Gossamer Gear Mariposa 60 Backpack Review
Updated:
Jan 20, 2025It might sound like a stretch to call an ultralight pack “well-rounded,” but that’s the first description that comes to mind with the Gossamer Gear Mariposa 60 ($315). Despite weighing around two pounds and being designed with minimalist hikers in mind, the Mariposa has a surprisingly large capacity and beefy suspension, which is a nice plus if you’re not strictly packing ultralight gear. We do have concerns with the pack’s thin materials and average comfort levels, but for the right users, it’s a compelling all-rounder that fits the bill for a variety of trips.
Comfort
Organization
Weight
Durability
Water Resistance
Sustainability
Weight
2 lb. 2.2 oz.
Stated Load Limit
35 lb.
Fabric(s)
100D & 210D Robic nylon
Adjustable Torso
No
# of Pockets
7
Access
Top
Capacities
60L
Included rain cover
No
Pros
Cons
Gossamer Gear Mariposa 60
For this season's top models, see our guide to the Best Backpacking Backpacks.
I had an up-and-down experience carrying the Mariposa, which I tested throughout a Continental Divide Trail thru-hike. First, the good: It has a ton of soft padding in the shoulder straps and hipbelt, a rare quality in ultralight packs. Plus, the load lifters that designers upgraded from the Mariposa’s previous iteration are a welcome change—I felt much less shoulder fatigue than I did when carrying the older model. Moving down the back, the airy foam backpanel did a decent job cushioning me from the contents of my pack (as a thoughtful touch, you can easily remove it for use as a sit pad). I did occasionally have to rearrange items in my pack if something rigid was poking me, but that’s par for the course with ultralight packs.
Suspension-wise, the Gossamer Gear Mariposa 60 has an internal aluminum frame that rests in a sleeve above the hipbelt where it can pivot to match your stride. (A good idea in theory, but I had a significant issue with the design—more on this in the Durability section below.) The weight that I carried on the CDT ranged from 20 to 35 pounds and was at its heaviest when I carried an ice axe, microspikes, and warm layers in Montana’s Glacier National Park. Even at its load limit, the pack did an admirable job transferring the weight to my hips, but I wouldn’t carry more than 35 pounds if I wanted to keep comfort high, and Gossamer Gear recommends the same. Still, that’s very respectable for a two-pound backpacking pack.
Given the Mariposa’s plush and structured design, I was surprisingly unimpressed by the pack’s overall comfort. Admittedly, I fell between sizes, but even so, the pack felt unrefined and seemed to lack an ergonomic fit. The lower part of its aluminum frame sat squarely against my lower back; under heavier loads, I could feel the bottom of it pressing into me. Additionally, when my food stash was low and I had the top lid cinched down to its limit, the pack emitted a ton of noise where the top of the frame connected to the main compartment. However, despite my gripes, the Mariposa was completely serviceable for 3,100 miles of hiking on the Continental Divide Trail—which should speak volumes. Once I sent home my heavier items and kept my load to under 30 pounds, the comfort issues were minimal.
One of the Mariposa’s main strengths is its unconventional yet convenient pocket layout. While this is more the norm than the exception with ultralight backpacking backpacks, it’s still worth highlighting: The main compartment of this pack is huge—it accommodated my 15-degree quilt, sleeping pad, down jacket and other layers, electronics, toiletries, and almost seven days of food without maxing out the storage capacity. For those hiking in bear country, it can also fit a BV500 bear canister lying sideways.
The Gossamer Gear Mariposa 60 features an asymmetrical pocket layout on its exterior. It has one large pocket on the left side that can fit most ultralight tents: My Zpacks Duplex tent fits perfectly inside this pocket, and I enjoyed not having to put a wet tent inside the main compartment. The right side features one deep pocket meant for holding water bottles, and above that, another, shallower pocket that can fit a variety of items. I used it to pack my pot and stove, a mini tripod, and—if I squeezed everything into place—a small fuel can. This setup makes for easy organization, and it lets you externally store rigid items that can be inconvenient to put inside your backpacking pack.
