Osprey Mutant 52 Climbing Pack | Gear We Use

My Osprey Mutant 52 saved me from a kind of panic a few weeks ago when I was getting ready for an overnight trip to the Gore Range in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains.

The Gore Range is remote!

I needed a pack that could carry overnight gear (tent, sleeping bag, stove) and some climbing gear (harness, helmet, rope) and could do it well. It’s no joke carrying all your things 10 mi into the range before you even start the climbing!

I pulled out my Osprey Mutant 52L and breathed out a sigh of relief.

Got it, the pack that does it all: carries gear like a mule and climbs mountains like a goat.

Here are a couple Osprey Mutant 52 features that you might want to know about:

Removable hip belt: a nice option when you’re trying to go light. For example, after you set up basecamp and leave the heavy stuff behind. While, I didn’t remove the hip belt on this trip, it is a helpful feature when you’re wearing a climbing harness because you can access your gear much more easily.

Gear loops on the hip belt: a handy feature that I actually used on this trip. I brought a couple slings and carabiners and I clipped them right to the hip belt. Easy storage, done!

Removable lid: another weight saving benefit of the Mutant 52. Leave the lid behind, or, as I often do, stick the lid inside the pack for climbing. This makes the pack shorter, and keeps it from hitting the back of your helmet when you look up.

Double ice tool attachments: gotta have ice tool attachments. In case you don’t know, ice climbing is the heart and soul of Chicks. We go ice climbing. While, I didn’t use this feature on the recent trip, I would never get a pack without ice tool attachments.

Compression Straps: useful to cinch your pack down when the camping kit is being used rather than being carried. Also, the place to stick your skis when they are being carried rather than being used… needless to say, compression straps are extremely practical for all things mountain.

The Mutant 52L shines for a few other great features like it’s helmet attachment. But, for me, the features described above: removable hip belt and lid, gear loops, double ice tool attachments and compression straps are the pack’s heaviest hitting features.

Most importantly, however, the Mutant feels great on my hips and shoulders, even when fully loaded!

Thanks, Osprey, for making classy packs!

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