Osprey Ozone 75L Wheeled Review

The Ozone brings with it all the styling and forethought we have come to expect from Osprey, focusing on functionality and quality throughout. We were immediately curious and eager to test any bag touting a weight of less than half of what most other candidates claim. Yet while the bag delivers on many fronts, it doesn't outshine or match the rest of the competition in enough ways to make it a top pick for any general travel needs. Still, for light packers and road trip enthusiasts, this could be the embodiment of everything you've ever wanted in a bag, in pick-up-and-roll form.

Performance Comparison

Organization & Storage

Even though we found this bag offered commendable storage capacity for such a small case — holding our standard one-week packing list without complaint, even if a bit tightly — it still offers something of a conundrum for most travelers when considering their needs. While sized too large for any domestic or international airline's carry on baggage allotments, it's simultaneously too small to allow for the larger hauls many multi-day or multi-activity journeys require. Large gear or bulky foul weather wear will make organizing your space challenging and renders additional organizational pockets less useful once the main compartment is full.

Extra exterior pockets and a double-compression system built into the case's layout scored points in our book, allowing for the thoughtful packing of items beyond just overstuffing the main compartment. Up top, a convenient liquids pouch zips tight for easy access during travel, while a handy piggy-back clip sits at the ready for any extra purse or smaller carry on you've got in tow. To the back, a magazine-sized sleeve lays against the solid pack frame, making it easy to slide flat items into the space. While a lack of padding would give us pause to add items like electronics, the pocket is a great place to store travel documents, reading material, or other much-needed travel day items.

Given its small footprint, consideration was clearly given to ways one can maximize load options in the Ozone. Inside the u-shaped zip opening, you'll find two separate mesh pockets ready to collect incidentals. But the addition of an internal compression panel on the backside is what really impresses, allowing you to restrain the bulk of your first-round gear securely while reducing the impact of those items on overall volume. Matched with a pair of topside external compression straps to tie down your final load, this combination allows a packing list of surprising length and diversity. It also ensures a smooth, balanced ride when on the go.

Ease of Transport

Where this bag fails as the ultimate checked luggage option, it certainly stands tall as a low-impact, easy-to-haul road or weekend-ready sidekick. Its surprisingly hefty, well-treaded wheels do a lot to earn it respect in transport, maneuvering turns and crowds tightly and following inconspicuously in your wake. Heading into mixed terrain, you can still adventure worry-free knowing you've got some lift paired with an equally protective chassis base and sturdy wheel housings. And when stairwells, boulders, or unexpected road construction appear ahead, a bag of this small size is easily carried by the three exterior hand grips.

The Ozone would have done slightly better in the transportability category if it were not for its underwhelming “T-Grip” retractable handle. Flimsy of feel and jiggly in its housing, this option likely cut considerable weight from the design but ultimately makes for an uncomfortable grip to hold and control the suitcase when put to use over any duration. We imagine this is why the Ozone is the only bag out of the group to take this approach in roller tech, and we hope Osprey will reconsider it for future iterations of the product.

Reliability

By default, any hyper-focus on weight reduction will limit the possibility of integrated strength enhancements in a suitcase. That's the name of the game. You give some, you lose some. But when it comes to durability, Osprey has built a reputation worthy of note, and they back up their products with a remarkably reassuring "All Mighty Guarantee" promising lifetime repair or replacement of damaged products at any time. So we were eager to get our hands on their new ultralight roller to see how the bag stands up.

What we found: while the Ozone delivers an impressive set of features, strength and longevity are where it falls short. Specifically, the unique weight-saving materials central to this bag's construction seem to be the same features that leave it susceptible to heavy loads and future damage. Given the many known stressors of airline travel, any threat of failure or potential damage restricts us from settling on the Ozone as a prime candidate for future flights. But road trips are another story.

The two notably large off-road-ready inline wheels (coming in at an impressive 3.5 in diameter and 1-inch thick) immediately stand out as a valuable feature for a bag so inherently built for road travel. Similarly, the sturdy wheel housings and chassis sidewalls, upgraded 450-denier base material, bottom stop-stand, and backside bumper feet produce confidence the small-scale roller is prepared to roam across rough and rocky terrain at length. And given its small dimensions and ultralight design, any awkward spaces can be handled with ease using the three handy load handles. An impressive shortlist to start.

On the flip side, while the large zipper pulls and jiggly lightweight retractable handle were sturdy enough to give us confidence in use, these same features proved weak points for the Ozone during water testing. Like so many others before it, the exterior bag material provides sufficient water resistance to hold off the abuse of a light shower. But its covered zips and handles remain vulnerable and provide a path of entry for heavier moisture to quickly seep and pool within compartments. Similarly, while the bag withstood the rigors of our use, toss, and stairwell testing with above-average results (no signs of exterior scuffing or damage to note), it disappointingly showed deterioration in the inner liner after only two trip uses, with holes developing across the inside fabric of the top zip pouch. Although nylon is a durable fabric, at these low denier numbers, we would not count on a long lifespan under heavy use.

Weight

The Osprey Ozone 75L comes in at nearly half the weight of every other bag in our test suite and a full 2.8 pounds less than the next smallest case while delivering 5L more in overall capacity. These impressive numbers left us wondering if we should reconsider how we spend our shopping dollars based on this stat alone.

Style

The Ozone is more function than fashion, yet it's not an unattractive bag. In standard roller duffel form, it's more sporty than urban, with a lack of structure to its main compartment more matched to a life of car travel and weekend escapes than to formal business trips. But when packed full, its streamlined good looks might well just blend in. So we see some versatility here. And with its attractive bright green contrasting liner tucked away inside, you'll get a pop of modern flare each time you open it up while making it easier to track your stowed items on the go.

Value

True value is in the eye of the beholder. Anyone who sticks to streamlined packing lists and road-heavy travel calendars will likely see a whole lot of gold in this surprisingly functional and easy-to-use bag. But with a price on par with so many other quality candidates in our test suite and pending questions of durability over the long term where flights and rough use may abound, we can't argue it's a great choice for every traveler. Yet where there's budget and space to add “just one more” great weekend bag to your quiver, this surprising ultralight powerhouse is well worthy of consideration.

Conclusion

This isn't the bag for everyone. We don't see it working well for unrestrained packers or regular air travel. But where the Osprey Ozone 75L Wheeled did wow us was in its road-readiness and smart organizational features housed within a truly remarkable lightweight, small-footprint design. If you find yourself going on long-weekend getaways or traveling light when lengthy adventures lay ahead, and you want the comfort of knowing you can handle or roll your luggage with ease no matter what the terrain, you will do well to consider the Ozone.