If you're a wildland firefighter, in the Army, or a hunter, you've听likely heard of听, which has听been making bomber backpacks听for soldiers, mountain professionals, and the hook-and-bullet crowd听since 2000. But they haven't really听gone for outdoor recreationalists听until now.听
In February, the听Bozeman, Montana-based company launched a听new consumer outdoor line, which are now听in听retail stores in the U.S. The goal of the launch is to bring听high-quality packs for the pros to听regular consumers. If you鈥檙e hard on your gear, spend听months living out of your pack,听or just play often in harsh conditions, Mystery Ranch wants you to buy听their stuff.听鈥淲e went from weapons carry to ice climbing in about five听minutes,鈥 says Ben Noble, Mystery Ranch鈥檚 national sales manager.
The new line鈥攚hich is made up of听four backpacking packs, eight听daypacks, and four climbing-specific听models鈥攍ooks a lot like its special-ops brethren.听They have three-way, Y-shaped zippers that provide easy access to the main compartments, and fully adjustable yokes and harnesses that carry comfortably even fully loaded down. And then there are the听burly fabrics, like Cordura, which听don鈥檛 blow apart, even under constant abuse. The company reduced the weight of some fabrics and added a few new colors for the consumer line, but they鈥檙e still heavy compared to their competitors鈥攖he 82-liter Terraplane weighs seven pounds, for instance. (Our 2015 Gear of the Year-winning pack, the 75-liter Gregory Baltoro, weighs just 5.3 pounds.)听It鈥檚 a tradeoff that's not right for everyone, but Noble says the emphasis is on durability, not shedding ounces.听
This is not the first time Mystery Ranch has launched a consumer line. They鈥檝e had a small听selection听of packs听for years, but only available for purchase on their website. Moving into retail听spaces won鈥檛 make them an immediate challenger to larger brands like Osprey, but they鈥檙e hoping for more brand awareness.
That鈥檚 something Mystery Ranch founder Dana Gleason knows a thing or two about.听Gleason also founded the cult-classic 听packs of the 1980s (he sold it in the 90s) and old models from that line听still have a used online following similar to Patagonia鈥檚 famous Snap-Ts. His obsession with design and materials is also a big part of the reason the packs are so trusted. Sit down next to him on a chair听lift and he鈥檒l spend the entire ride monologing听about how fit impacts Vo2 max and听the benefits of full-length zippers.
“We have a specialty, and that specialty is helping folk who have serious mission-based needs,听who have to carry听60, 70, and 80 pounds听or more in bad conditions,听someone who had听to use this stuff in the听field and couldn't simply听have it fail on them,”听Gleason says.
The company is still a favorite with the听pros听and the military is its largest customer. They first got noticed in 2003 when a Navy Seal found a pack, loved how it听carried when weighed down, and commissioned a bunch for his team. Word spread from there, and soldiers from multiple sections of the Armed Forces now use their gear.听Hunters love the packs because Gleason used similarly burly designs to create packs that will haul elk meat听out of the backcountry. And a full 80-percent of hot shots in the United States use the packs because the fabrics will take a beating while bushwhacking through forests, plus they carry well while hunched over a shovel, or chainsaw. Several ski patrols across the country use the company鈥檚 airbag to haul听ropes and bombs.
“The frame is comfortable and built well and can handle all that weight, which makes the skiing with that heavy load easier” says , the snow safety director for the Wolf Creek Ski Patrol in Colorado.
Retail stores that sell the new packs include , in Boulder, Colorado and , in Burlington, Vermont. To find others you can visit the company鈥檚 websit
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