Mammut Lithium 25 Backpack Black

Mammut is a company that I love, like, and hate. No other company exists in the space of my outdoor equipment consumer heart. I love Mammut's rain gear and hard shells. I have Mammut hiking shoes I treasure but boots that, no matter what, I can't find in the correct size. (I've sent back more of Mammut's footwear than I care to count.) I love Mammut's outdoor clothing, which might run a size smaller than I normally wear or two sizes larger. This is my first Mammut pack, which was originally sold for a ridiculous price and that I picked up for a ridiculously low price.So the good part. If I were going out on a summer trail with just my water bladder, a rain coat, a few snacks, and a DSLR with a wide angle lens, this bag would be nice. The bag is well made. It's ... MoreMammut is a company that I love, like, and hate. No other company exists in the space of my outdoor equipment consumer heart. I love Mammut's rain gear and hard shells. I have Mammut hiking shoes I treasure but boots that, no matter what, I can't find in the correct size. (I've sent back more of Mammut's footwear than I care to count.) I love Mammut's outdoor clothing, which might run a size smaller than I normally wear or two sizes larger. This is my first Mammut pack, which was originally sold for a ridiculous price and that I picked up for a ridiculously low price.So the good part. If I were going out on a summer trail with just my water bladder, a rain coat, a few snacks, and a DSLR with a wide angle lens, this bag would be nice. The bag is well made. It's very comfortable. It's a roomy 15L. The upper pocket, where you might store sunglasses and/or food, is a great size. The compartment at the front of the bag has lots of space. The frame and it's support system are comfortable. The hip belt and shoulder straps are comfortable, even for this 230 pound hiker. The bag meets all the minimum requirements. If those are what you're looking for, this bag is for you!However, if I'm going out in winter with that season's demanding list of items, this bag isn't going to meet my needs. And that's a disappointment.I pushed the capabilities of the pack on my first time out. Here's what I found.The bladder storage is in the bag's main compartment and uses a pocket to hold the bladder close to the frame. A valve exit is on the upper right shoulder of the bag, so you're limited to the valve and hose being on the right. The loops for the valve are small. I didn't love this.The bladder configuration has disaster written all over it. If a leak were to develop, there is no place for the water to go except into the bag's main compartment. There is no drain. The last thing I need is a bladder leaking all over my down coat if things go wrong, and, eventually, things always go wrong.Attaching trekking poles to the pack is frustrating. The top elastic loop is on the left side of the pack, with a single, standard loop on the left side of the pack's base. I found it very difficult to get both tips of my three-section Leki poles through the single lower loop and the cork uppers through the elastic loop so that the poles felt securely affixed to the pack. And so, as expected, the poles kept coming out of their holds. This was a HUGE hassle. I gave up carrying the poles after about 300 yards.I've never had a problem keeping poles affixed to other packs. Not being able to carry trekking poles feels like a significant design flaw. I've come to expect this feature on all of my packs. And did I mention things eventually going wrong? Loose trekking pole tips and bladders together never seem like a good idea.I brought along my ice kleets on this audition. These did a great job of bringing to light another of the bag's shortcomings: there is no way to attach things to the bag without the item flopping around, at least not using something designed to meet this requirement.My ice kleets are carried in a heavy, cloth bag with a drawstring and loop on the bag. On previous packs, I've used the loop as an attachment point. Alas, the Mammut bag does not have a way to attach the kleet bag... Unless you use one of the compression straps looped through the kleet bag. This is definitely not what the compression strap was meant for and, so, the solution is rather kludgey.If I had paid more for this pack, it would be going back. However, since I paid what I consider a low price for it, I'll use it in the summer when I often pick up rocks, take meat and cheese along for my hike, and seem to seek out rain. (I didn't get to try the pack's rain shell.) I really do love to be out in the rain. This pack will serve that purpose well, I hope.

This is a fantastic ‘day’ pack. The light weight and storage capability strikes a fine balance.The removable hip belt is great and the integrated rain cover is something other manufacturers should take note of.It is VERY comfortable to wear.The only reason this is not five stars is the materials. The colourful orange material is actually see through. You can literally see what is inside the pack when items are pressed up against it.Whilst I understand there is is a necessity to balance weight and functionality, it’s paper thin appearance lessens the feel of the bags quality. Almost but not quite perfect.

I like this backpack a lot. I haven’t taken it out yet but when I tried it fully loaded, the wight tranferred nicely on my hips with the hipbelt. I appreciate this feature as hipbelts are rare on such small bags. What they don’t tell you in the description is that it appears to be foldable although this is a feature that I like less as in my expreience foldable bags tend to sag either right away or as they get used; we’ll see n a few months what happens with this one. This is the reason for the 4 stars instead of 5 stars. There is an internal pouch for your water bladder and another small pocket inside that the 25 l one lacks. It’s a hiking back pack so there is not so much organization inside but that makes the pack less heavy too.I’m 5’3 and my back length is 16 ... MoreI like this backpack a lot. I haven’t taken it out yet but when I tried it fully loaded, the wight tranferred nicely on my hips with the hipbelt. I appreciate this feature as hipbelts are rare on such small bags. What they don’t tell you in the description is that it appears to be foldable although this is a feature that I like less as in my expreience foldable bags tend to sag either right away or as they get used; we’ll see n a few months what happens with this one. This is the reason for the 4 stars instead of 5 stars. There is an internal pouch for your water bladder and another small pocket inside that the 25 l one lacks. It’s a hiking back pack so there is not so much organization inside but that makes the pack less heavy too.I’m 5’3 and my back length is 16 1/2 and this pack fits me well.