GOSSAMER GEAR MARIPOSA 60 BACKPACK Review

JUMP TO: QUICK SPECS / PROS & CONS / MATERIALS / ORGANISATION / FRAME & BACK PANEL / SHOULDER STRAPS / HIP BELT / VOLUME / WEIGHT / WATERPROOFING / DURABILITY / ADD-ONS / SIZING / SUMMARY

Author: Sam Brilleman

The Gossamer Gear Mariposa is a 60 litre, internal frame, ultralight backpack. It is designed for multi-day backpacking trips, being suitable for anything from overnight hikes to week long backcountry expeditions.

It is Gossamer Gear’s most popular backpack, having evolved through several iterations and refinements over the years.

It is without a doubt one of the best ultralight backpacks on the market — functional, feature-rich, lightweight, and comfortable.

In this article I look at the Gossamer Gear Mariposa in detail and help you decide if it is the right pack for you.

Who are Gossamer gear?

Gossamer Gear are a pioneering cottage manufacturer of ultralight backpacking gear. They make innovative and high quality ultralight backpacks, shelters, and accessories. You can read more about them in my round up of the Best Outdoor Brands.

QUICK SPECS

PROS

• Ultralight

• Lots of organisation

• Integrated hip belt pockets

• Removable back panel doubles as a sit pad

• Soft comfortable foam used in the shoulder straps and hip belt

CONS

• No ventilation along back

• Robic nylon material is not waterproof

MATERIALS

The Mariposa is made using Robic nylon. Robic nylon is ultralight, yet has a high tensile strength and is relatively abrasion resistant.

Robic nylon may not be quite as ultralight as Dyneema composite fabric (DCF) — a material that is used for many other high quality ultralight backpacks such as the Zpacks Arc Blast or the HMG 3400 Southwest — but it is still seriously lightweight and it is also likely to be more durable.

Robic nylon is also cheaper to manufacture, meaning the Gossamer Gear Mariposa is a bit cheaper to purchase than backpacks made with DCF.

One downside is that whilst DCF is a fully waterproof material, Robic nylon is not. Nonetheless, Robic nylon is relatively water-resistant and pretty decent at shedding rain. However in a heavy downpour the material will eventually begin to absorb water.

Of course this isn’t the end of the world — in fact I always recommend storing your gear in waterproof dry sacks regardless of whether your backpack is made from a waterproof material or not. And for many people the lack of waterproofing will be a worthwhile trade-off for the cheaper price point and added durability.

ACCESS, POCKETS & ORGANISATION

Organisation is one of the strong points of the Mariposa — actually there are numerous strong points, but this is definitely one of them!)

In total it has seven pockets in addition to the main compartment. It includes integrated hip belt pockets on each side, a zippered pocket on the top flap, three pockets on the sides (two on one side and one on the other side), and a front mesh pocket.

SIDE POCKETS

The Mariposa is quite unique in a couple of ways. One of these is the side pocket design.

Rather than having two identical side pockets, the Mariposa uses an asymmetrical design where one side has a longer deeper pocket suitable for lengthy items, and the other side has two shorter shallower pockets placed one above the other.

This setup, although relatively non-standard, is actually quite useful once you get used to it. And it may even inspire you to switch up the way you organise things.

For example the longer side pocket can be suitable for storing lengthy items like a lightweight backpacking tent — an item that otherwise may have gone into the main compartment. This can free up space in the main compartment but it can also make access to items more convenient. For many people your tent is the first item you want available when arriving into camp, and the last item you pack up before leaving camp, so having it accessible on the side of the pack can be much more convenient.

On the other side where the two shorter, shallower pockets are located I tend to use the lower one for my water bottle.

MAIN ACCESS & TOP POCKET

The Mairposa also has a relatively unique main access. You access the main compartment through the top of the pack.

The top of the pack then folds over to form a flap that can be secured. The top of the flap has a zippered pocket (on the external side) that can then be used for storing accessory items. It is worth noting that this flap and pocket is relatively thin though — and not like a full “brain” found on packs such as the Osprey Exos

HIP BELT POCKETS

The hip belt pockets are integrated, meaning they are part of the hip belt itself and do not need to be attached separately.

They are pretty decent in size, although perhaps not as large as some other brands (for instance the Zpacks hip belt pouches are larger).

They use a conventional one-way zipper and are made from the same Robic nylon as the rest of the backpack. This means that — like the rest of the backpack — they are water-resistant but not waterproof.

FRONT MESH POCKET

A large rectangular mesh pocket is found on the front of the pack. Note that it is made with a different mesh to the one used to hold the foam back panel in place (described later). That mesh is slightly finer and less durable. Whereas the front pocket uses a higher quality mesh that should be more durable to abrasions and retain its stretch over time.

The bottom two inches of the mesh pocket are reinforced with Robic nylon. This provides additional durability and helps the pocket retain its shape. It also helps prevent excessive drainage out the bottom of the pocket when it is full of wet gear.

FRAME & BACK PANEL

The Mariposa uses a lightweight internal frame. The frame is removable, so if you are carrying a light load (e.g. on an overnight trip) you may wish to just remove it.