This dual-pocket setup does come with some quirks: If you’re a hiker who likes to keep your water filter attached to a bottle, the upper pocket will get in the way, as the distance between the upper and lower pockets is exactly large enough to accommodate a one-liter bottle. I also noticed a slight weight imbalance when I had a full two liters of water and my cooking setup on one side of the pack and just my tent on the other.
Moving on, the Mariposa 60 has a huge mesh stretch pocket on the back that can fit anything else you don’t need in your pack. I stashed my bathroom kit, extra water storage and filter, bags of chips or bagels, and any wet clothing. The zippered hipbelt pockets are nicely sized as well, and I typically put my headlamp, sunglasses, and other small essentials in one and snacks in the other. I could also fit my iPhone 14 inside a hipbelt pocket without too much trouble.
While the Gossamer Gear Mariposa 60 doesn’t have a full top lid pocket, it does have a small zippered pocket on its top flap. This compartment is best for holding thin items such as permits, ziplock bags, and repair kits. You can fit larger items in here if the main body of the pack isn’t too full, but I found it hard to access this pocket when the top flap was cinched down.
Finally, the Mariposa has plenty of external attachment points, including an ice axe loop, elastic trekking pole attachments, and sewn-on loops to hang things or affix shock cords for compression and storage. I thought that the trekking pole attachment was a clever weight-saving change over the plastic pieces on the older model, but it resulted in the same minor annoyance: Because the top part of your poles (and axe) need to be secured by clipping the top flap, every time I opened my pack to get something out, my poles would immediately fall over and I’d have to re-secure them. While not a huge problem, it made retrieving items quickly from my pack impossible, so I usually opted to stash my poles under my shoulder strap if I needed to put them away for a moment.
From a pure pounds-and-ounces perspective, the Mariposa sits squarely within the normal weight range for internal-frame ultralight packs. Choosing a heavier or lighter pack (and, to be clear, with ultralight models such as these, the difference is never more than about 5 oz.) comes with its own set of pros and cons. For example, the REI Co-op Flash Air 50, which weighs 1 pound 14 ounces, is one of the lightest internal frame packs we’ve tested, but it lacks the carrying capacity and storage options of the Mariposa. The ULA Equipment Circuit, on the other hand, is 3 ounces heavier (a difference that only the most hardcore weight-weenies will notice), mostly thanks to its thicker fabric and a beefier suspension that includes a frame as well as an aluminum stay.
Going further afield, backpacking packs that are significantly lighter and heavier than the Mariposa—say, by a pound or so—exhibit wildly divergent performance qualities. Lighter packs are most likely frameless: Take the Mountain Laurel Designs Prophet 48, a classic ultralight pack without a suspension. It weighs 1 pound 1.5 ounces but has a lower load capacity, much less cushion, and fewer pockets. The Osprey Exos 58, on the other end of the spectrum, weighs 2 pounds 13.4 ounces but has much thicker padding, a trampoline-style backpanel that promotes airflow, and an adjustable torso length. At just over 2 pounds, the Mariposa lands at a sweet spot for its blend of weight and features.
Durability is where my testing with the Gossamer Gear Mariposa 60 got tricky. Materials-wise, the pack’s mix of majority 100-denier Robic nylon and 210D Robic accents is relatively thin and light, but strong enough to handle the rigors of a long trip. The pack held up well on the CDT, exhibiting only a few signs of wear by the end of my four-month journey: A couple of small holes in the back mesh pocket and a few torn stitches near the top of the main compartment, likely from me jamming in my huge food bag again and again. Many ultralight packs feature much stronger materials, including Dyneema composite fibers (DCF) or Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE), a component of Dyneema. But the CDT is a fairly good test for a backpack, and the Mariposa’s fabric passed with mostly flying colors.
Unfortunately, my Mariposa suffered a significant durability defect that caused me a major headache. After 500 miles of trail, the sleeve where the bottom of the frame connects to the hipbelt came apart, and the frame punched through the bottom of my pack. This meant that no weight was being transferred to my hips, turning the Mariposa into the world’s heaviest frameless backpack. It pummeled my shoulders.
