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For some reason, I’ve never actually spoken about one of my favorite travel items. It’s something that’s super important to me and I know that it’s important to you, too. Not sure what it is yet? It’s your luggage!

Read my Osprey Ozone 46 review (or watch the video at the end of the post). Find out the pros and cons and what features you should consider when choosing your own suitcase!

 

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Osprey Ozone 46 Review

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I’m going to tell you all about how to choose a suitcase and my very favorite bag of all time.

I traveled full-time for almost 9 years (from 2008 – 2016) and i this time I visited 46 countries. You can say I lived out of a suitcase so the piece of luggage I used to house all my worldly belongings had to be absolutely perfect.

 

Find out how packing light has impacted my everyday life now that I’ve stopped traveling full-time.

 

Osprey Ozone (with Naot sandals, Diane Kroe Wrap, Zella Leggings)

 

As a long-term traveler, my suitcase was basically my home; everything I own was in there! So if anything went wrong with my suitcase, it was a big deal. It can’t fall apart.

There are various features that I personally need in a suitcase. Now, keep in mind that what works for me, or your best friend, or your neighbor, may not work for you.

I’m going to show you exactly how to look for the features you truly need in a suitcase and I’m going to explain why I absolutely love this bag. This is my exclusive Osprey Ozone 46 review.

 

Disclaimer: I am NOT sponsored by Osprey and don’t work with this company whatsoever. I genuinely love their gear and want to tell you all about them.

 

 

Osprey Ozone 46L / 22″ 

 

In this Osprey Ozone 46 review I’ll walk through all the features and will show you the pros and cons and what I’ve put this suitcase through.

Throughout 9 years of full time travel, I went through various bags. This wasn’t because the bags weren’t good quality or that they didn’t hold up. The reason I went through so many bags is because, well, Travel Fashion Girl is all about packing so I love to try new bags to discover the next greatest bag and suitcase for me!

 

Discover the best luggage brands and why people love them!

 

Osprey Ozone 46L / 22″

 

The one thing that stayed the same throughout the 9 years is the particular brand of suitcases that I’ve used, and that brand is Osprey. This is my absolute favorite brand for long-term travel.

 

To learn more about why I love Osprey packs, please read:

 

• Best Osprey Backpacks: 4 Styles Compared which Makes the Cut?
• Farpoint Osprey Packs: The Best Travel Backpacks
• Rolling Backpack: Why the Osprey Meridian Doesn’t Work for Me
• Wheeled Backpacks: Why the Osprey Meridian is a Great Choice!

 

 

The Ozone is the fourth Osprey bag I’ve had. In 2010, I did a round-the-world trip with the Osprey Aura, a 65-liter top-loading backpack, but then I wanted to travel carryon only. My one goal when I started this blog was to learn how to travel carryon only, despite the fact that I was a full-time traveler.

And I say long-term travel because Osprey is a specific kind of a bag; it’s made for more of an outdoor and adventure trip. I’m not saying that you can’t use this brand on other travels but it really met my needs as a long-term traveller, and I’ll explain why in a moment.

 

Read this post to find out which are the best Osprey packs!

 

Osprey Farpoint Backpack

 

After traveling with the Aura, I found the Osprey Farpoint 55. It’s the best travel backpack in the world. I traveled with it for two years–it was the first time I traveled carryon only during full-time travels!

 

Read my complete Osprey Farpoint review and find out why it’s the best travel backpack!

 

 

Osprey Meridian

 

After experiencing reoccurring back issues, I decided it was time to use wheels but before I let go of my backpack straps altogether, and before I found the Ozone, I traveled with yet another wheeled suitcase–the Osprey Meridian 22″. It’s a convertible wheeled backpack.

However, my needs continued to evolve, as I’m sure yours do, too. A suitcase that worked for you last year or ten years ago might not be the same as the one that you need now. Every time you choose a suitcase, make sure it fits your needs, regardless of whether you’re spending $50 dollars or $500.

