Mammut Heron Pro 85 Backpack

I'm torn between four and five stars!
May 23, 2010

I just started exposing myself to Mammut's products within the last year, and the more I see, the more impressed I am with their general commitment to innovation and quality. This pack is new to their line. I purchased an Arc'teryx Bora 95 last year and was happy with it. Something made me curious when I saw this Heron come out on the Mammut website this Spring, so, I ordered one. I would not say that this pack is better than the Bora in every way, in fact, there are numerous trade-offs: the Arc, I think will carry a bit more, but, I still have some experimentation to do with the Mammut; I like the water bottle holders on the Arc and the zippers are more modern, water-tight zippers. However, I ended up returning my Arc'teryx for this pack. For one, it's a full pound lighter and $150-200 cheaper. When you compare them side-by-side, some of the things like the back padding and zippers seem cheaper on the Mammut, but, IMHO Mammut has more of a minimalist philosophy than Arc's industrial strength approach--there's a trade-off. Mammut is a great manufacturer and does not cut corners putting junky material in anything, though. The pivoting hip belt on the Mammut IS A GAME CHANGER. It actually allows Mammut to remove some of the heavy padding on the back that you will immediately notice missing. I don't know how any of the top-end manufactures can consider marketing heavy packs in the coming years w/o pivoting hip belts. You will immediately notice that the full weight of the pack is not tied to each hip. Each hip and can freely move from under the full weight of your load. I am a little concerned about size on larger trips, but, like I said, I just need to find out how to carry things like tents, crampons and gas in more innovative ways.