Thankfully, Gossamer Gear’s customer service is excellent. Once I had enough cell service to contact them, they quickly shipped a new hipbelt to the next town on my route. Unfortunately, this meant I still had to hike over 100 miles with the broken pack, which was barely holding together with duct tape. The replacement hipbelt worked just fine, so I’m assuming I experienced a one-time defect, but it’s definitely the worst gear failure I’ve had on the trail.
Finally, I noticed that by the end of the CDT, the hipbelt buckles were constantly slipping; I had to retighten the belt every 20 minutes to keep the weight off my shoulders. Had I not been a couple of weeks away from the end, I probably would have gotten a cheap replacement buckle. With that in mind—and with the new hipbelt in place—I think this pack still has a lot of miles left on it. At $315, it’s a pretty good value, helped by the fact that Gossamer Gear stands behind its products and is quick to respond to any issues.
Unlike ultralight backpacking packs made from DCF or similar fabrics (like the Hyperlite Southwest), the Mariposa is not waterproof. Its Robic nylon can withstand mist and brief, light rain, but not much more. I dislike carrying a pack cover on thru-hikes, but had the CDT been any rainier, I might’ve picked one up. If rain is in the forecast, you’ll need a cover, dry bags, or a waterproof liner to protect your gear. I’d probably go with a cover over the latter two, as the Mariposa’s exterior pockets would be left exposed if you were only protecting its interior.
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Longevity
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PFAS-Free DWR
Durable water-repellent (DWR) finishes can contain PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances). These highly persistent “forever chemicals” are used in outdoor gear for their strong resistance to water, oil, and heat, but are linked to environmental contamination and a range of health concerns. A green check mark indicates the product uses a PFAS-free DWR, while a red X means the DWR contains PFAS.
Recycled Materials
Recycled materials are prevalent in outdoor gear, with nylon, polyester, wool, and down among the most common, but the composition varies widely. A green check mark indicates the product is made with a substantial amount of recycled materials (100% recycled or the core fabric that makes up most of the product is recycled), a yellow check means it contains a moderate to small amount of recycled materials, while a red X means there are no recycled materials in the product.
Bluesign Approved
Bluesign Technologies, based in Switzerland, operates a third-party textile management system that ensures materials are manufactured to strict environmental, chemical, and worker safety standards. A green check mark indicates a product is either a Bluesign Product (contains at least 90% Bluesign-approved fabrics and 20-30% Bluesign-approved accessories) or features a significant amount of Bluesign-approved materials. A yellow check mark means it uses some Bluesign-approved materials but less than the aforementioned category, and a red X means there are no Bluesign-approved materials in the product.
Responsible Manufacturing
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Recycled and/or Reduced Packaging
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Repair Services
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Resale and/or Recycling Services
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Carbon Footprint Tracking
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Annual Impact Report
Annual impact reports provide transparency and accountability by outlining a brand’s sustainability efforts across areas such as material sourcing, greenhouse gas emissions, waste, water use, supply chains, and packaging. A green check mark indicates a brand publishes a detailed, brand-specific impact report that closely aligns with our sustainability criteria and leaves little room for ambiguity. A yellow check indicates a brand provides some relevant sustainability reporting but lacks detail in key areas or is covered only briefly within a parent company report. A red X indicates a brand does not regularly publish an impact report.
Tester: 5’10”, 18” torso
Size tested: Medium w/ medium straight hipbelt
The Gossamer Gear Mariposa 60 is available in small, medium, and large torso lengths. The small comes with a size small/medium “curved” hipbelt, while the medium and large are paired with a size medium “straight” hipbelt. Gossamer Gear does offer the option to customize the hipbelt shape and size, although the ordering, return, and reimbursement process is more convoluted than we’d like.
Gossamer Gear’s sizing guide said that the small size fits torsos from 16 to 18 inches and the medium fits those from 18 to 20 inches, so my 18-inch-long torso landed exactly between the two. My rule of thumb for backpacking packs is to always size up when I’m unsure, so I went with the medium. (This was also the size of my original Mariposa from 2019, which I thought fit me pretty well.) When I tried it on for the first time, though, I knew that the fit wasn’t perfect—the shoulder straps sat just a little bit too high, which caused uneven pressure around my shoulders and a slight weight imbalance.
