Mariposa Plus Users: Long Term Durability?

Jed,

While I'm not a mairposa plus user, I'll comment just to get things started.

Gossamer Gear has an excellent reputation! Their stitching is supposed to be top level and their choice of fabric in the Mariposa Plus is much more durable then the fabric used in the Mariposa.

As for how long it will last, I think that depends on how you treat the pack. If you take it bushwacking constantly then it certainly won't last as long as if you stayed on the trail. How long term do you mean? What is your hiking style? It will certainly last thru any of the major 3 thru-hikes assuming you treat it as you should.

I have a granite gear pack which is basically nothing but silnylon and it has held up great. I haven't done any thru-hikes, but it has handled some bushwacking where I thought for sure it would be punctured, but it came out with no problems.

Well my boss just came up, so basically, I think this pack should be expected to last as long as any ultralight pack that uses urethane coated nylon or silnylon, which is to say that if you don't rub a bunch of rocks, walk thru a bunch of trees, or constantly overload the pack it should last for as long as it takes for a new bag to be more appealing :)

If you want more durable then check out six moon designs or ULA. These packs will of course be heavier too..and they will also only last for as long as it takes for you to desire something new and different!

Thanks Andrew, I've been wondering the same thing as Jed. I just got my Mariposa Plus in the mail and I'm very happy with it! Gossamer gear also has great customer service. On a friday night I emailed them about switching my hip belt for a different size. They wrote back to me on saturday morning!

I'm using the Plus on my upcoming AT thru hike, and I was definitely hoping to take it the whole way.

I loved mine…did not have it long because it was really the wrong size for me. BUT…a good sale will have me replacing it.
Here are my limited experiences with the Mariposa Plus.

I use it on two short hikes, one last 2 weeks and the other 4 days.
I was gentle with my pack, but my two boys were very rough with it.

I got sick so they helped with my load by taking turns carrying my pack for me. They placed it on top of sharp rocks…hanging it up off of tree branches…picking it up wrong by using only one shoulder strap.
Dropping it down when coming to a resting place…while waiting for me to catch up, even sitting on it!!

It still looked like new after the hikes!
It passed the test of child abuse of my light weight gear, from two non-hiking children. I am sold :D

Editing due to spelling and grammer or due to it only being 6 am here…no coffee yet, or it could be I have just been living too long on the islands!