 

If you’re considering wheeled backpacks, check out my Osprey Meridian review! The Ozone now also offers a wheeled convertible backpack version, too.

 

The Osprey Ozone 46L (22-inch) is the last bag I bought as part of my long term travels. It isn’t a backpack, it’s actually a wheeled suitcase that met my needs more than the Meridian.

 

Find out the pros and cons of a backpack or wheeled luggage!

 

Here’s why this bag is awesome and why it works for my long-term travels. You’ll find my Osprey Ozone 46 review below and you can also watch the video here.

 

 

 

Size

 

The Ozone 46L is 9 x 14 x 22 inches and will fit as a carryon on the majority of airlines. It even worked for the budget airline AirAsia. To be honest, I’m not sure if it fits in Ryanair, which has stricter limitations. (There is also a smaller Ozone in size 42L which should work for Europe’s budget airlines.)

One of the most common questions that I get asked by my readers is: “Do you really travel carryon only or do you check your bag?”

You can read my full response to this question here but the short version is that everything that I owned was in a suitcase, plus I also had a laptop backpack. So I know that you can travel with only a carryon for any length of time because I did it full-time!

 

Watch these videos to learn my packing strategies:

 

• Luggage-Free Travel: One Week in My Favorite Purse
• What’s in My Bag: 4 Weeks Carryon Only
• Packing Tutorial: This Video will Change the Way You Travel

 

 

 

Wheels

 

One of my favorite features about this bag is the wheels. If you’re going on an adventurous trip, you want indestructible wheels that can go over anything and everything.

When you’re off the beaten path and discovering places all over the world, the wheels on your suitcase or your backpack have to be perfect and can’t fall apart on you!

 

Should you travel with wheels or a suitcase? Read this.

 

I’m brutal with my bag and my gear, because I want to make sure–when I recommend a product to my readership at Travel Fashion Girl–that I can wholeheartedly say this is a great product. So you’ll actually see the damage that I have done to this bag over the years in these photos.

If I can help it, I don’t pick up my bag. I take it over cobblestones, over street curves, I make it jump over pebbles, I take it in the sand, I take it in the dirt. I’m very mean to this bag. I’m sad to retire it, which is part of the reason I’m doing this Osprey Ozone 46 review before I do.

To sum it up, make sure that your suitcase, no matter the price, has awesome wheels. For me, that’s the number one thing I look for in a bag for long-term travel.

 

Traveling long-term? Read our round-the-world packing list!

 

 

 

 

Weight

 

The next big thing that I love about this bag is the weight. It’s so featherlight that I can pick it up with my pinky! It weighs 2.2 kilos or roughly 4.5 pounds. It doesn’t have a lot of framework or heavy fabric to weigh it down.

 

Tip: try to use a carry-on suitcase that weighs under 5lb or 2kg. Find out why!

 

 

The more features a bag has–the more bells and whistles–the heavier that it’s going to be. The great thing about this one is that it has a ton of features that I love and that met my needs, but it doesn’t have the weight that is going to destroy my ability to meet the carryon weight restriction.

The less your bag weighs, the more stuff you can put inside it while staying under the weight limit. So regardless of which suitcase size you choose, try to find something that’s not more than 5 pounds, if possible.

 

Find out how to choose the best travel backpack!

 

 

 

Handle

 

In 2008, I was traveling in Europe with my best friend and the handle on her suitcase broke. She had overpacked her giant, massive bag and we ended up dragging it up and down the stairs all over Europe. What a mess! We were first-time travelers and learned a lot since then, which I’ve written about in this Europe packing guide.

Make sure that whichever suitcase you choose, it has a great handle. I love the handle on this bag. It’s a single handle, which is a bit more lightweight than a double handle. People tend to like single versus double handles; they have different pros and cons.

This one is extremely lightweight and sturdy, which means I’m going to get the best feature without a lot of weight.

 

Read my guide on how to stop overpacking and learn how you, too, can travel carryon only.