Because the pack’s torso length is fixed and not adjustable, there wasn’t much I could do. Wanting to know for sure that I had the best possible fit, I went so far as to order a small torso version, thinking that maybe it would be better and I could swap it out. However, after trying it on, the small was too short and had an even worse fit, so I mailed it back. I think my fit issue—being caught between sizes—was the main culprit for why I wasn’t as impressed with the comfort of this pack as many people seem to be, and is the main downside of saving weight with a nonadjustable torso.
ULA Equipment Circuit ($300): Even More Well-Rounded
ULA Equipment’s 68-liter Circuit might be our favorite ultralight backpacking pack on the market, and that’s saying a lot. Its mixture of price, weight, capacity, and comfort is second to none: While it’s over 4 ounces heavier than the Mariposa—a fairly insignificant amount of weight, if we’re being honest—the Circuit offers much higher levels of durability and waterproofing thanks to its PU-coated ULA 400 material. An internal frame paired with a single aluminum stay allowed us to carry 35 pounds without any of the reservations we experienced with the Mariposa when it was maxed out. (You might even be able to push the Circuit close to 40 lb.) The Mariposa’s shoulder straps and hipbelt cushioning are plusher, but the Circuit’s are plenty adequate, and its organization lags only slightly behind. The cherry on top is that the Circuit has a wider array of sizing options (including 4 torso sizes), which might eliminate the fit issues I experienced with the Mariposa. For more, read our review of the ULA Equipment Circuit.
Hyperlite Southwest 55 ($420): Durability and Waterproofing
The Hyperlite Mountain Gear Southwest 55 is a favorite of thru-hikers across the continent. The pack is made with Dyneema Woven Composite fabric, renowned for its tear strength and waterproofing. I was thrilled that my Mariposa survived the CDT (minus its hipbelt issue), but the Southwest is designed to thrive across multiple thru-hikes. What you don’t get is the user-friendliness of the Mariposa, including a top lid, load lifters, a removable backpanel that doubles as a sit pad, and cushioning in the hipbelt and shoulder straps. While the Gossamer Gear Mariposa 60 and the Southwest are both aimed at the same demographic—hikers who go fast, far, and light—the Mariposa will appeal to comfort-seekers, while the Southwest will play to the function-first, durability-focused crowd. For more, read our review of the Hyperlite Southwest.
This ultralight pack is right up there with the category’s elite in terms of carrying capacity and organization, and it features better padding than most. The Mariposa isn’t super durable, though, and we had a sample issue with its hipbelt during our CDT thru-hike.
Comfort
Organization
Weight
Durability
Water Resistance
Sustainability
The Circuit is one of the best ultralight and thru-hiking packs, period. It's available in a wide range of sizes and offers impressive load carrying for its weight. While it lacks the Dyneema construction found in many other ultralight packs, the Robic nylon is impressively hardwearing.
Comfort
Organization
Weight
Durability
Water Resistance
Sustainability
Load capacity, durability, and waterproofing make the Southwest a thru-hiker favorite. Drawbacks include a lack of adjustability and below-average padding, but in most other aspects, this is a top-tier ultralight backpack.
Comfort
Organization
Weight
Durability
Water Resistance
Sustainability
Is the Mariposa 60 for You?
Gear testing is, at the end of the day, a subjective pursuit. Looking past the twin hurdles of not finding our correct sizing in the Gossamer Gear Mariposa 60 and dealing with a broken hipbelt, we can safely assert that this backpacking pack performs most of its on-trail duties well. It carries 30-pound loads (on the heavier end of the minimalist spectrum) with aplomb, and its padding should be attractive to ultralighters used to less comfortable, firmer materials. We also enjoyed its intuitive organization. The pack’s primary downside is its durability, which doesn’t quite live up to the rest of the ultralight category. Taking this and its $315 price tag into consideration, the Mariposa doesn’t offer quite as good value as other options, but if you can find the right fit, it will reward you over many (non-bushwhacky) miles.
hit the trail
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