Mystery Ranch Sawtooth 45

[MZac]

Looking for a day pack with the possibility of 1-2 overnights. Anyone have some real world experience with this pack? Negatives?

I'm 6'3 and 190ish lbs. Back issues and my size seems to fall right in the middle of a medium/large. Comfort is a priority over cost. Open to other bag suggestions as well.

I'm new to hunting and plan to use it for spring bear/turkey day hunts as well as general hiking (overnights will have a good base camp so no need to pack tent etc... for now). My real goal this year is to get one deer in the fall. I like the idea of being able to potentially add the beartooth bag and use the same frame down the line.

Is there a store in the lower mainland/Fraser valley/north/south Okanagan that stocks this model? Would love to try it on and don't need it for a few months. Thanks in advance.

[MZac]

An update in my search for my first day hunting/up to two night hunting backpack:

It seems these Mysyery Ranch packs are not easy to come accross in the lower mainland.* Finding your size and colour choice in stock may prove difficult.

Valhalla Pure Outfitters (VPO) is the only listed retailer in the LMD for Mystery Ranch on their website.

The Vancouver and Squamish VPO had none in stock and the ladies I spoke to on the phone told me they never stock them.

The Abbotsford VPO had one Marshall in subalpine stocked last week but it's now gone. Super cool pack, but it's huge and not what I'm looking for at this stage. They told me they placed an order into Mystery Ranch that isn't slated to arrive until mid July 2021.* The order includes 5 Marshalls, 4 Beartooths, 4 Metcalfs, and 4 Sawtooths.* For those looking for next September, they could have a good selection of packs. Staff here were great to deal with and very helpful.

Abbotsford Cabellas currently has two Medium popup 38 packs and two Large Metcalf packs in stock.* As I played around with these packs and tried them on, it became more clear to me that I will be a size Large (contact from mystery ranch later that morning confirmed and they suggested a large given my 21.5 inch torso even though I'm at the bottom end of a large in the waist).*

It also became clear that the popup 38 isn't what I'm looking for due to size being a bit small and the overall feedback I've read about the popup frame. I didn't like how the bag doesn't snug up to the frame the way the Metcalf did. The Metcalf is a very interesting inbetween day pack and longer term back country pack (Reviews speak to this and alot of folks rave about its versatility, no surprise that it's their most popular pack after checking it out). If I were to give an initial imoression negative is that it felt really busy on the outside. Lots of straps and somewhat unintuitive access to the bag. That said I'm sure I'd get used to it quick and it was a great looking and quality feeling bag/frame.

Great North Precision in Kelowna shows 8 Sawtooth 45 packs in stock along with 7 beartooth and 2 selways.* I'm curious to check them out first hand and I think I will prefer the duffle style opening on the sawtooth/beartooth along with some more internal organization pockets.* I'm hoping I'm happy with the size of the Sawtooth because it's not that much bigger than the popup 38.

I'm probably overthinking this like I often do, but here are a few things I'm still unsure about:
- The size of the bag - hoping the sawtooth is just right;
- Camo or solid colour?* I go back and forth...
-* Overlooking another quality brand that will suit my needs?

I'm heading to Kelowna on the weekend and it will be nice to see and try the other three bags in person. Update to come and decision to come.

[Sitkaspruce]

Give Mark a shout at Nechako Outdoors, that's where I got my Pintler.

I would not get hung up about camo; I am not really fan of camo packs, but I didn't want to wait around for the exact colour, so I got one in Optifade Subalpine and it doesn't bother me.

If I was to do it again, I would go with either with the Selway or the Terrframe 50, which I did have but sent back as I really wanted the Pintler. The Pintler is just a little but too small for me and my needs. Would sell the Pintler if i could find either of these two packs. Really like the Terraframe as it a good size pack and is more designed for backpacking, so has a few more extras.

Good luck in your choice!

Cheers

SS

[MZac]

Thanks SS. You are the second person to contact me and speak really highly of the Selway, and I admittedly haven't looked at the TerraFrame. The Sawtooth is about 7 litres bigger than the Pintler, which capacity wise looks very similar to the popup 38 that I found too small in person.

It appears that Mystery Ranch has discontinued the Selway - I can't find it on their website and found something that said it was discontinued. I do see that Nechako Outdoors has one in stock that's in my size so after checking them out in person I may be contacting Mark.

It should come down to in person size, how the pack opens, and the internal organization pockets - T-Zippers vs Duffle bag.

[walker1985]

I have the sawtooth and I've only had it for 1 season but I find for day hunts it's great. I haven't gotten into overnight backpacking hunts yet but if I did feel like it was a little small for multiple day hunts but maybe I just need to learn how to pack a little better. Quality is fantastic with the zippers and load lifters and it sits very comfortably. I feel like a good combo might be the sawtooth for day hunts and the beartooth for multi day hunts. Just my 2 cents