Ortlieb Soulo Metrosphere Daypack

Why Backpack?

Experienced riders - commuters, bikepackers, tourers - will tell you to avoid backpacks. Put the weight on your bike and save your back, shoulders and neck from the strain. Mountain bikers have recently learned this lesson and are falling over themselves to attach as many things as possible to their bikes instead of their bodies - or at least greatly lightened the load thanks to the renaissance of the hip pack. My review here of the Ortlieb Soulo Metrosphere is coming at things as a commuter first, and bikepacker/mountain biker second. You’ve been warned!

So, why a backpack? I've been commuting to university daily, 25 kilometers each way, for the last five years with an Arc'teryx Granville 25 - a simple, flip top style bag made of ripstop nylon with a single G-hook closure. It's now faded and patch-riddled, but has served its purpose well. Given my experience, packs are the simplest option that I can rely on for the daily race. They transfer easily between bikes, keep your valuables safe and secure, and look normal in casual use. Panniers can carry large volumes, are easily removed, and take weight off your back. However, they lack versatility, can be awkward to carry around and expose fragile goods like a laptop to road chatter and bumps. Lighter options like bike packing bags have flexible mounting options and are rattle free, but they're time consuming to install and remove, and can’t accommodate the same variety of loads as a pack (or pannier). Backpack bias established.

The first thing I noticed about the pack was the quality and thickness of the materials. It has ample room for daily belongings, a laptop sleeve, a frame to help it keep its rigidity, and a magnetic lid closure. I've spent the last 4 months commuting on the Ortlieb Soulo Metrosphere and I have some thing to say about it.

Key Details

• Convenient magnetic lid closure allows for easy access
• Strong magnets can be locked with discreet controls to protect the bag from unauthorized access
• Small exterior pocket on the front
• Integrated laptop compartment
• Waterproof and sustainably manufactured in Germany.
• CO₂e footprint: 9.08 kg - cycle commute 95.58 km to compensate for this product
• Weight: 1050g
• Volume: 25L

Inside

Once loaded with daily essentials like my laptop, spare change of clothes, lock, charging cables, lunch, Hydroflask, and a textbook, there was little room to spare in the Metrosphere. Despite this, I have also used it for running errands and day hikes. 25 litres isn't overly large when not fully loaded, but it can still accommodate an unexpected grocery request from mom while riding home from work. For those of you who like to travel light, I took my Arcteryx bag of the same volumeon a three week backpacking trip across Croatia, Bosnia, and Montenegro last summer and I never lacked space.

The upper part of the bag, alongside the magnetic closure equipped lid, is reinforced with a plastic inner shell, providing a welcome rigidity. The plastic insert for the top half of the bag came uninstalled so the bag could ship flat. After a few minutes of massaging, the insert was securely in place and has not moved since. My only quibble is that when nearly empty, the few things inside tend to rattle around a lot, like a tennis ball in the back of a cargo van.

The inside build is very simple: a laptop sleeve, a large zippered pocket, and two small pockets. I managed to fit my 14" laptop and sleeve with room to spare, so I estimate it could handle a 15" laptop. Ortlieb offers packing cubes that will fit and seem like a great idea. If you're organized enough to compartmentalize your gear, it'll save you from rifling through your bag.

Outside

The outside PS33 material (a nylon with a single PU coating) has a rugged and durable feel. The pack is fully waterproof, with an IP53 rating, and I never experienced water ingress, even when during heavy rain. The Metrosphere finish looks classy AF. The only gripe with the finish being that it wasn't reflective, a surprising decision for a daily commuter pack.

The shoulder straps won't win any awards for supreme comfort but they were amply wide and had plenty of adjustment. The Metrosphere version doesn't have a chest strap, although other finishes (fabrics/colours) of the Soulo do. I wish I had one. Soft rubber ribs on the back of the pack allowed for a pleasant amount of airflow. Unlike mesh these were always dry for my return trip home. The extra outside pocket was handy for stashing small items like a transit pass or keys that you might want to access during a rainy ride without opening the whole pack.

The magnet system has two levers that lock by rotating 60 degrees from left to right. The system, while discreet and simple to toggle back and forth, gave me confidence that no one could open the bag in busy areas. The magnetic cover didn't align perfectly with the magnets on the pack, so securing the cover was tedious for the first few weeks. This improved with what I suspect is a little bit of friction wear.

Parting Thoughts

I want to give a nod to Ortlieb's amazing quality - if you know them for one thing, it's probably panniers. The set of Ortlieb backrollers purchased by an adventure-fueled cyclist in the 90s to ride around South America, now dug out of the garage, unchanged, and passed on to the kids for more abuse. The stories that I have heard about the quality and durability of their product it legit. I have been selling their panniers for over 9 years and have not once seen a warranty issue on the fabric. I have completed warranties for the small plastic parts on their products, but this was in rare cases of riders putting lots of wear on their gear (+1 for riding bikes so much) and Ortlieb was quick to send replacement parts.

The Soulo Metrosphere is a classy looking, fully waterproof, daily driver backpack with ample space, a generous laptop compartment, and rugged build. The spacing of magnetic lid caused me some faff at first, the lack of reflectivity was a miss for a commuter pack, and I really would've liked to have seen a chest strap. Despite a few of its quirks, the Ortlieb Soulo Metrosphere is a pack that serves my daily needs admirably.

Ortlieb Soulo Metrosphere Backpack // 320 CAD