Osprey’s Approach to Innovation: Collaboration on the New Duro/Dyna

In August of 2016, Osprey first introduced the Duro/Dyna family of trail running packs. True to our core design principals, these packs were well-made, feature-rich, and known for their comfort and stability. However, we’ll be the first to admit that they were never at the top of the list when it came to racing. We wanted to change that. For the past four years, we’ve been working directly with elite athletes, product managers, and product designers to bring a new generation of Duro/Dyna(S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) to the trails. We believe this new generation of packs not only meets the trail running standards of today, but also pushes the limits of tomorrow. So, how did we get here? Let’s find out.

From the beginning we wanted to involve athletes in development conversations around optimizing the vests for different running environments, from trail to mountain to ultra-running. Long before they were on trails with prototypes, A/B testing, and winning races in mismatched samples, our athletes were in conversation with our product team to synthesize exactly where the running world is heading and how Osprey’s previous generation of Duro/Dyna needed to evolve in order to become the first piece of gear you reach for when you head out on a run.

It’s time to meet Leah, Mike, Rachel, and Tyler: a few of our favorite people, and some of the top athletes in their fields.

“I think what [Osprey] created some balance with is that it's both a piece of apparel and a piece of equipment,” Tyler summarized, when asked about the early development conversations for Duro/Dyna. He received his first prototype in 2023, just in time for UTMB in France, and from that moment on the prototyping feedback began.

“It feels like we’ve been a part of [the conversation] from very early in the process,” said Mike, “and it was really cool to be able to work so closely with [Lauren] and have very direct and open-minded communication.” Lauren Cramer-Tezak is the Product Line Manager (PLM) at Osprey who managed the Duro/Dyna redesign.  “My role as product manager is to write the brief and set the goals for the design,” she said. “From the very beginning the athletes were helping set those goals. Tyler and Rachel have been testing different versions of the vest for at least two years, maybe longer.”

Rachel has been an Osprey athlete since 2019, and part of the Duro/Dyna development for long enough that she can’t remember a time without it. When asked about her tenure as an Osprey athlete, she dove right in. “I know this sounds so cliche…but it feels like I have another family,” she said. “They’ve supported us through a lot and celebrate our sport.” She recalled a Western States Endurance Run when Vince Mazzuca, a PLM at Osprey, flew out to the race to help out her family and cheer her on. When asked about her experience in the development process, she said, “It’s everything all together…it’s the material itself, it’s the way that the different materials come together, it’s the stitching, it’s just a lot that goes into it.” 

There are innumerable milestones in the prototyping process, but one of our favorites was in November of 2024. “You’re pushing yourself to the limit, and so you’re pushing the pack to the limit,” Rachel recalled, “I liked this pack so much that–one of the prototypes–I raced the JFK 50 miler in it, and it wasn’t even in its final form then.” She continued, “I feel like having a good pack, good shoes and pack, those are the two things that I really feel like are essential in trail running…they can really make or break your experience.” She came in first in the women’s category that year with a 5:57:32.1 race time (that’s a 7:07 mile pace).

Athlete feedback throughout the Duro/Dyna redesign truly spanned everything—materials, fit, weight, and features. And each athlete had their own preferences and priorities. Tyler looks for ways to simplify and cut weight. Leah had never had a pack that didn’t chafe her collarbones. All of the athletes were exploring efficiency in their systems to limit mental and physical fatigue while adapting to the evolution of professional racing. “From a nutrition standpoint the sport is transforming,” Leah explained, “You’re drinking more water. You have more gels…the technological innovations that are happening might not even be pack-related, but end up somehow being pack-related at the end of the day.”

At the professional level, racing is undoubtedly changing rapidly (pun intended). Minimalism and efficiency are finding new limits. In the past, runners might take off their pack on the trail to grab a rain jacket or at aid stations to resupply. Now we’re seeing extremely quick transitions, from accessing gear without removing your pack to swapping packs entirely at aid stations without stopping.

So, what do we do with these goals and feedback? It’s time for you to meet our designers, Amy and Quynh.

“I think the initial running vests on the market were a little more like packs, and then they became more like apparel. The trend of running vests was becoming more deconstructed, soft, stretchy, breathable,” said Osprey designer Amy Schlosser, who developed the inline Duro/Dyna family. “At the same time, our factories had changed in their capabilities…so it was the first time we were able to try some of that new construction,” she continued, “and I think it was a big learning curve because we’re kind of used to just measuring packs by torso size, but the number one measurement for us with this was bust.” 

Because an apparel-like design means a snug fit, the team had to create new data sets for dynamic measurements like arm position and chest expansion during respiration. Other new measurements included halter, neck base, shoulder, and ribs. Creating a comprehensive picture of all these measurements required fit models, apparel mannequins, athlete feedback, and even some participation from Osprey employees (no surprise, but there are a few ultra runners at the office). Oh, and lots of tape.

This new design and patterning process also prompted another catalyst for innovation: a women’s specific fit. “We kind of proved that having the women’s specific fit is critical, especially for avoiding neck chafing,” Lauren explained, “We were patterning it in 3D shape before we ever sewed something for someone to test, right? Which is pretty different than how we do packs.” A typical pack sizing brief only includes two measurements: torso and hip. The Duro/Dyna had at least seven. And along with our new array of measurements and 3D patterning, we had a couple of other very important feedback sources.