 

 

 

Exterior Compartments

 

I originally traveled with the Osprey Meridian, but realized that I didn’t need the backpack feature. I’ve now switched to this bag, which means that instead of having straps for the convertible backpack, this one has a space for a laptop, which is awesome. I absolutely love that.

The laptop compartment is great. When it’s time to go through security, I don’t have to open up my bag or get stuff out of my backpack. All I have to do is to unzip this pocket, grab my laptop and iPad or anything else, and that’s it.

 

Use a capsule wardrobe to pack light but create many outfits.

 

This bag also has two awesome front-side compartments. They are super roomy; you can put a ton of stuff in there. When I went through security, I had my laptop, jacket, scarf, sleeping bag liner, all my outer layers, and anything that I might need before I got on the flight. Everything was easily accessible.

It also has a handy little stash pocket. I use it to store my headlamp. As a full-time traveler, I’ve ended up in the middle of nowhere without electricity or experienced a power outage, and I could easily grab my headlamp. I also carried any other items I needed easy access to should I not be able to rummage through my entire suitcase.

 

Take a look at how I organize this suitcase to pack in just fifteen minutes!

 

 

 

Interior Compartments

 

There’s loads of space in this bag. As I mentioned before, I used this for traveling every single day, 24 hours a day, for months at a time. So I know you guys don’t need a bigger suitcase than this!

Inside the bag are a couple of compartments. There is also a zippered case.

One of the reasons I like this design is because it opens wide and I have access to everything with one quick unzip. I didn’t have to search through everything.

And I actually prefer my luggage not to have a bunch of compartments. This is the perfect amount as I find internal compartments to be restricting. Without them I get to design how I use the space in my own suitcase.

For example, I always use packing cubes.  They are the way that I managed to include all my belongings in a carryon size bag for full-time travel. I would use four slim packing cubes in here, depending on what I needed.

 

Watch this video to learn how to use packing cubes!

 

 

 

Lockable Zippers

 

One of the top features for choosing any suitcase, no matter what size or your destination, is a lockable zipper.

People say, “Why can’t I just lock the zipper with a small lock?” You could put a lock through there, but this bag’s zippers has two little dedicated loops where you can lock the zippers. While that’s not going to guarantee that your luggage won’t get broken into, I can vouch 100% that it deterred theft from my bags.

I wouldn’t chose a suitcase without lockable zippers. I like to have that protection.

 

Read about how lockable zippers prevented theft in Southeast Asia!

 

 

 

Fabric

 

I love this fabric; it’s so lightweight and one of my favorite features from Osprey. You need a bag that can handle the wear and tear of full-time travel. Just in case, Osprey has a lifetime warranty, which is an important feature to look for when buying luggage.

I’ve mentioned that I’m tough on my luggage and travel gear – after non-stop full-time travel the fabric of my bag eventually did tear in the front pocket after a flight. It happened towards the end of my travels when I had too much stuff inside my bag and there was a sharp object towards the front where it ripped.

This is my one con against this bag. Other than that, I traveled with Osprey for almost nine years full time and it never happened before. I think I just came across a really mean baggage handler!

 

Tip: suitcase covers help keep your suitcase clean and long lasting. I highly recommend them!

 

 

WATCH THE VIDEO FEATURING MY OSPREY OZONE 46 REVIEW ON FACEBOOK:

 

 

Like Travel Fashion Girl on Facebook to get notified when we have of our latest updates, watch the newest videos, and ask your most problematic packing questions.

 

Here are a few additional images to complete this Osprey Ozone 46 review :

 

 

 

 

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Are there any other features you’d want me to discuss in this Osprey Ozone 46 review? Share in the comments!

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For even more on Osprey bags, please read:

• Best Osprey Backpacks: 4 Styles Compared which Makes the Cut?
• Farpoint Osprey Packs: The Best Travel Backpacks
• Rolling Backpack: Why the Osprey Meridian Doesn’t Work for Me
• Wheeled Backpacks: Why the Osprey Meridian is a Great Choice!

 

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