The frame helps the Mariposa retain its shape as well as helping to redistribute the weight onto your hips rather than your shoulders.

To keep the frame from digging into your back whilst hiking, there is a foam back panel. The back panel is relatively simple — it is just a rectangular foam pad that runs the length of the pack from the top of the shoulder straps to the base of the hip belt. It lives on the exterior of the pack and is held in place by two mesh panels. It is also removable. It can easily be removed whilst on the trail and be used as a seat (hence its name the “SitLight Pad”).

You can see the foam back panel — and the two mesh panels that hold it in place — in the photo below.

SHOULDER STRAPS

The shoulder straps on the Mariposa are made from a type of “3d spacer mesh” — essentially layers of mesh that create a springiness that resembles the sponginess of padded foam. Gossamer Gear refer to it as an air mesh fabric.

I like the air mesh fabric quite a lot. It provides a significant amount of cushioning and is more breathable than padded foam.

The Mariposa has J-shaped shoulder straps. These work well for me — being male and relatively thin I don’t have a large neck or broad shoulders. On the other hand S-shaped shoulder straps are often more comfortable for women, or even for men with a large neck or broad shoulders. Some manufacturers selling unisex backpacks will opt for S-shaped shoulder straps so that they can better cater to both men and women, however this doesn’t seem to the be the way Gossamer Gear have gone.

Having said that, Gossamer Gear has put in a lot of effort into making sure the Mariposa is suitable for both men and women — in particular the air mesh they use on the shoulder straps and hip belt is soft and provides a lot of cushioning. The shoulder straps are also wide — this helps distribute the weight across a broader area on the shoulders and avoid pressure points.

Load lifter straps are also included. These secure the top of the pack to the upper part of the shoulder straps. When tightened, they prevent the pack from tipping backwards and pulling back on your shoulders. By tightening the load lifters you pull the weight back in closer to your body, which helps to distribute more weight onto your hips. I regularly use the load lifter straps on all my packs and wouldn’t purchase a large capacity backpack without them.

HIP BELT

The hip belt uses the same spacer mesh as the shoulder straps. As mentioned above, this provides a significant amount of cushioning that should be suitable for both men and women.

The hip belt is also relatively wide which helps to distribute the weight more evenly across the hips — having said that, there is only a single strap rather than a v-strap, which doesn’t allow refined adjustments to the way pressure is applied across the hips.

With a single strap tension is applied across the centre of the hips or only above them. This perhaps is less preferable to a v-style strap that can be tensioned separately for the upper and lower side of the hip bone. A v-style strap would also seem to make more sense for a unisex backpack since men and women generally have different shapes through the hips.

As discussed earlier, the hip belt has integrated hip belt pockets (on both sides) — a nice addition. See the earlier section on pockets and organisation for a description of the hip belt pockets.

The hip belt is removable, so you can switch out for another hip belt size if you need to. Also note that the hip belt needs to be ordered separately from the backpack itself — see my section on “Sizing” below for more explanation of this. The backpack won’t be much use without a hip belt!

The base of the internal frame connects to the rear of the hip belt. There is also a stiffener in the rear of the hip belt. Both of these features help significantly with load transfer — making sure the bulk of the pack weight can be transferred through the belt and onto your hips.

VOLUME

The Mariposa has a stated volume of 60 litres, which includes 36 litres in the main body and 24 litres across all the exterior pockets. Gossamer Gear is true to their word in stating this volume, and the extension collar will actually allow you to push a bit beyond the stated volume for the main compartment.

This volume should easily be enough for most weekend hikes, as well as any thru-hiker who is using modern lightweight backpacking gear.

If you are three season hiking and using a lightweight shelter, sleeping bag, etc then you should be able to get five or more days of food into the Mariposa relatively easily. The fact that you can fit a lightweight backpacking tent in the taller side pocket means you can free up more space in the main compartment.

Gossamer Gear claim that all bear canisters will fit vertically in the main compartment, and that smaller bear canisters (they specifically mention the Bear Boxer and the Bear Vault 450) will fit horizontally. Some users also claim that with a bit of ingenuity you may be able to carry smaller bear canisters on the exterior of the pack, secured under the top flap. I live in Australia — where there isn’t any bears! — so unfortunately I can’t vouch for these claims.

WEIGHT

The Mariposa is definitely an ultralight pack. A large Mariposa with a medium hip belt weighs in at 32.6 oz (924 grams). And if you opt for a smaller torso length you might shave off another 50 to 100 grams.

This doesn’t make the Mariposa the absolute lightest multi-day framed backpack out there (e.g. the Zpacks Arc Blast is about 10 ounces or 300 grams lighter) but it’s not far off. And given the level of comfort and functionality the Mariposa delivers, it’s weight specs are impressive.

You can see the exact weights for different combinations of torso length and hip belt size on Gossamer Gear’s website.

Some additional weight savings could be achieved by removing either the internal frame (about 100 grams) or the “SitLight Pad” foam back panel (about 75 grams). Although personally I wouldn’t remove either as the extra stability and comfort they provide easily justifies the added weight.

