanted to have the option of carrying one. I also live in Arizona so I wanted something that had a vented back panel and can also hold a water bladder. My Osprey Talon does a pretty good job with this but I wanted to get something with even more airflow on my back. I find this backpack fits the bill for everything I could ever want a backpack for. It is a great everyday carry bag, it can hold a laptop, great for airline travel, it is an excellent hiking and biking bag, and I have enough room to fit extra clothes for the gym.Pros:- Includes a 2.5L water bladder- Includes a rain cover- Enough space in the main compartment to hold a 16-inch MacBook Pro, I can’t get the 16-inch to fit in the water bladder pocket but I bet a 14-inch or maybe even a 15-inch laptop could fit in there.- The Airspeed suspension and internal metal frame make this a very comfortable and breathable backpack. This is by far the best back panel setup I have seen on a backpack. Osprey has this feature dialed in, great job!- The hip-belt pockets lay very flat when you do not have anything in them. They don’t hold a lot of items but I like how they lay flat so I can actually fold them behind the backpack when I don’t need them (see picture). It doesn’t make wearing the pack without using the hip-belts uncomfortable or annoying.- The shoulder straps are thin and are very breathable, they have a contoured fit and they fit me really good, I am 6ft, 185lbs.- The chest strap has a magnet attachment and the water bladder bit valve connects to the magnet, nice design- The Coal Grey color scheme is very nice. The nylon webbing on the shoulder straps, hip-belt, grab handle, and chest strap are a dark slate blue color. while the cinch straps on the pack are a dark grey color. This is hard to notice in most pictures that I have seen online, I was under the impression this was an all grey and black scheme but the dark slate color is very nice. The back of shoulder strap and hip-belt mesh is also the slate blue color. Note: in my pictures, the blue and gray look lighter than they really are.Cons:- The front mesh stash pocket should be bigger like the size it is on the Talon 22.- The top stash pocket isn’t the heat embossed/scratch-free material. I think they used to make the Syncro with this type of stash pocket but mine is just a standard pocket. This would have been nice for when you store your sunglasses in the pocket.- I wish the interior fabric was a lighter color, this would make it easier to find items in the pockets, mine is a dark blue/grey color.- I love the low-profile hip-belt but I wish they would have used a thicker nylon webbing for it.- The grab handle is too small/thin, they should make this more robust (see picture).- Not really a con but the bottom of the pack is not padded so be careful if you are carrying a laptop. The rain cover does provide some padding for the laptop but you can easily add some cardboard or clothing in the bottom of the pack to provide extra support for when you have a laptop in the bag.Comparison to Osprey Talon 22L:- This pack has similar features and almost the same size as my Osprey Talon 22L.- The Talon is an inch or so longer and I personally like the way they both fit me (6ft 185lbs) but I feel the Talon rides on my belt line and the Syncro sits just above it.- Both back panels are more narrow fitting on your back than a traditional backpack, which I like. The Syncro uses the Airspeed system so it actually sits off your back giving you space between the pack and your back (see picture). The Talon has the Airscape system which is vented but not as good as the Syncro, it sits directly on your back. I feel the Airspeed system on the Syncro is the best for venting/air flow on your back, really helps in hot climates. The Airspeed system also has a metal internal frame so the back holds it shape better and the Talon doesn’t have a metal frame.- I can fit a MacBook Pro 16-inch in both main compartments on these bags. There isn’t any cushion at the bottom of the packs but the rain cover in the Syncro gives it some cushion. You could easily put a piece of cardboard, plastic, or whatever at the bottom to give your laptop some added protection. I cannot fit my 16-inch MacBook in the Syncro’s water bladder pocket but if you had a 14-inch version, it would fit. You could also store a tablet in the Syncro’s water bladder pocket. The Talon’s water bladder pocket is too narrow to get anything besides a water bladder in there. It can be a little tricky getting a full water bladder in the Talon, it takes a little work, it is much easier to get one in the Syncro.- Both packs have a front stretch mesh pocket, the Talon’s is much larger (which is awesome) but I can still fit a rain jacket in the front mesh pocket on the Syncro.- Both have 2 mesh water bottle pockets and both fit a 32oz Nalgene bottle, the Talon water pockets are a little larger so can probably fit more than just a Nalgene.- Both packs also have a separate water bladder pocket (The 2.5 Liter bladder is included with the Syncro, not with the Talon) in the back part of the backpack.