“I don't know if you say fortunately or unfortunately, but I was pregnant for a lot of informing the design of the product last year,” Leah recalled. Throughout the prototyping process, both Leah and Rachel became mothers. Gaining feedback from athletes spanning pregnancy to postpartum was invaluable to the design process from both sides. “As women, our bodies are ever-changing and I thought that was a pretty unique experience to really test these products in a realistic environment that a lot of women might relate to,” Leah said, “I think I even wore one of the prototypes when I ran the Gorge Waterfalls 50K at 23 weeks pregnant.”

“I actually just got an email right before [this interview] from an athlete in Canada who just won a race using the vest,” Lauren smiled as the thought popped into her head, “I asked her what she thought of it, and she specifically said as a petite female, she has a really hard time finding vests that, like, properly fit her…She didn't have any neck chafe with [the new Dyna] and she was so relieved by that.”

In addition to reinventing our understanding of fit, designing from an apparel foundation gave our team another new design challenge: stretch with both stability and softness. There is a fine line between ultralight simplicity and structural integrity, especially when running long distances. Small pain points become unnecessary mental and physical hurdles during a run, whether you’re on a quick lap after work or running an ultramarathon. Solving for this involved a constellation of innovation, ranging from material development to pack construction to feature placements. 

We developed a new laminated material for the harness that achieves ultralight stability while meeting our All Mighty Guarantee and created a unique back panel that moves with you without compromising comfort under weight. “You put the pack on, you feel right away that it grabs you,” explained Le Nhu Quynh, the Osprey designer behind the Duro/Dyna Pro series, “it expands, but it always wants to go back and fit on the body.” This was achieved using an innovative paneling of materials with varying stretch and stability to allow for dynamic yet restricted movement that still stabilizes the load.

Beyond fit, form, and materials, the new Duro/Dyna feature set has been meticulously innovated. Each pocket has been tested, adjusted, and re-tested. Multiple pole carrying options–including the new Quiver(S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre)–allow for customization based on personal preference. Our Duro/Dyna belt is made out of the same lightweight, comfortable, and durable materials as our vests. And we are incredibly excited about our innovations with flask carrying. 

As Leah reflected during our conversation, “The first time wearing the Pro prototype that had the newest materials on it, I had two bottles up front. My bottles were flopping so much, and [Mike and I] spent the entirety of the two hours on this run chatting about ‘why is my pack moving the way it is right now?’ and it came down to just the cinch feature.” Leah told Lauren about the lack of flask stability, and within a few weeks there was a new prototype with two different options, including what remains on the pack today: a dual anchor system and the newly developed WingStay. 

“Amy went through so many different versions of how to solve for that,” Lauren reflected on the flopping of flasks in the harness, “and then, in the end, we landed on the WingStay.” She continued, “It has these wings that capture the top of the flask so that the bounce motion is just gone…whether your flask is full or half empty. I think what a lot of people are actually liking about the WingStay more is just how much easier it is to get the flask in and out of the pocket.”

What makes a product innovative? Developing new materials and features? Sure. Readily accepting failure as important feedback? Absolutely. But what truly stood out to us as the catalyst for innovation on this Duro/Dyna project was the people involved. It took professional athletes putting prototypes through the ringer, product designers iterating and iterating, our local Dolores Galloping Goats Run Club(S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) giving feedback, the folks we work with at the fabric mill trusting our development vision, sewists adapting to new materials on the line…the constellation of people is awesome, in the truest sense of the word. So, in keeping with the spirit of this project,  we wanted to leave you with thoughts directly from the people involved in Duro/Dyna about why they loved this process.

LAUREN: “I think the belt, that’s probably one of the things I’m most proud of. Other brands that are using full spandex in belts, spandex wears down so quickly. And then there’s no use except to throw it away. There’s no way to repair that. So we worked on, like, how do we maximize the pocketing without creating a spandex belt. So, we’re using really premium foam all around the belt, but then to get that stretch and adjustable fit we’re using these replaceable bungees.”

AMY: “As far as what’s special, I think that our fit is really refined, and being a kind of nerd on this topic now…I think that we really do offer a very good fit on a pretty big range of bodies. And then the All Mighty Guarantee–nobody else is going to get a running vest that has that.”

QUYNH: “With the help of Lauren, we connected with our athletes, like top athletes, for very responsive feedback. They run with it, and they give their feedback pretty quickly. And with real experience. And, you know, they win races…and they feel that [the Duro/Dyna] helped their races.”

LEAH: “I think the women’s specific fit has to be number one for me right now, especially with my ever-changing body. It’s moved with me and grown with me over the last year and has worked in everything I’ve put it through.”

MIKE: “Maybe I’m lucky because I was involved in so much of the prototyping, but I just feel like it works perfectly for me…on anything on any run that I do. I feel kind of lucky that I got to put it through that much stress.”

TYLER: “I think that it’s Best in Class. And I think probably a lot of that comes from its durability, the durability side of things, that it’s BlueSign…and how many running packs can you send in to get repaired? I also feel like there’s a community; that we belong [at Osprey] and feel very taken care of and supported.”

RACHEL: “The process was fun and super exciting and it’s cool to see Osprey really investing in trail running and making, like, truly the very best products…but also really great people that…really care, not only about the product, but about the people who are using their product.”