Osprey Poco Review

Osprey started in 1974 in Cortez, Colorado, at the corner of the San Juan Mountains. Osprey's goal is to create high-performing gear well-known for adventure. Osprey believes in its products and quality to such a high degree that they offer the All Mighty Guarantee, which means the company will repair any damage or defect in its gear for free, regardless of the product or when the user purchased it. If they can't fix it, they will replace it.

Performance Comparison

Parent Comfort

When wearing the Osprey Poco, you feel like you're part of it, thanks to some purposeful design elements that enhance parent comfort. A more elevated level of comfort means you're more likely to wear this backpack for long-distance walks or hikes.

In general, a pack's torso length should match the wearer, an important step to a comfortable fit. And, torso customization is even more important if you're sharing the duty of wearing the pack with another parent or partner. The Osprey Poco's torso adjustment is a clasp behind the mesh back panel and offers up to 5-inches of torso adjustability.

The breathable mesh back panel is outstanding, combining the right amount of structure, contour, and ventilation. The back panel's design aids in preventing a sweaty back on long hikes and is better than competitors offering no ventilation.

Other features, like the shoulder straps' padding and waistband, provide the perfect amount of support, and the load lifters aid in fine-tuning the weight, bringing the child closer to the wearer. Overall, it didn't take us long to find a comfortable fit with this pack.

Child Comfort

Compared to top-ranked baby backpack carriers in our lineup, the Osprey Poco offers a comfortable riding experience for children.

The cockpit is well-padded, along with the harness, and the cockpit's sides have some mesh ventilation. The drool pad is angled and soft for a baby's sleepy head, plus it's removable and washable, which comes in handy (let's face it, kids are messy creatures!). The pack also features adjustable stirrups for feet, which helps your child find a comfortable position for longer hikes.

The child harness is plush and soft. Instead of buckling in front of the child, the double halo harness has front-facing loops that allow you to easily buckle your child and clips behind the child's back.

Ease of Use

The Osprey Poco has a highly adjustable system; however, what lowered its score is the amount of effort and force that's required to fasten the red cockpit buckles.

In our opinion, the red cockpit buckles don't have enough fabric leeway to reach and fasten, and indeed, the difficulty level seems unusual. The amount of effort makes you feel like something is “off” with the design. But, if the Osprey backpack we purchased and tested experienced this problem, we have concerns that others will too.

The Osprey Poco has a canopy integrated into the pack's design and provides UPF 50+ UV protection to keep your child out of the sun's powerful rays. The built-in canopy is easy to deploy or tuck away without much effort, and its impressive coverage made us ."o" and “ahh.” It sits high above the child's head and provides airflow while in use. A high-quality canopy can be helpful if you spend lots of time outdoors.

The child seat can be adjusted up or down before loading the pack. The user manual mentions that a child must not be in the carrier while adjusting seat height. The seat has a red loop, which makes pulling the seat up a breeze — simply grab the red loop with one hand while the other hand lifts the buckle behind the seat next to the harness clips.

The baby backpack's kickstand is reachable and locks into place with an audible “click” that's reassuring. The Osprey Poco has an external hydration sleeve that fits up to 1.5L reservoirs (sold separately).

Storage

A baby backpack should provide enough storage to make your time spent adventuring with your baby a whole lot easier. The Osprey Poco has a thoughtful storage design that provides enough space for most adventures. However, if your storage needs are higher, you may want to consider a baby backpack with increased or additional storage.

The lower compartment has a zipper closure and can hold 14L of storage, offering enough space to toss your baby's diapers, a small package of wipes, one of our favorite sunscreens for babies, and other items. Open mesh pockets can be located around the child's cockpit, providing easy access to things like a kid-sized water bottle, snack, or pacifier. A zipper stash pocket on the pack's backside features a secure key clip, which is helpful for essential items, keys, a phone, and more.

We wish the open mesh pockets on the waistband had a zipper closure, which provides more peace of mind that items won't easily fall out. But it works for keeping smaller things, like a snack or pacifier, within reach.

When storing the Osprey Poco, lower the child seat, fold the sidearms inward, and secure the child cockpit by clipping the closure hooks on each side. Although fastening the closures can take some effort, it's doable.

Should You Buy the Osprey Poco?

The Osprey Poco is a high-quality option with a plush cockpit that provides a smooth and comfortable ride for your little passenger. We appreciate its storage capacity, built-in canopy (handy if your little one likes to remove and toss their hat!), hydration pocket, and structured back panel that's comfortable for the wearer. These design elements make a long trek more of a reality. Unfortunately, we did encounter a cockpit buckle struggle that was inconvenient. If you can overlook this issue, you may like the Osprey Poco.

What Other Baby Backpacks Should You Consider?

The Kelty Journey PerfectFIT Elite is an impressive baby backpack. It's functional, easy to use, offers comparable comfort, and more storage. It gives the Osprey Poco a run for its money, and we did not experience a cockpit buckle issue with this contender.

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