Out hunting for a "Lite Hiker" day pack for my girlfriend today. The major considerations were as follows:Firstly Gillie (My Girlfriend) is no hiker, not by a long shot. Much more comfortable in Flip Flops (God Forbid) then an approach shoe, she is cutting her wilderness teeth on some lite Catskill trails this summer. I knew to burden her with a technical piece of LBE would not only put her off but might actually scare her away from the experience. So the load needed to be lite and fun to carry not the type of kit a vet might schlep but a really nice starter bag.
Once again and as almost always, OP or Outdoor Products came to the rescue.
For just a few shekels we found the MOXIE / 4234-OP day pack. A "NON" technical trail bag that seemed to fit the bill.
First note on the bag was that the guys at OP were sneaky as hell in producing this model specifically targeted at the fairer sex. Women and girls will love the color scheme. I found one in mixed pastel pink and another in a calm pastel blue, both very eye appealing to females and in fact were the first things spotted in the camping/hiking section of our local Mart store. We opted for the pink because it matched today's nail polish. Shame on you OP for using such underhanded tactics....give your sales team a nice Ata Boy.
The MOXIE is one of a line tailored to fix the female form and has a specific Logo indicating that it is a woman pack. With a narrower profile, contoured waist belt and ergonomic shoulder straps
(with slash pockets for ipod or bear bell) the bag does seem to hang well with a lite load. Now on to the load bearing characteristics....the shoulder straps have no load lifters and are bar tacked directly to the bag so not much adjustment to be found there. The very European tear drop "Ruck" design does lend itself nicely to walking with minimal kit and the bag does have compression/lifters near the mid to bottom range of the pack to keep things tight, that's a plus. Being "NON" technical, the bag sports no frame at all but instead uses a semi ridged frame sheet to keep the bag standing and provides some protection 
against pointed objects within the bag from poking into the wearers back. Four cushioned pressure points rest the bag against the two shoulder blades and kidney areas while an open cross section keeps air circulating between bag and the wearers back
against pointed objects within the bag from poking into the wearers back. Four cushioned pressure points rest the bag against the two shoulder blades and kidney areas while an open cross section keeps air circulating between bag and the wearers back Specs are 18.5 in x 20 in x 6 in (47 cm x 50.8 cm x 15.2) small by my standards but adequate for it's designed task.
It is like almost everything OP makes Hydration compatible and will fit a two liter reservoir but does not come with a bladder or tube.
With all the standard appointment we have come to expect from Outdoor Products such as reinforced stress points, clean design and friendly fit the MOXIE was no let down.
After we spend more time on trail I'll give you a complete report.
RJ Mosca