- They both also have hip-belt pockets but the Talon’s are larger. The Syncro’s hip pockets can lay flat and you can easily stash the hip-belt behind your back if you don’t want to wear it and it still feels very comfortable (see picture). I actually cut off the hip-belt on my Talon because I didn’t use it that much and I thought it got in the way for everyday carry use. I much prefer the hip-belt on the Syncro because it is very minimal.- I find the shoulder straps to be similar in design but the Syncro’s have a curve to them so I personally think they fit me better, they are both well ventilated. The Talon has a shoulder pocket on one of the straps, the Syncro doesn’t have any shoulder pockets.- The Syncro offers two additional pockets, the tool pocket behind the front mesh pocket and also a rain cover pocket (includes the rain cover with the Syncro, a rain cover doesn’t come with the Talon) at the bottom of the pack.- Both packs offer load lifters on the top of the shoulder straps.- The chest strap on the Syncro is magnetic and seems strong, it also holds the end of the water bladder bit valve onto the magnetic but doesn’t have a whistle. The Talon chest strap is a standard clip and has a whistle built-in but no magnet for the water tube, you can buy one separately.- Both packs have a grab handle at the top and I wish both had a beefier grab handle, they are pretty narrow and small but they do work.Summary: Syncro has an included water bladder, included rain cover, two extra pockets (rain cover pocket and tool pocket), the Syncro has contoured shoulder straps. The Talon has a larger front mesh pocket, slightly larger water bottle pockets, a shoulder pocket, and a little larger hip-belt pockets. Syncro uses the Airspeed system and the Talon uses the Airscape system.Comparison to CamelBak Mil-Spec HAWG 20L- The Syncro and HAWG are almost identical in size.- Both packs have an included water bladder and a separate water bladder pocket. The bladder in the Syncro is 2.5L and the HAWG is 3L. The HAWG also has a water tube cover which helps keeps the water in the line cooler. There is also a dust cover on the mouth-piece with the CamelBak.- Both have a narrower fit on your back, they aren’t wide packs- Each pack offers a tool/organizational pocket and a stash pocket. The Syncro also has a rain cover pocket with rain cover and 2 hip-belt pockets, the HAWG has a basic removable hip-belt that doesn’t have any pockets.- The Syncro has a front stash pocket and two water bottle pockets, the HAWG doesn’t have these.- The Syncro has a much better vented back panel system and has an internal frame. The HAWG tends to curve on my back while wearing it so it does offer some air space on my back but this isn’t intended, it’s just the way it sits on my back, the pack kind of bends when not completely full. The back panel is much more comfortable on the Syncro.- Load lifters on the shoulder straps of the Syncro, no load lifters on the HAWG.- The Syncro has a more contoured shoulder strap than the HAWG and the Syncro offers lots of venting in in the shoulder straps, the HAWG has no venting in the shoulder straps but they are still very comfortable.- Both packs can fit a 16inch MacBook Pro in the main compartment.- The HAWG has Molle webbing on the front of the pack so you can attach whatever you want to it, other pouches, carabiners, etc. They should have also added Molle on the sides of the HAWG so you could attach a water bottle pocket. The only attachment point on the Syncro is where a bike light can attach to, you can put a carabiner here if you want.- The top carry handle on the HAWG is more robust, probably the best carry handle I have seen.Summary: Both come with water bladders. The Syncro has more bells and whistles and comes with an included rain cover. Both packs are great for EDC use. I would say if you were comparing a non-tactical pack to a similar tactical pack, these are very close to each other. The HAWG is more for military/tactical use and the Syncro is a civilian use backpack. Both make excellent everyday backpacks so just pick the style of pack you like better and I don’t think you could go wrong with either.I hope this information helps since there isn’t too much online about the Syncro 20 and I really think it compares to and is even better than the Talon 22. I think it is my favorite edc, hiking, travel bag to date. Maybe in the future Osprey will update it with a larger front mesh pocket and a better top grab handle. I wouldn’t mind if they added a few loops to the pack for attaching carabiners. I also don’t think it really is a con for not having extra padding at the bottom of the pack for when you have a laptop with you. You can easily add/make your own padding or use extra clothes to protect the laptop while in the pack, they even sell laptop sleeves for this reason. All in all, I think Osprey really nailed it with this pack and the Airspeed system is fantastic. Plus, with the Osprey warranty, you got yourself a winner of a backpack.