Customer Reviews Arc'teryx Mantis 26L Daypack

1L 3

1L 3

This is my pack I use for day hikes with the family. It's light, comfortable, and well made. It unfortunately is falling behind in some of the features offered by other brands today. Don't get me wrong, I love this pack and it hasn't failed me in any way, but it could definitely be improved upon feature wise.

I wanted a new backpack to replace my old Eddie Baurer bag that I used for 15 years. I had a very specific set of requirements. After weeks of looking, this is the only bag I found that met my requirements. My requirements - interior laptop sleeve - no exterior laptop compartment - multiple small pockets - two water bottle holders - chest and waist strap - back support - warranty - between 24-28 L - Long zipper so the bag could fold in half almost to make it easier for day trip packing - no waist pouches (sorry Osprey Talon and TNF Litus) Pros - met all of my requirements - I found the three small pockets in the front very useful - the elastics on the waterbottle pouches are nice and tight - very good back support and straps - the material seems very high quality and durable - I bought the blue, which turned out much brighter/shinier than the picture. Which I liked. - nice shoulder and back padding Cons - zipper struggles to zip if the bag is full or with one hand. This is because the material around the zipper is quite stiff, so you sort of have to adjust the bag while zipping. - it is difficult to stuff the bag when it is full because everytime you push stuff into the bag, the zipper loosens a bit. Consider having zipper locks so that the zipper only moves when you tug on it. - elastic holders/straps for the straps that adjusts the shoulder straps and the waist straps would be nice to prevent them from being caught on stuff and dangling everywhere - the strap used to adjust the length of the main backpack straps loosens really easily. Would be better if the straps had a firmer hold - zippered pocket inside the front utensils pocket would be nice, for small objects that easily fall out (especially in consideration of the 'flopping' problem described below). - the shoulder straps of the bag is really rigid. This makes it hard to put on and take off sometimes. - it seems to be smaller than the indicated size. I have multiple 26L backpacks, and they all fit noticeably more stuff than this bag (maybe because of the rigidity and non-stretch material of this bag?). Other - the laptop sleeve inside is quite small. I have a 14 inch Lennovo thinkpad and it just barely fits. It would not fit larger 14 inch or 15 inch+ laptops - I am a slim guy, and I had to extend the chest/waist straps to the max with wearing my parka. It fits me, but I can imagine it being tight for larger guys - The front of the bag flops over if you unzip it past a certain point. This is not a problem for me because I specifically wanted a bag that could zip down all the way, but I can see this being a hassle for others. - would be nice to have compression straps/buckles on the sides of the bag. Placed on the right spot, this might fix the flopping over problem in my previous point. - whistle on the chest strap would be nice. This is overall a great bag. none of the cons i mentioned are big problems for me, just really minor inconveniences. I'd buy this bag again. I've used it several times for long hikes, day trips, and alpine skiing, and its been great. if you want a bag just for work/school, there are probably better bags out there. if you want a bag just for hiking, the TNF Litus or Osprey Talon are better choices. But if you want a bag that's appropriate for rigorous outdoor activities that can also blend in for normal every-day use, this is the bag for you!

I wanted a new backpack to replace my old Eddie Baurer bag that I used for 15 years. I had a very specific set of requirements. After weeks of looking, this is the only bag I found that met my requirements. My requirements - interior laptop sleeve - no exterior laptop compartment - multiple small pockets - two water bottle holders - chest and waist strap - back support - warranty - between 24-28 L - Long zipper so the bag could fold in half almost to make it easier for day trip packing - no waist pouches (sorry Osprey Talon and TNF Litus) Pros - met all of my requirements - I found the three small pockets in the front very useful - the elastics on the waterbottle pouches are nice and tight - very good back support and straps - the material seems very high quality and durable - I bought the blue, which turned out much brighter/shinier than the picture. Which I liked. - nice shoulder and back padding Cons - zipper struggles to zip if the bag is full or with one hand. This is because the material around the zipper is quite stiff, so you sort of have to adjust the bag while zipping. - it is difficult to stuff the bag when it is full because everytime you push stuff into the bag, the zipper loosens a bit. Consider having zipper locks so that the zipper only moves when you tug on it. - elastic holders/straps for the straps that adjusts the shoulder straps and the waist straps would be nice to prevent them from being caught on stuff and dangling everywhere - the strap used to adjust the length of the main backpack straps loosens really easily. Would be better if the straps had a firmer hold - zippered pocket inside the front utensils pocket would be nice, for small objects that easily fall out (especially in consideration of the 'flopping' problem described below). - the shoulder straps of the bag is really rigid. This makes it hard to put on and take off sometimes. - it seems to be smaller than the indicated size. I have multiple 26L backpacks, and they all fit noticeably more stuff than this bag (maybe because of the rigidity and non-stretch material of this bag?). Other - the laptop sleeve inside is quite small. I have a 14 inch Lennovo thinkpad and it just barely fits. It would not fit larger 14 inch or 15 inch+ laptops - I am a slim guy, and I had to extend the chest/waist straps to the max with wearing my parka. It fits me, but I can imagine it being tight for larger guys - The front of the bag flops over if you unzip it past a certain point. This is not a problem for me because I specifically wanted a bag that could zip down all the way, but I can see this being a hassle for others. - would be nice to have compression straps/buckles on the sides of the bag. Placed on the right spot, this might fix the flopping over problem in my previous point. - whistle on the chest strap would be nice. This is overall a great bag. none of the cons i mentioned are big problems for me, just really minor inconveniences. I'd buy this bag again. I've used it several times for long hikes, day trips, and alpine skiing, and its been great. if you want a bag just for work/school, there are probably better bags out there. if you want a bag just for hiking, the TNF Litus or Osprey Talon are better choices. But if you want a bag that's appropriate for rigorous outdoor activities that can also blend in for normal every-day use, this is the bag for you!

