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  1. #1
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    Default Mystery Ranch Packs

    Has anyone done lengthy backpacking with a Mystery Ranch pack, say a Ravine or a Hover 50? Yes I know they are not UL but I'm willing to trade comfort and durability for UL. I anticipate carrying 30 - 35 lbs on extended sections of the AT. Thanks

    Sent from my VS501 using Tapatalk

  2. #2

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    I have extensive experience with both the Mystery Ranch brand and its earlier incarnation as Dana Designs (designed and owned by the same guy, Dana Gleason).

    My first Dana pack was a Terraplane LTW purchased in October 2002 and used extensively until February 2007 when I upgraded to a Mystery Ranch G6000---and then later a G7000---part of the G series of big load haulers now discontinued.

    My buddy Patman also used a Mystery Ranch Trance pack for many years.

    Let's go down memory lane with some pics---

    44-1 south fork-XL.jpg
    Here's my Dana Terraplane on South Fork Citico Creek around 2003.

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    Here's the Terraplane in action on the BMT climbing up to the Bob with my Pisgah brother Johnny B.

    DSC00682-L.jpg
    I upgrade to my first MR pack in 2007 and this shows a new G6000 pack in Cold Spring Gap on the BMT.

    TRIP 141 126-L.jpg
    Here's the G6000 in action in the Big Frog wilderness.

    Trip 165 006-XL.jpg
    I later upgraded to the G7000 so I could stay out longer and haul more weight.

    TRIP 130 064-L.jpg
    Here's my buddy Patman's smaller MR Trance pack in action in Crowder Camp on the BMT.

    TRIP 127 121-L.jpg
    Here's Patman with his Trance pack, much smaller than my G series packs.

    The big MR packs have one terrible flaw---their hipbelt design. It uses hard plastic stiffeners as "wings" around the outside of the hipbelt and this plastic ended up digging into my hip flesh as the inner padding is minimal. So I dumped the brand and started using a Dan McHale Demo pack while waiting for him to make me a finished pack.

  3. #3

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    I have the Ravine and my wife has the female-specific version. They're great packs - easily the most comfortable yoke on any pack I have. I also have a Coulee 40L which I've used on mult-day trips and like a lot because a mesh panel is nice to have in rainy season.

    The only negative for me is that the pack doesn't ventilate your back well - expect lots of sweat on a hot summer day. Maybe I'm just spoiled by Osprey packs and their trampoline back panel.

  4. #4
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    Default

    Thanks, good info. I'm actually old enough to recall the Dana Designs packs and knew the Dana connection but unfortunately have no way of trying MR backpacks in the NE.

    Sent from my VS501 using Tapatalk

  5. #5
    Registered User Venchka's Avatar
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    Default

    REI is a stocking dealer for Mystery Ranch. 12 months trial period is hard to beat.
    What is a Medium, low mileage, unblemished, Bozeman built Dana Design ArcFlex Terraplane worth to you?
    Wayne

  6. #6

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    At nearly 5 pounds for a 50L pack, their not UL, but if you want a rugged pack you can drop off a cliff, that's the penalty.

    Though I don't see how you'll fit 30-35 pounds into one. I max out with about 20-22 pounds in my 50L pack, just because I can't fit any more junk into it. I have to be really picky in what I put into it. 3-4 days worth of food take ups at least 1/3d of the packs volume. At some point, like leaving town, it all has to fit.
    Follow slogoen on Instagram.

  7. #7

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    I think I'd go with the Stine 62. At about the same weight as the 50L packs, you get 10 more liters and more tie on options. 60L is a common AT thru hiker sized pack.
    Follow slogoen on Instagram.

  8. #8
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Venchka View Post
    REI is a stocking dealer for Mystery Ranch. 12 months trial period is hard to beat.
    What is a Medium, low mileage, unblemished, Bozeman built Dana Design ArcFlex Terraplane worth to you?
    Wayne
    Thanks, I'm looking at the XL hover 50 or Ravine

    Sent from my VS501 using Tapatalk

  9. #9
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Tipi Walter View Post
    So I dumped the brand and started using a Dan McHale Demo pack while waiting for him to make me a finished pack.
    What happened to your SeekOutside pack?
    Sailor

  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sailor (The other one) View Post
    What happened to your SeekOutside pack?
    It failed the 95 lb test (on a long backpacking trip) due to the frame rubbing the back of my hips and the top shoulder yoke digging into my back due to a couple misplaced strap glide buckles.

  11. #11
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    Sorry to hear that.

