What are the differences between the Osprey Ozone Wheeled series and the Osprey Ozone Convertible series of bags?
They’re both great lightweight luggage lines, but the names sound pretty similar and the pictures don’t do enough to help distinguish them on their own.
Here for example are the Osprey Ozone Wheeled 75L on the left and next the Osprey Ozone Convertible 75L:
We love reviewing Osprey rolling bags and we definitely use them whenever we travel ourselves, so we were curious to discover the new versions in the Wheeled series and compare them to our standing favorites, the Convertible line. And look, as much as we love Osprey, their branding can be a bit unclear and their own product descriptions sometimes wanting — so we felt that a clear comparison was needed.
We’ll start with a side-by-side comparison and then below that offer our full thoughts on which of these rugged-but-lightweight rolling bags are best for whom.
Note that we have already done more complete meta-reviews of Osprey products, including those we named our best large rolling backpack (checked luggage) and the best carry-on rolling backpack. Also, if you’re looking for other specific rolling Osprey models (e.g., from the Meridian or Sojourn lines), you can type the specific model in the search bar at top and learn a lot more from our other articles.
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Osprey Ozone Wheeled and Osprey Ozone Convertible Series — A Side-by-Side Comparison
Note that the prices below come from Amazon and can vary quite a bit according to the color selected. We always try to link to the cheapest color but things change, and sometimes you can get a very good deal if you click through and check out the different colors.
• Available in blue and black
• Simple lightweight wheeled luggage designed for maximum interior space at each size level
• No detachable daypacks but tuckaway straps come out that allow you to attach an extra smaller bag to the front: e.g., an Osprey Ozone Day Pack or anything else
• Organizational features: front panel pockets for magazines, back panel pockets for dirty clothes and top “liquids” pockets, mesh interior pockets on flaps; lack laptop / tablet sleeves
• No backpack straps (saves a bit of weight and space)
• Interior and exterior compression straps
• Highroad chassis: large, very durable wheels in a housing that provides excellent clearance on rough roads
• Available in red and black
• Full-featured convertible rolling bags/backpacks that you can either roll or carry on your back when going off-road or up stairs
• Include detachable daypacks with laptop sleeves, tablet pockets, water bottle pockets, front easy-access pockets
• Organizational features on main packs: Top well protected scratch resistant easy-access pockets for sunglasses or what have you, inner side pockets, mesh interior pockets on flaps, back panel pockets (contain the removable backpack straps too)
• Comfortable lightweight removable shoulder and hip harnesses in suspended mesh back panels to allow your back to breathe
• Interior and exterior compression straps
• Highroad chassis: large, very durable wheels in a housing that provides excellent clearance on rough roads
An Overview of the Osprey Ozone Convertible and the Osprey Ozone Wheeled Luggage Lines
We mostly prefer the Osprey Ozone Convertible pieces over the Wheeled line for two reasons: The Convertibles have detachable daypacks and in addition to their wheels they have backpack straps.
These two Convertible bags are the carry-on sized Osprey Ozone Convertible 50L/22in and the larger (checked luggage) Osprey Ozone Convertible 75L/28in. And while it has 50% more capacity, the 75L model manages to be just 10% heavier (see full stats at the bottom of this article).
When you have great wheels as on the Osprey Ozone Convertible pieces, you’re not likely to use your backpack straps a whole lot, but they have frequently come in handy for me when going off the pavement, up stairs, or when I just want to have my stuff closer to my body. Both the 50L and the 75L models also allow you to hook the daypack to the shoulder straps in front of your body, which keeps valuables where you can see them and helps to better distribute the weight.
If you travel with a laptop or tablet you’re all set with the Convertibles, which have dedicated padded sleeves for each in their daypacks. The Ozone Wheeled packs do not have padded sleeves (they do have a front pocket but it would not protect electronics well).
All of these bags in both the Wheeled and Convertible lines have Osprey’s lovely “highroad chassis”, which provides a durable housing for the wheels and great clearance if you’re rolling on rough terrain. (Note that the Ozone Convertible pieces do of course also have wheels, even if the word is not in their names.)
I took this picture of my Osprey Ozone Convertible 45L’s wheels after it had suffered a year of heavy travel and pulling it over all kinds of ragged streets in Africa and Brazil. Note that it still only shows some minor scratches.
The Wheeled series is suitable for those needing simpler luggage that maximizes the interior space. These three bags do not have foldout backpack harnesses or an attached daypack, nor do they have as many pockets. They’re simple and light, but as with all Osprey packs, well built and made of durable materials.
All Osprey luggage comes with a lifetime guarantee, and the company is known among travellers to stand by this. If anything goes wrong, you simply get the pack to the nearest service center in your part of the world, and they’ll fix or replace it for free. Of course they hope that the bags are so well made that this is a rarity.
Picking Sizes and Checking Prices on Osprey Ozone Bags
Here’s the entire lineup of the two series organized by sizes, from small to large. The smallest Convertible and the two smallest Wheeled pieces are intended to be used as carry-ons (I’ve personally used the Ozone Convertible 50L as a carry-on with airlines all over the world with no problem.) The larger 75L pieces are checked luggage.
The Ozone Wheeled line has simple pieces of luggage that maximize interior space, are incredibly light but still durable, and are backed by Osprey’s excellent lifetime guarantee.
These our our hands-down favorite pieces of luggage for flexible, ultra-light travel. The have lots of essential features, including protected laptop sleeves, detachable daypacks, and both wheels and backpack straps so that you can carry when needed but also just roll (which is what we do most of the time). They’re also backed by Osprey’s excellent lifetime guarantee.
Questions? Experiences with these to share? Drop them in the comments!
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