Talon 11 and 22 v. Hornet 24

[DaveC]

http://bedrockandparadox.wordpress.com/2011/04/20/talon-11-v-talon-22-v-hornet-24-v-my-toes/

Thought some folks might be interested.

IMO the 24 might be worth the extra dough.

[sherpaxc]

As always, good stuff man.  I also own a Hornet (friends with an Osprey rep and he's had me trying it out and send him my opinions on it).  While I still prefer the Wingnut 3.0, the Hornet is a very close second and will be my go to pack when my Wingnut bites the dust. 

My only complaint with the Hornet (besides the dinky hip belt pockets) is that it rides a bit high on my back (I'm 5'10) when compared to the Wingnut.  Riding in Austin though the Hornet doesn't catch near the amount of trees in the tighter singletrack.  Not really an issue up North. 

[DaveC]

What I've always liked about the Talon 22/Hornet 24 is that they're really good at lots of stuff: backpacking, climbing, etc.

[donmeredith74]

Great post, Dave. I read it last night before hitting the sack.

[caseygreene]

Nice write up Dave. I just ordered a Hornet 24 a few days ago along with a Verve 10.
You alleviated my fear of the Hornet being to large/girthful.

[DaveC]

One thing I should note about the Hornet are the little lash tabs on the juncture between sides and back.  As I found out last night, they work well for lashing odd things (snowshoes) to the pack.  The compression is also really excellent.

[WalksOn2Wheels]

It's good to see them side by side, but I think you might have missed a few points comparing the new Hornet 24 against a Talon 22 from '08. I bought the current (2011) Talon 22 from REI maybe half a year ago and have been commuting to school with it.

The sternum strap is adjustable and made just like the current Hornet. The shoulder straps look exactly like the ones you show on the Hornet and not like the '08 model. Also, a feature I like, but some others here might find useless, is the helmet holder. Like I said, I commute to school with it and don't have a locker, so I have to carry my helmet all day. On the trail? Probably not as handy and seen as a waste of grams.

I do like the looks of the compression system on the Hornet for sure. I'm sure it's great for aggressive riding/adventure racing. But for me as a commuter, it looks like the straps would be less than optimal for someone who is in and out of their pack daily. They kind of overlap with the zipper.

So from what I can see, the Hornet would be awesome for offroad and on the trail adventures, but the Talon offers me enough as a commuter that I can't see going without it. Hmmm, guess I should just have both just in case.  But all in all, some of your points against the Talon 22 don't have any bearing on the current line. The only real advantage I can see is less weight and better compression. But those are two very important things!

I do not need another pack... I do not need another pack...