I got a blue color (not available anymore) and it is a nice color. the backpack is a good size for travel and has a lot of pockets, which is great (especially the one on the outside for water). However, if you place the backpack on the floor (empty or full), it falls forward or backwards. basically, it seems the bottom of it is not flat enough for it to remain standing. so you need to support it when it is on the floor or let it fall on its side (which is not ideal when you use it as a carry on in an airplane). Also, the compartments are kind of floppy (if that makes sense). the one on the front of the backpack, if there are items in it, and you open to get something, the whole thing flips over and your things just fall out of it. Basically, the weight of the items inside (small items) forces the surface of the compartment to open wide (i attached pics to show what i mean). I used it so obviously i cannot return it, but if i could i would. I would, though, try another arcteryx backpack because i still love the brand.

I got a blue color (not available anymore) and it is a nice color. the backpack is a good size for travel and has a lot of pockets, which is great (especially the one on the outside for water). However, if you place the backpack on the floor (empty or full), it falls forward or backwards. basically, it seems the bottom of it is not flat enough for it to remain standing. so you need to support it when it is on the floor or let it fall on its side (which is not ideal when you use it as a carry on in an airplane). Also, the compartments are kind of floppy (if that makes sense). the one on the front of the backpack, if there are items in it, and you open to get something, the whole thing flips over and your things just fall out of it. Basically, the weight of the items inside (small items) forces the surface of the compartment to open wide (i attached pics to show what i mean). I used it so obviously i cannot return it, but if i could i would. I would, though, try another arcteryx backpack because i still love the brand.

I wanted this bag to be my go-to 2-3 day jet set bag. Based on reviews and features, it was going to be just that. But I have found that it is actually, quite simply, awful to actually have on my back. The straps are dreadful- Arcteryx somehow thought that just adding extra padding to standard backpack straps would cut it. Instead, it just adds bulk and weight and is instantly uncomfortable on my shoulders. I'm admittedly a bigger guy, but the lack of adjustment means that I'm pretty much stuck with limited options here. I have REI brand packs that are more comfortable than this, so it's really not what I expect from a premium brand. Love everything else Arcteryx does though!

Got this for Christmas. The small pocket on the top will flip over and open the main compartment causing everything to spill out. There's also a key hook in the main that has torn the covers of books. Weird overall shape that doesn't allow bigger items to be stored in the bottom.

I noticed when trying to stuff a jacket inside the main compartment, the zippers come undo and opened the bag spilling out the content inside. There needs to be some lock mechanism to prevent the zippers from opening all the way or just have zippers go half way down the bag. Right now it's like you need two hands to hold both zippers on each side and a 3rd hand to stuff the pack. Also, the shoulder strap keeps loosening when there is no pressure. Thus, I have to readjust quit often. Bottle holders could be deeper. Plastic back plate prevents full volume of bag to be utilized. However this can easily be removed and put back but probably also adds to cost.

bought one in Japan, the zipper always always gets stuck in the lining cloth, I have to keep stretching and pushing the cloth out all the time....

I purchased this bag to be my everyday carry to and from work at the hospital. It's compact enough to carry on my back during rush hour on the subway, and has multiple pockets to store items separately, Mt biggest issue with the pack is the front top administrative pouch/pocket. The dividers are to close to the top of the pocket zipper, preventing the storage of pens, calculator, and other individual items. The pen storage slots are narrow, and make for a tight fit of pens. Biggest issue with the bag is it rides too high, and the front admin pouch is to small and the pockets within the pocket are to small to store items.

This bag is just overall very awkward. It look weird empty and it looks weird full. The back is scratchy, too. Two weeks after having this bag, it had an issue with the internal frame, Arc'teryx was not helpful when I reached out to them about this. Threads are coming out all over the place. It is difficult to fit nalgene in the water bottle pockets. Not worth the money.