Mistery Ranch or Eberlestock

[2tins]

Any one using a MR Crew Cab or an Eberlestock J-34? Looking for a day pack that can haul meat if need be and I'm interested in these two packs. If anyone has info good or bad about either pack I would appreciate it. Thanks 2tins.

[shallowH2O]

maybe some of the PG guys have them and you could hook up with them and take a look

[troutseeker]

I had a J104 and now have a MR. I am also fortunate to have both a Crewcab and a 6500. The crewcab is great as a daypack and it can easliy be used to haul loats of meat. It can also do as a pack for a week's trip.

I found the MR fit me way better than the Eberlestock and carries a load with better stability. The J104 had a habit of kinda folding onto itself.

Sorry no experience with the J-34.

[Devilbear]

I have a fully rigged, with various extra pockets, etc., MR CC and it is THE BOMB for my general daypack hunting and for two-night hunts on weekends, as well.

I have seen only one Eberlestock pack, so, am not the most experienced with those, but, the workmnship was not even close to that of MR's packs. Each to his own, I have owned/used a LOT of packs and MR and the older versions, Dana Design-Bozeman, are the finest production packs I have ever seen.

[blacklab]

Does anybody in BC stock either the MR or Eberlestock, or are they strictly mail order?

[swampthing]

The eberlestock used to be everywhere. I have never seen a mystery ranch in person. I heard a rumor that the J107 is discontinued. That can only mean they are coming out with a new model. I run the 107 and like that it can be made small for a large daypack and you can open it up for meat hauling. I find the quality is excellent, so if a mystery ranch makes it look poor, you should check that out.

[Hombre]

Does anybody in BC stock either the MR or Eberlestock, or are they strictly mail order?

Wholesale sports in Langley had some Eberlestock prior to Christmas.
Last time I checked they were sold out , but had more on the way.

[snareman1234]

Eberlestock is in Kelowna at this sites sponsor, Grouse River Outfitters, nice store

[358mag]

If you want the best save your $$ and buy a Mistery Ranch Crew Cab like the old Guy D-B says its a "The Bomb-Ticket"
Can load my MR CC up for a 3-4 day trip and still have room for a 1-2 deer of a elk 1/4 try that with your Eberlstock
after all thats just my opinion cant prove it with Stats just boot tracks on the mountains

[Howy]

I owned a j34 for one season and flogged it. It has no back sheet so when it's loaded it turns into a barrell on you back. Plus as you load it it expands out moving the weight further from your body and becomes very uncomfortable. The suspension is ok but not like the MR. 4 of my friends have had j107s and they either got rid of them or don't use them. I suspect others feel this way but are too pissed they spent a shit ton of money on an inferior product so they tollerate it's short comings.I have yet to meet someone who owns one that would recommend it over the MR. My 2bits

[dana]

Howy,
What do you consider a $hit ton of money. $250-300 for a pack doesn't seem like a $hit ton to me. Every person is different and every pack is different. I happen to like the Eberlestock. I have a J105. I have personally packed out over 15 animals in it and never had any issues. On the other hand, I've known guys that say it doesn't fit them right. I've also have friends that have MR's and say the same thing. One trip and they never want to use the MR again. There is no one pack out there on the market that makes 100-130 lbs of loaded meat fell good. That, you can be certain of.

[mark]

I tried on the J-107 several times from different people....just didnt feel right to me at all!
The second I tried on a MR nice combo I was sold! I packed out 3 critters this past season with loads 120-135lbs with no discomfort whatsoever!

My advise to anyone is to try to borrow a pack from someone in your area, load it up and give it a good hike!

[Howy]

Dana:
I'm glad to hear your finances are in good order. I consider the $300 i spent on my j34 a "$"hit ton because it was a waste of money. I would gadly pay more for a better product and not consider it a "$"hit ton. He was looking for information or people with expirence with the pack. I provided info based on my and my friends expirience with Eberlestock J34 and 107 packs. I am sorry if it bothers you that i don't think it as a great product. However my post was more directed to the guy asking. If your opinion or expiriences differ then you should tell him. That was mine.

[Rob]

Im loving my 107. Ordered through Cabealas. Bought a $20 2l platypus for it. Ive only been packing about 40lbs with it on my hikes but it feels really good.

[whitetailsheds]

Howy,
There is no one pack out there on the market that makes 100-130 lbs of loaded meat fell good. That, you can be certain of.

