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Gear Review - Osprey Firn 18 litre backpack

Henry
Mar 13
5 min read

Updated: Apr 13

The Osprey Firn 18 is the next generation ski touring pack from an exceptional American brand that has often missed the mark on skiing packs ...

To say I’ve been in the market for a new skiing pack would be a bit of a misnomer. However, I was having reservations about my current set up, so when Osprey got in touch and asked if I wanted to try a new pack, I jumped at the chance.

Straight out of the box I was already impressed with the Firn 18. The bright colours and sleek design marked a big step-change from the skiing packs Osprey have produced of old.

And out on the mountain, on the plane, and wherever else I took it too, it did not disappoint. This is Henry's review of the Osprey Firn 18 litre backpack for Skiing Unlocked.

The Brand

Osprey are an American backpack manufacturer that, for as long as I have been in the outdoor industry, have been the last word in backpack quality – somewhere rapidly approaching a decade. Like so many brands, they started with one person’s annoyance at the current state of outdoor gear, usually sixty-odd years ago, and setting out to change that.

Walk into any outdoor shop in the UK and you will see a wall of backpacks full of their Talon and Tempest range; that’s just the high quality design and composition we are dealing with here, that the brand can virtually monopolise the technical outdoor backpack market.

Which is why it’s so weird that their previous ski offerings have been so … terrible. Drawing clear inspiration from some of their competitors, their shapes have been off, and they have stuck to a palate of uninspiring, dark, earthy tones that, rather than jump off the shelves, retreat backwards into them like Homer Simpsons into his hedge.

Therefore, unboxing a bright white and fluorescent orange backpack was a relief, more than anything. This was an immediate indication that Osprey have changed tack and are now putting the same level of thought and design into their skiing packs as they are into their hiking packs. This high level of thought is something that will be circled back to time and time again.

A skier smiling back at the camera in Laax, Switzerland. — The Osprey Firn 18 litre backpack in action with Henry in Laax in January.

The Pack

The pack is made from a rugged but lightweight material, clearly angling more for saving weight on a ski tour that just pottering about on lift-access terrain. After using it for a while I became convinced that it struck the balance between weight and strength well, after the initial feel maybe felt a little on the flimsy side. There was some good padding on the back panel, again reinforcing the backcountry nature of the piece and actually adding to its versatility, too.

Across the shoulder straps there was some extra padding and small pocket perfect for snacks or a GPS tracker; the added support was useful when skis were stashed on the pack adding weight.

The big selling point of the Firn 18 was the space and how it used it. 18 litres is on the small size, and I would never really recommend anyone drops below this – Ortovox make an excellent, industry leading 16 litre pack, but that really is the bottom end of size, for me.

Let’s go through the space available. First of all, the back pocket, which is reserved for avalanche safety gear. As expected, there are sleeves for your shovel handle and probe, stitched into the sides and easily accessible in emergency situations. The pocket was maybe a little too small for my shovel head – I did have to jiggle it in and never really sat properly – but my shovel head is on the large side so we’ll forgive this.

There is a really simple but really effective bit of design here that I absolutely loved. My shovel handle is curved, designed to allow it to be flipped over when shovelling and use it like an oar to scrape snow out of the way of the primary digger. The Firn 18 actually catered for this, allowing the curve of the handle to slot in under the main pocket of the bag. This is such a simple but really well thought out bit of design, I loved it.

A skier setting off into powder in La Clusaz, France. — Setting off into powder in La Clusaz, France, accompanied by the Osprey Firn 18 litre backpack.

Into the main pocket, where you have a little stash pocket on the top, perfect for a pair of sunglasses, a Ski-Key, some Skiing Unlocked stickers …

The main pocket is… huge. It’s like Mary Poppins’ handbag. You can just keep pulling things out and pulling things out and pulling things out. There is so much space, and it is wide enough and deep enough that it can take anything. I was able to fit my water bottle, snacks, spare layer, ski-tracks, hat (x2), spare gloves, and I still had more room to spare. This is such a stark contrast from my current backpack and it actually made me genuinely happy.

Having such a huge space to play with again adds to the versatility of the pack. You can take this one on the plane or train or bus, and fill it with everything you might need for travel as well as you can out on the skin track.

Drawbacks

So, are there any drawbacks to the Osprey Firn 18? Well yes. The colour, for starters. Sure, the bright off-white and fluorescent orange is a great, clean, bright, stand-out colour, but as anyone who has skied with white gear before knows it dirties just by looking at it. The same is true here; whilst the coffee stain is definitely my own fault, the bag is now covered in marks, stains and scratches that I quite simply have no idea how they got there, and no idea how to remove them.

The size is also a bit of a problem, at least for me, and only because this is explicitly sold as a touring pack. In my experience, 18 litres just isn’t enough space for touring – to stuff the extra layers in the skin track, but then to stuff skins and crampons in on the way down. Luckily, this exact model is made in a 32 litre version, so if I had the choice I would definitely jump up to the 32 from the 18.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I was really impressed with this pack, and, I think, completely in love with it. Maybe this was because it did all the things well that I was so frustrated with in my current pack – good space, well thought out avi gear storage, and superb versatility. All of my drawbacks are easily fixed by your own personal choices, so the Osprey Firn 18 comes highly recommended from me!