WATERPROOFING

As discussed above, the Mariposa uses a Robic nylon material that is relatively water resistant but not waterproof. In heavy downpours the material will begin to absorb water.

If you really would prefer a backpack made from a waterproof material then you will need to look elsewhere — for example the Zpacks Arc Haul and the HMG 3400 Southwest are both made with waterproof material, come with taped seams, and have roll top closures.

In any case I always recommend storing your gear in waterproof dry sacks regardless of whether your backpack is made from a waterproof material or not.

DURABILITY

The main body of the Mariposa uses 100 and 200 denier high-tensile Robic nylon. This is a pretty durability material — and you shouldn’t have any problems with durability, even over the longer term. The material should retain its shape and aesthetic even with regular use.

The internal frame, although lightweight, seems sturdy. And the benefit of the frame being internal is that it reduces the number of attachment and adjustment points that would otherwise be necessary on the outside of the pack. For example the Zpacks Arc Blast uses an exterior frame that — although seriously lightweight and highly customisable — has a number of exterior attachment and adjustment points that make long term durability a greater concern. The hip belt on the Mariposa is also attached to the pack behind the foam back panel, meaning that it is less likely to be tugged away or distorted.

ATTACHMENTS AND COMPRESSION

The Mariposa is pretty minimalist when it come to compression straps. And this is a good thing. The main reason that compression straps aren’t included by default is that they would get in the way of the side and/or front pockets.

However there are a number of attachment loops sewn into the seams of the Mariposa so that you can attach compression straps if you need them. If you require this then check out Gossamer Gear’s Shock Compression Cord Straps that are designed specifically for this purpose.

Gossamer Gear also sell Lightrek Bungee Attachments that can be looped through the existing attachment points and used to secure trekking poles, an ice axe, an umbrella, or other tall items. If you are securing trekking poles, then the bungee attachment will secure the shaft of the trekking poles, and then the pack has “trekking pole D rings” permanently sewn into the seam just below the front mesh pocket that are designed to hold the tip of the trekking poles (see the photo below). On the opposite side, also at the base of the front mesh pocket, is a loop designed to secure the head of an ice axe.

There is also several small attachment loops on each of the shoulder straps. These can be used for securing small items or installing the shoulder strap accessories described below.

ADD-ONS & ACCESSORIES

SHOULDER STRAP POCKET

The Gossamer Gear Shoulder Strap Pocket can fit any of their hiking packs, including the Mariposa. These have to be purchased separately from the backpack. But I think they are worth it — personally I always like to hike with one shoulder strap pocket.

The Gossamer Gear Shoulder Strap Pocket is ideally designed for slim items like a smartphone or digital camera. There are two sizes available, targeted at different sized smartphones.

The design is pretty nice — a thin foam lining helps the pouch to hold it’s shape. There is a small mesh pocket on the front of the pouch for smaller items.

And a waterproof one-way zipper helps to keep rain out. Although the pouch itself is made from the same Robic nylon material as the Mariposa, which is water resistant but not fully waterproof.

SHOULDER STRAP FEEDBAG

“BOTTLE ROCKET” (WATER BOTTLE SLEEVE)

SIZING

The Mariposa is available in a range of torso lengths (small, medium, large) and hip belt sizes (small, medium, large).

Check out Gossamer Gear’s sizing video below for measuring yourself up before your purchase.

Fortunately the hip belts are removable, so if you order the wrong size (or your waist line grows or shrinks over the years) you could always just send back the hip belt to exchange it.

One thing to be wary of (and is slightly odd in my opinion) is that you have to order the hip belt separately from the backpack… Fortunately the “add hip belt with pockets” checkbox is ticked by default on the Mariposa purchase page — so you shouldn’t miss it, you just have to choose your size. But this can be a bit confusing for first time Gossamer Gear customers! Your Mariposa backpack won’t be much use if you order it without any hip belt.

SUMMARY

The Gossamer Gear Mariposa is a super comfortable ultralight backpack. If you are looking for an ultralight backpack for multi-day backpacking trips or thru-hiking — and you value functionality and comfort highly — then the Mariposa should be near the top of your list.

It’s strong points of comfort and functionality make it an ideal backpack for people transitioning to an ultralight backpack from a more traditional one.

It also has a few design features that give it a flavour of it’s own. For instance the asymmetric side pockets and the removable back panel that doubles as a sit pad.

Minor concerns for some might be the lack of a waterproof body material or the lack of ventilation along the back panel. But these wouldn’t be deal breakers for most users.

Overall the Gossamer Gear Mariposa 60 is without a doubt one of the best ultralight backpacks out there.

DISCLOSURE

Gossamer Gear provided me with a free sample of the Mariposa for this review. But the views expressed here are all my own. To be honest, I was actually way more impressed by the Mariposa in person than I had been when checking it out online before they sent it. That’s always a nice surprise to get!

MORE INFORMATION

If you enjoyed reading this review then you'll likely love reading some of our other gear review pages:

• Gear Reviews Overview Page

• Best Backpacks

• Best Backpacking Tents

• Best Hoodless Sleeping Bags

Happy hiking and take care out there in the wild!