    Quote Originally Posted by Tipi Walter View Post
    It failed the 95 lb test (on a long backpacking trip) due to the frame rubbing the back of my hips and the top shoulder yoke digging into my back due to a couple misplaced strap glide buckles.
    Sailor

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tipi Walter View Post
    So I dumped the brand and started using a Dan McHale Demo pack while waiting for him to make me a finished pack.
    You will be extremely happy with your McHale pack. I've purchased two packs from Dan McHale. Their not light but they are very comfortable. My latest is a full spectra LBP32, weighs 4lb 2oz. I have a cuben OHM 2 and a few other packs that are alot lighter, but I always go back to my McHale pack.

  13. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by KStover View Post
    You will be extremely happy with your McHale pack. I've purchased two packs from Dan McHale. Their not light but they are very comfortable. My latest is a full spectra LBP32, weighs 4lb 2oz. I have a cuben OHM 2 and a few other packs that are alot lighter, but I always go back to my McHale pack.
    I've already pulled 80 days with the McHale Demo pack and returned it in July so he could finish working on the final pack. It should arrive any day now.

    Here's his Demo pack in action on a recent trip---
    Trip 190 (262)-XL.jpg
    Fully loaded with the boots under the top lid for a trail with many creek crossings.

    Trip 189 (365)-XL.jpg
    The McHale Demo in action---and I really put it to the test.

  14. #14

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    Dana Designs and Mystery Ranch are excellent brands in the tough as nails and well engineered category. I had an old Dana Bomb pack for several years and loved it. The only reason I moved on was a need for a smaller/lighter/simpler design. If I was still carrying heavier loads, any of Dana Gleason's packs would rank highly on my list.

  15. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by CalebJ View Post
    Dana Designs and Mystery Ranch are excellent brands in the tough as nails and well engineered category. I had an old Dana Bomb pack for several years and loved it. The only reason I moved on was a need for a smaller/lighter/simpler design. If I was still carrying heavier loads, any of Dana Gleason's packs would rank highly on my list.
    I used to think this about my Mystery Ranch packs and the "well engineered" part but after thoroughly experiencing their hard hipbelt stiffeners I have to change my opinion of their big load haulers. No pack hipbelt should have ANY such stiffeners, most especially when carrying anything above 65 lbs. My opinion only.

  16. #16
    Registered User Venchka's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by CalebJ View Post
    Dana Designs and Mystery Ranch are excellent brands in the tough as nails and well engineered category. I had an old Dana Bomb pack for several years and loved it. The only reason I moved on was a need for a smaller/lighter/simpler design. If I was still carrying heavier loads, any of Dana Gleason's packs would rank highly on my list.
    The Bozeman built Dana Designs pack that I own is still going strong. The foam inside the mesh back panel disintegrated after several years. Mystery Ranch still had the pattern & replaced it for a reasonable price.
    The consumer backpacking products from Mystery Ranch are an unknown quantity. I believe that they are foreign sourced. That may or may not affect their quality.
    Wayne
    Eddie Valiant: "That lame-brain freeway idea could only be cooked up by a toon."
    https://wayne-ayearwithbigfootandbubba.blogspot.com
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  17. #17

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    That's fair - I haven't used their Terraplane/Astralplane and similar designs, so issues with belt stiffeners are off my radar.

  18. #18

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    Anyone with a Hover?
    Not pack shopping, but who knows what the future holds?
    I'd like to hear about how well the back panel works compared to a ventilated mesh one, and how accessible the water bottle pockets are.
    Has features I don't want or care about, but also ones that I do, and are becoming rare on lighter weight packs.
    The rest of my stuff is so light that weight simply doesn't matter any more.
    I'll happily trade a pound or two for durability and features I want when the time comes for a new pack, but not at the expense of comfort.


    Ventilation is a must for me. I still have a Mystery Ranch Dragonslayer that comes out occasionally for an overnighter when there's some rappelling thrown in. In that case, I deal with it out of necessity, but run so hot that when I gave it another shot for winter hiking a few years ago my back was wet wearing just a R1 hoody. The high was 22F that day. In warmer weather, I have a stream of sweat flowing down my butt...
    Also had a monstrous Dana Designs Astralplane Overkill, years ago. "Overkill" is right, especially now that my load for a week in the mountains weighs barely a third what it did for a summer overnighter with old school gear and the kitchen sink thrown in. Back then, the military had me accustomed to hammering out lots of miles with heavier loads and far inferior packs, though, so I thought it was wonderful.

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