Damn......that's actually one of the points I looked at MR for....the number of guides that have reported packing that type of weight, and none, or very few complaints or issues. Can't beat that type of review from so many.

[dana]

Dana:
I'm glad to hear your finances are in good order. I consider the $300 i spent on my j34 a "$"hit ton because it was a waste of money. I would gadly pay more for a better product and not consider it a "$"hit ton. He was looking for information or people with expirence with the pack. I provided info based on my and my friends expirience with Eberlestock J34 and 107 packs. I am sorry if it bothers you that i don't think it as a great product. However my post was more directed to the guy asking. If your opinion or expiriences differ then you should tell him. That was mine.

I did just that. 15+ animals in my Eberlestock since 2006 ranging from moose to muleys to whitetails to cougars to bears to goats. I have packed a $hit-ton of shed antlers in it as well over that time, plus numerous multi day backpack trips solo and with the family. At $250 bucks, I think it has more than paid for itself. That there is my experience. You said "I suspect others feel this way but are too pissed they spent a shit ton of money on an inferior product so they tollerate it's short comings." And I was responding to that. I was also responding to the fact that I have good friends that have MR's and they feel just as strongly against MR as you do against Eberlestock. I really could care less if you think one is better than the other, when it boils down to it, people are shaped differently and packs fit them differently. There is not one pack on the market that is going to please everyone. That is my point.

[dana]

Damn......that's actually one of the points I looked at MR for....the number of guides that have reported packing that type of weight, and none, or very few complaints or issues. Can't beat that type of review from so many.

A couple of my hunting buddies had pretty bad experiences with the MR this past year. Like all new products, it takes a few years before you start hearing about the bad experiences. The same can be said about the Eberlestock. When I first researched them, I couldn't find a bad review. They were pretty much the best on the market at the time. Far from an inferior product as Howy says. I'm sure as the next 'in' pack comes out, many will suddenly drop the MR and jump to the latest and greatest thinkin that somehow, some day there will be the ideal pack that carries 100 pounds like a feather.

[stoneguide]

I packed out 3 critters this past season with loads 120-135lbs with no discomfort whatsoever!


I know MR makes a decent pack, but like a few others, I have yet to see any packs that will make 130lbs give no discomfort what so ever. Ive packed ove 20 full deboned sheep, horns and many with life size capes off the mountain, around 8 goats, a few elk, couple grizz hides and a couple moose all plus day gear and have not found one pack that makes any weight over 120lbs comfortable. If a guy wasnt going more than a couple hundred yards then sure but any farther its not pleasent weights.

Not saying that your weights are this way but you can usually subtract 20 - 30lbs off what many guys say they are packing with them heavy loads.
SG

[akyne]

A couple of my hunting buddies had pretty bad experiences with the MR this past year. Like all new products, it takes a few years before you start hearing about the bad experiences. The same can be said about the Eberlestock. When I first researched them, I couldn't find a bad review. They were pretty much the best on the market at the time. Far from an inferior product as Howy says. I'm sure as the next 'in' pack comes out, many will suddenly drop the MR and jump to the latest and greatest thinkin that somehow, some day there will be the ideal pack that carries 100 pounds like a feather.

Too true, saw it happen with the Badlands packs, they were all the rage for a short while and then we started hearing about all the problems people were having with zippers breaking, the internal frames in the 4500 disintegrating mid-hunt etc. My BL Superday is a sharp looking pack hanging from the rack, but it has not held up in the field.

Upon initial examination I wasn't overly impressed with the eberlestock packs. I certainly know more than a few people who swear by them, Dana you see to have had good luck, time will tell if they end up as just another "fad".

...that being said, I have since purchased a MR NICE 6500 and Load Sling, and Mr. Gleasons decades of experience is immediately evident. I think the MR packs are in a league of their own and are here to stay.

[akyne]

I know MR makes a decent pack, but like a few others, I have yet to see any packs that will make 130lbs give no discomfort what so ever. Ive packed ove 20 full deboned sheep, horns and many with life size capes off the mountain, around 8 goats, a few elk, couple grizz hides and a couple moose all plus day gear and have not found one pack that makes any weight over 120lbs comfortable. If a guy wasnt going more than a couple hundred yards then sure but any farther its not pleasent weights.


