Mystery Ranch Pack Question

jdvanstar

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Mar 14, 2017
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Buck City, USA
I'm looking into getting my first MR. I'm torn between the Pop up 28 and the metcalf. It'll be for hiking in to campm with the family, elk hunting in CO and doing some deer/turkey hunting in MI. I like something that will expand to carry meat, camping stuff, etc. but cinch down for daypacking trips. Looks like both the metcalf and the popup will expand with a meatshelf. Any reason to go one over the other?
 
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The Metcalf won’t have lifters like the pop one will. Those are a hard to find aftermarket purchase to add to a NICE frame.
 
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I don’t think any mystery ranch pack has lifters but the new ones. All the MR packs I’ve ever seen with lifters were an aftermarket purchase.
 

rcrfc

FNG
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Sep 4, 2017
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IA
The hunting series packs (Metcalf, Marshall, Pintler, etc) have lifters and a guidelite frame. The Metcalf is a tried and true MR design on a great frame. The Pop up is a great idea, but since its in its first iteration with little feeback from real hunters the Metcalf would be a better choice, IMO.
MR sells just the smaller packs (Pintler, Mule) without the guide lite frame if you want to have some added versatility.
 
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I don’t think any mystery ranch pack has lifters but the new ones. All the MR packs I’ve ever seen with lifters were an aftermarket purchase.

The guidelight frame has some lifters built in and the new hunting packs are built on the guide light. They are backward compatible for the most part but the guide light carries a few inches higher than a Nice frame without lifters.

Blackovis did a nice write up a while back.

http://www.rokslide.com/forums/back...tcalf-vs-nice-metcalf-questions-answered.html
 
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Aug 26, 2014
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I would recommend the purchase of BOTH packs. Evaluate them side-by-side and really determine which one suits you best. Return the other. Extra cost...sure. But you'll know you've got the right rig.
 

Trial153

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Oct 28, 2014
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I have a metcalf, also the pintler, scapegoat 25, and various bags on the nice frame as well. While I can cinch down the bag for day hunts, generally I think it’s too big for that. So for what your describing, deer an d Turkey hunting ect....I think it’s too much pack.
If you wanted a full frame kit I would go with the pintler. However think the pop up 28 sounds like a good fit for you. With it being new your not going to see many reviews yet. I am picking up a pop up 28 try out as well. I think for day trips it looks ideal .
 
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Coming back to your original question. I don’t know the pop up but it looks like a cool idea. 25l is a good day Pack size. I have a crew cab and like the concept of a daypack that can double as a big hauler The Metcalf is another way to approach the same problem. Buy the bigger bag and strap it down in daypack mode.

The challenge I have found is the stripped down and compressed big hauler is not the greatest daypack - bulky, heavy, big frame, lots of strapping and compressing to get in and out of it. The expandable daypack is going to be less efficient of a hauler and will probably Carry less comfortably than a purpose built big hauling Pack. It is also going to be comparatively more heavy in day Pack mode than a pure day Pack. That pop up is 5 lbs empty vs a typical daypack that will be under 3 lbs. you may also have some issues using the pop up for carryon when flying, etc.

In the mystery ranch line up, The pintler is a nice compromise. At 40l it has plenty of daypack potential. You can strap big loads to the meatshelf to hike your camp in and hike you meat out. I used the Kifaru woodsman in that role this year for eastern whitetail hunting. It worked fine although I didn’t fill it up until late in the season when I was hauling a lot of extra clothing.

Short answer is there are a lot of options so there is some wisdom to checking the out in person or if that doesn’t work to buying your top 2-3 and sending back the one you like least.
 
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I’m a huge fan of the crewcab. I ended up having a day pack made for me that fits on my NICE frame. It has a built in meatshelf in the event I have animal down.
 
OP
J

jdvanstar

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Mar 14, 2017
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499
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Buck City, USA
Once again, thanks a bunch for your help. Fairly new to Rokslide and love how willing to help people are (archerytalk isn't always that way)
 

ransom87

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Jul 22, 2014
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West Texas
I had a metcalf and sold it for a pintler. It was way more pack then i needed for 1 to 2 day trips and trying to use it as a day pack there was just to much material, never seemed to cinch down tight enough.
 

Grouser1

FNG
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Jan 6, 2018
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Colorado
If you get a MR pack with the Guidelight frame you can also attach the Mule or Pintler bag if you want to downsize from the Metcalf. A few more options...

-Metcalf Owner
 
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Mar 13, 2017
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I have the metcalf and the Marshall and love them both. The number of straps and buckled can be a little overwhelming especially in daypack mode. Buying the pintler for day/2day trip now that I can get it in a bag only option.


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Count me as one of those who thinks the Metcalf isn't the best bag for using in day-pack mode. It's a superb bag for hauls, but just far too much bag, buckles and strappage while hunting....at least for me. If you must have the ability to carry larger loads and still want daypack capability, it's hard to beat the Pintler. No...the bag itself isn't going to carry a 7 day gear load. You can easily overcome that by using a load cell (think bag of extra gear) between the frame and Pintler bag. I've tried many combos and I haven't found anything more versatile than the Pintler/GL frame setup.

I like the initial looks of the Pop-Up, but I'm just too cautious and skeptical to accept it on appearances. I'd want to see it and evaluate it before buying one to keep. MR builds strong stuff, so I don't think that's an issue here. I would be more curious about fit, comfort, daily usability, capacity, and those little gremlins which don't show up in nice ads and short video clips. Who knows?....it might be THE perfect pack setup.
 

ransom87

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Jul 22, 2014
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I got a pop up 18, received it last friday. The pop up aluminum frame poles are actually pretty thick and pretty stout. I havent been able to get out and test it yet do to weather.

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widnert

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Aug 16, 2017
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Three Forks, MT
Like others have said above, the Pintler sounds more like what you're looking for. The Metcalf would be too much for most of what you're intending to use it for. I haven't seen the Popup models anywhere yet and MR is based right here! Their only outlet in town is Schnee's and I'll probably wander through there in the next week or two and see if they have it by then. But, give the Pintler a hard look. I use it for 1 to 2 day hunts and packing meat and have been very happy with it. Hmmm - reminds me, I need to give it a good scrubbing and get the rest of the blood off of it......
 
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