What's It For?
The Mutant's a minimalist mountain pack aimed at day and lightweight alpine use by climbers, mountaineers and scramblers. It's intended to be simple, tough and efficient.
The Techy Bits
Tough fabrics are the starting point for a robust-feeling pack. Mostly it's a minimalist affair, but there are a number of neat, typically Osprey touches along the way. The basics first though, fabrics feel tough with reinforced base and front and seams are stitched and bound for durability.
We like the hip-belt which has Osprey's inward pulling ErgoPull tightening arrangement, but ca also be folded back behind to keep it out of harm's way when needed. Hypalon gear loops take a carabiner, which you can use in turn to rack hardware. We've used this system with ice screws in the past and it's a neat, secure way of carrying a rack meaning you needn't faff with harness loops.
We like the neat shockcorded ice axe upper attachment points and reinforced lower loops, which cope well with snow, unlike straps and in the same vein, the smooth back panel won't clog with snow in certain conditions, unlike mesh. Spindrift collar helps in winter too.
Lastly, the back panel includes a removable, triple-folded bivi pad. We wouldn't recommend it for regular use, but for ultra-lightweight, possibly unplanned overnight stops, it could be a lifesaver.
How It Performed
Simple and effective pretty much sums up the Mutant. It has a robust, bombproof feel to it and, considering the simple back system, carries very well, even when loaded up with winter hardware and ropes. It's also really stable and doesn't swing around gripping onto your back like a baby baboon. The simple but effective compression straps help here as well.
The narrow profile works well in dank, dark chimneys and other small gaps to minimise catching and an extendable lid means you can overload it too. That said, 38-litres is enough for most mountaineering days and the pack swallowed our winter rack and hardware without issues.
Osprey has apparently removed rather than added features, but the ones that are left all work well. The floating and removable lid has two zipped pockets, so you don't want for easy access storage space and the simple, shock-corded axe attachments are quick and easy to use, even when it's snowy and icy. We like the anti-abrasion Gorilla Grip patch at pick level as well.
The more technical stuff probably won't get as much use, but is there and neat if you do want it. You can strip out around 400 grammes by losing the pad and lid for example, but most users won', we suspect. We like the gear loop system as well, Hypalon loops take a carabiner which you can use to rack your hardware, the only downside is that when you strip it off again, it's awkward to get the biner nose out of the loop.
Downs? Just one minor complaint, the hydration exit is set up so you can only run the tube over your left shoulder, we normally use the righthand exit and it would be nice to have the option, though it's hardly a major problem.
Verdict
Simple, tough, effective technical mountain pack put together with Osprey's usual attention to detail and keen thinking. It has a feel of quality about it and if you do need to strip it down, use the pad for bivvies, haul it and so on, it should cope well. Carries well too and difficult to fault.
Buy if you're looking for a tough, high-quality mountain pack that'll cope with British mountaineering and climbing and alpine use too.
