Osprey has long been a leader in the mountain bike hydration pack space. I’ve run into so many Ravens and Raptors out on the trails over the years, and have put in plenty of my own singletrack miles in with Osprey packs. But those packs, while comfortable, feature-rich, and durable, never really erred into the fast-and-light side of things.

The Escapist Velocity 6 addresses that side of the market. It’s a sleeker, lighter, vest-style pack meant to carry all of your essentials for all-day rides. And that’s exactly what I’ve been using it for, while rotating through other vests for comparison.

Osprey Escapist Velocity 6 Details

• Sizes available: S/M and L/XL
• Capacity: 6 liters
• Water capacity: 1.5 liters
• Price: $130

Osprey Escapist Velocity 6 Fit

Osprey makes the Escapist in two sizes, a S/M and a L/XL. I went with the L/XL since I typically wear XL shirts and it fits very well. I’m close to the middle of the waist and chest adjustments with space to go bigger or smaller.

Osprey says the Escapist has a “gravel-oriented” fit, and I’d agree. I’ve spent a bunch of time in High Above’s Supernatural vest, as well as CamelBak’s Chase vest, and I think both of those options have slightly more “mountain bike-oriented” fits. The Escapist is incredibly comfortable and secure in a more upright riding position, but when trails get steep, it has a tendency to ride up a little on my back, and bounce around. I had a couple instances on steeper descents where the top strap handle started to tangle with the adjustment knob on the back of my helmet, which meant that when I changed position it yanked at my pack and my helmet. 

That said, this only happened when I had the Escapist all the way loaded down with a full water bladder and tools. When it was less full, it did a much better job of staying put, and most of the time it didn’t cause any issues.

The single-strap design on each side of the Escapist also means that it’s easier to adjust to a balanced fit versus other packs that have two buckles on each shoulder strap, anchoring to different points on the back portion of the vest. I’ve found that with four buckles it’s much easier to mess up your adjustment so that the pack is pulled to one side or another, whereas with the Escapist’s two buckles you can easily balance things out on the fly.

Osprey Escapist Velocity 6 Features

The Escapist Velocity 6 is an Osprey pack, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that it’s got a ton of features. Starting from the front: each strap has a zippered pocket and two stretch pockets. There’s plenty of room for snacks, a phone, wallet, and keys in these pockets. The sternum straps are magnetic and pretty fly, and the hydration hose is also magnetic, making it easy to grab a sip with just one hand.

The crown jewel of the front of this pack, in my opinion though, is the sunglasses holders on each side. They’re so simple, and so secure. Just slide an arm through them, and keep riding. I’ve used a bunch of sunglasses holders and pockets, but never any quite so easy to use without getting off the bike as this one. I wish every pack had it.

The back portion of the vest is minimally padded, and inside is an Osprey-branded HydraPack bladder. It uses the classic folded top, sliding latch design. I’m of two minds here. The CamelBak Chase has spoiled me with its large screw-in lid. It’s easier to open and close, but the Osprey system takes up less room when it’s empty, and is easier to fill all the way. However, the combination of less back padding and this bladder design meant that I had to be more careful than usual to make sure that everything was situated correctly when I filled the bladder, otherwise the top latch had a tendency to twist and rub into my back while pedaling.

The Velocity 6 has one large main cargo pocket with a mesh divider. It’s got plenty of space for snacks, spare gloves, a small saw, and an extra layer. Below it is a dedicated tool pocket, with removable tool roll. I really like this pocket and roll in theory, they’re sleek and clever. In reality though, I tend to move my tools around between a small hip pack, this vest, and a much bigger digging pack, and the tool roll isn’t a good way to do that, so I’ve stuck to my High Above Hot Pocket zippered pouches, and just removed the tool roll.

On the back of the helmet there’s a plastic clip on an adjustable elastic strap for carrying a half-shell helmet. This system works really well, it’s secure and easy to use. I do wish that this vest had a provision to carry a full face though. Anecdotally most folks I know just wear their half-shell helmets when they’re pedaling uphill, but will often strap a full face to their packs for scarier days. It would be great to have a better system for carrying a full face, or at least more attachment points for a ski strap or something similar. High Above’s Supernatural vest has set the industry standard here, and I’d love to see this become the norm.

Osprey Escapist Velocity 6 Performance

It might sound like I’ve had a bunch of small niggles with details of this pack, and while that’s sort of true, that hasn’t been really reflected in my experience, mostly because I’ve planned my rides around what this pack is good at. And where it excels are rides where you need a bunch of extra water, some tools and food, and not much else. This isn’t the pack to bring if you plan on bringing home deer antlers or if you want to forage for mushrooms or carry a bigger trail saw. Osprey makes other packs for that.

Similarly, this is not a great pack for winch-and-plummet style enduro riding where you’d typically bring a full face helmet and chase steep trails. Instead, it excels at all-round trail riding. Get on your bike, and put miles into your legs, self-supported.

And on those sorts of rides the Escapist Velocity is so excellent. I find myself using the big, easy-to-access pockets to grab snacks on the go. I quite enjoy how easy it is to stow and deploy sunglasses from the front carrier, and the more upright fit works just right.

For Now

Osprey’s Escapist Velocity 6 vest is an excellent choice for riders who want added capacity over a hip pack, but don’t need a full-on backpack. It’s got a full, and very dialed feature set, and a comfortable fit on more upright rides. That makes it a strong contender in this space.

Learn more: Osprey