Summary
This Osprey Manta 36 review is for those looking for a fully-featured day-long hiking backpack. Are you a bicycler who loves to roam about but don’t want the burden of carrying and uncomfortable backpack? Or maybe you love to hike, but don’t want to be completely comfortable carrying your day’s gear weight.
Either way, this backpack is optimized to feel highly comfortable with all the bells and whistles. Keep in mind that this is not an overnight backpack in the sense that it does not have a sleeping bag compartment. But if you do have a spot to put a sleeping bag somewhere, you can carry enough gear in this one to go somewhere overnight.
Optimized for hydration
Like the Manta 28, the Manta 36 comes with an Osprey Hydraulics LT 2.5 reservoir included in the package. Slide this into the hydration sleeve in the backpanel of the backpack and enjoy instantaneous hydration. You also have the option of purchasing any Osprey hydration pack for more water volume, hydration sleeve will fit any one of them.
It must be said that 2.5 liters of water may not be enough if you do not have a way to replenish the pack in the middle of the day. If you are going for a day long hike, we suggest that you do purchase a separate water reservoir.
Optimized for comfort
The suspension system on the Manta 36 is like no other. It includes every one of Osprey’s special harness comfort feature that it offers. The features come together to create a suspension system that makes you feel like you are not even wearing a backpack.
The shoulder harness is made with the Biostretch system that conforms to your shoulders and back. The antigravity hip belt also conforms to the contours of your waist and hips.
The Lightwire frame transfers the weight evenly throughout your back and hips so that you are not left with weight on any of your pressure points.
The backpanel is highly padded for your comfort. The shoulder straps come with a sternum strap in order to ensure that the backpack does not slide off with fast activity such as bicycling.
Great if you love your bicycle
If you just love riding your bicycle, look no more. The Manta 36 is perfect for those who love to take long rides starting from the a.m. and ending in the p.m.
The Manta 36 comes with a bicycle helmet attachment loop. Easily attach and detach your bicycle helmet at a moment’s notice without needing to take off the backpack.
The blinker light attachment loop allows you to be safe while you are riding your bicycle at night.
Gear organization
We love the Osprey backpacks that have the large stretch front pocket. This is one of our favorite features. It is a zipperless pocket that allows you to throw anything in, such as your outerwear and dirty clothing.
There are also two mesh side pockets that you can easily use for your other gear. Although you will have your hydration pack, you can use this as an extra hydration source by putting in some water bottles.
Like most other Osprey backpacks, the hip belt comes with pockets on either side. Store your important to gear such as your wallet or your cell phone in there.
If you love the sport of trekking, which has recently become popular over the years, the Manta 36 has trekking pole attachments at the bottom.
Complete weather protection
Have you ever seen those travellers that have the garbage bags inside of their backpacks? You always seem like seasoned travellers, yet they do not have a backpack that comes with an integrated raincover. The Manta 36 has an integrated raincover that allows you to completely protect your backpack against rain and snow. In order to save space, you can completely remove this raincover.
Apart from the raincover, the durability of the materials used to build this backpack will provide better protection as well.
Specifications and features
Weight: 2.76 pounds (s/m) and 2.87 pounds (m/l)
Dimensions: 20 x 15 x 13 inches (s/m) and 22 x 15 x 13 inches (m/l)
Volume capacity: 34 liters (s/m) and 36 liters (m/l)
Features:
- Removable integrated raincover
- Comes with the Hydraulics LT 2.5 reservoir
- Large stretch mesh pocket in the front
- Upper and lower compression straps
- Antigravity suspension system and hip belt
- Biostretch shoulder harness
- Side mesh stretch pockets
- Helmet attachment loop
- Blinker light attachment loop
- Trekking pole attachments
- Internal anti-scratch pockets
Pros
- Comes with an Osprey Hydraulics LT 2.5 reservoir
- Being included water reservoir can be replaced with another Osprey reservoir that has a higher volume capacity
- Comes with an integrated raincover that can be removed to save space
- Is optimized for bicyclers with a helmet attachment and blinker light attachment
- Comes highly optimized for comfort with an Antigravity harness and anti-gravity hip belt
Cons
- Does not come with a sleeping bag compartment
- Side mesh pockets not quite large enough for large water bottles
- The included Hydraulics LT 2.5 reservoir might not be large enough to contain enough water for the entire day
Customer Reviews
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The Verdict
The Manta 36 is the perfect backpack for those day-long hikes where don’t want to feel the pain of carrying an uncomfortable heavy backpack. It comes highly optimized with all the bells and whistles in terms of comfort for the backpanel. If you love bicycling, the Manta 36 is great with all of the features a bicycler could ask for.
We love the large stretch pocket in the front where you can throw in some dirty clothes. The Manta 36 is very similar to the Manta 28. It has all of the same features, but it holds a larger volume of gear. While the Manta 28 is made for both short day hikes, the Manta 36 is made for day long hikes and overnight stays. If you would like to see a comparison between the two, please see our Manta 28 vs Manta 36 review.