Absolutely, but I don't think too many guys are kidding themselves that packing out that kind of weight is ever going to be comfortable, it's more about finding a pack that can handle the load without coming apart halfway down the mountain. From my experience, the Mystery Ranch and Barneys packs are in a league of their own in terms of having a robust enough frame to get the job done.

[BromBones]

My advise to anyone is to try to borrow a pack from someone in your area, load it up and give it a good hike!

That's a good way to go about it.

You can fit a new pack in the store and think it will work for you, but until you've lugged some weight around in it over different terrain, you don't know how it rides. I used a buddies Badlands OX frame pack for hauling some moose this past season. I think that pack was tailored to fit me, handled the weight nicer than any pack I've used. I've got one coming in the mail as we speak.

Also noticed that one mans idea of comfort might vary from the next. Take my old man for example - you could bungee cord a wooden crate to his back and fill it with mud, and he'd praise what a fine invention it is. Yet some guys will piss and moan with 30 lbs in a daypack after walking 4 km, and think the pack is no good...

[Devilbear]

I have used Dana Gleason's packs since 1978 and for much of my employment as well as for recreation; they are among the oldest original designs on the contemporary market and I have never had a problem with any of the many I have owned/used. ANYTHING can fail and often does under the harsh conditions of BC backpack hunting, but, MR packs have served me well for so many years while all of the others I have tried, i.e., US-made Gregory Denali Pro, Kifaru Longhunter Rendevous, various Camptrails, Fjallraven Expedition, original Karrimores from the UK either were painful after 50-70 lbs. or fell apart in less than 3 years.

MR packs take a little time to "breakin" and also need to be correctly fitted, as do other packs, but, since I sold gear as my final job before retiring at 55, I have no problem in fitting my own and other people's packs or boots properly.

I agree with Stoneguide, most people tend to over-estimate the weight of the loads they carry and NO pack is always totally comfy with an honest 100+ lb. load. That said, from age 59 to my current 64, I have carried a weighed 90 lb.s in my MR BDSB, the original Kodiak, but, with a stiffer frame and an honest 100 lbs. in my Nice packs, of which I have two.

This, while not "easy" is not painful and is light years better than packing 140 lbs. of steel mild can plus 10 gals. of water on a Trapper Nelson No 3 at 6000+ ft. to my old fire lookouts.....mind you, I WAS a "little" tougher in my 20s! :)

MR packs really are the best made and most functional packs I have owned and only a custom McHale from Seattle is a little better...and, a lot more coin!

[Gateholio]

I tried on the J-107 several times from different people....just didnt feel right to me at all!
The second I tried on a MR nice combo I was sold! I packed out 3 critters this past season with loads 120-135lbs with no discomfort whatsoever!

My advise to anyone is to try to borrow a pack from someone in your area, load it up and give it a good hike!

My experience was similar, except reversed!

I bought a MR6500 and used it for a year and then was considering an Eberlestock pack for 1 or 2 day trips, so I borrowed a friends to try it out. Didn't feel as good at all, so I stuck with one of my other packs for daytrips, used the 6500 for anythign more, and bought a load hauler for the MR, which I attached to the frame and also attached the top pack and a couple of pouches for a multi purpose day hunting pack with a meat hauler provision. Light loads under 50 lbs I can barely tell I am carrying with the NICE frame.:-D

[mark]

I know MR makes a decent pack, but like a few others, I have yet to see any packs that will make 130lbs give no discomfort what so ever. Ive packed ove 20 full deboned sheep, horns and many with life size capes off the mountain, around 8 goats, a few elk, couple grizz hides and a couple moose all plus day gear and have not found one pack that makes any weight over 120lbs comfortable. If a guy wasnt going more than a couple hundred yards then sure but any farther its not pleasent weights.

Not saying that your weights are this way but you can usually subtract 20 - 30lbs off what many guys say they are packing with them heavy loads.
SG

When I said no discomfort, I meant no excessive pressure points, painful spots etc....no flexing in the packs frame like ive experienced with other packs.
By no means is any load over 100 lbs easy or comfy, but as soon as the pack came off my body felt fine, so sore spots, or even a sore back!

BTW when I packed out my whitetale, I weighed my pack at the taxidermists shop at 135 lbs on a bathroom scale that seemed bang on the money, (with a couple witness's!) The 2 elk I hauled this year were very similar loads! ;-)