FirstSpear TV

Archive for the ‘Packs’ Category

Sneak Peek – BZN Special Blend 001 Summit 26 from Mystery Ranch

Wednesday, February 23rd, 2022

Mystery Ranch has been teasing the first of three drops called BZN Special Blend. I present the first, the BZN Special Blend 001 Summit 26 – Black & Orange which is based on a classic Kletterwerks design with a touch of the Ranch thrown in for good measure.

The name itself is pretty cool. About 15 years ago Mystery Ranch created a pack for Navy SEALs called “Dana’s Special Blend.” These fully featured expedition packs are still sought after by military personnel and hikers alike, demanding top dollar. The BZN in the name obviously refers to Bozeman, the town Dana Gleason chose to set down roots as he wandered across country, working his way west from Massachusetts in various outdoor stores. It’s also where these packs are made; right at home in the mothership.

The pack lives up to the name in its basic coolness. It goes way beyond the fact that there are only going to be 250 of these on the street.

The 26 Liter Summit 26 is perfect for running around town. It features a large zippered panel loading pocket with an internal padded laptop sleeve. For those of you who are a bit more adventurous, there’s an internal toggle to hang your hydration reservoir. There’s also a Velcro pile field on the inside of the panel flap to attach your favorite accessories.

Externally, you get two padded straps outfitted with a quite functional sternum strap and a generously padded back with polymer reinforcement for rigidity.

There are a couple of rows of low profile PALS webbing at each side of the bag along with bar tacked webbing down the front of the panel flap, to strap extras on. There’s also a vertically zippered pocket on the panel flap for those items you need to access quickly and it’s furnished with dual webbing haul handles at the top. It’s very well set up for travel and commuting.

The colors are Black with Orange accents, which are not only MR brand colors, but damned practical as well. Not only does the Black hide the dirt of every day carry pretty well, the Orange accents make it stand out from others and gives the inside a glow when you need to find something in the bottom of the pack quickly.

A final note…the zippers. These aren’t just any old zippers. These are YKK IR-compliant zippers. I’d expect nothing less from Mystery Ranch, the entire pack is well made and from the highest quality materials.

Launching 1 March, 2022.

Keep checking www.mysteryranch.com/BZNBuilt which should go live soon with additional info.

MYSTERY RANCH Company Leadership Evolves

Thursday, February 17th, 2022

Founders Maintain Ownership while Assuming Strategic Board Role
Bozeman, Mont. (Feb. 17, 2022) – MYSTERY RANCH, the industry-leading pack company built on a heritage of comfortable load carriage, function, and durability for people who have a mission to accomplish, announces changes to its organizational structure and executive leadership roles. Dana Gleason and Renée Sippel-Baker founded MYSTERY RANCH in 2000 with the vision to build the best load-bearing packs in the world. Twenty-two years later, the founding duo will pass the baton of senior leadership and assume roles as Board of Directors. They will oversee the strategic vision and execution of the annual plan of operation through a new Executive Team structure.

MYSTERY RANCH Owners Dana Gleason and Renée Sippel-Baker
“MYSTERY RANCH forever!” said MYSTERY RANCH Co-Founder Dana Gleason. “For 22 years, we’ve been committed to doing things right. Doing it right means building the best loading bearing packs in the world, meeting our customers’ needs and the needs of the people right here, the Ranchers. We are still a deeply weird company, and our mission remains the same.”

Renée Sippel-Baker echoed Gleason’s sentiment in saying, “We are actually a human resources company that happens to make great backpacks. It’s the people here that make the difference, and together, we make a difference for our customers, and that’s not going to change.” 

In the spirit of meeting the company’s growing needs, Gleason and Sippel-Baker will remain complete owners and oversee the company’s strategic vision. Alex Kutches, the long-time VP of Sales and Marketing, will assume the role of President and will work closely with the Board and the rest of the Executive Team to implement the Board’s strategic direction and execute the annual plan. 

Alex Kutches shared, “We have an excellent team here at MYSTERY RANCH. This team has successfully accomplished our original set of strategic objectives, and we have our sights set on sharing our brand promise with more people across the globe in our core businesses of Outdoor, Military, Hunting, and Fire.”

The new organizational structure will include Bob Freeman as VP Product and Operations and Steve Fink as the VP of Finance. Ben Nobel was recently promoted to Director of Sales for North America’s Outdoor and Hunting business channels.

“What a long, strange trip it’s been.”

~ Jerry Garcia and Dana Gleason

MATBOCK – KIBISIS 2-Day Assault Pack

Wednesday, February 16th, 2022

MATBOCK released a slew of new products at SHOT Show and we are going to start breaking them down here on SSD. First up is the KIBISIS 2-Day Assault Pack.

We are very proud to introduce our two day assault pack which was created to answer several needed requirements across the military branches and Law enforcement.  Some specific requirements were to hold more gear while remaining light weight and water resistant.

The ability to hold a fully loaded helmet while remaining easily accessible and finally to have a smaller modular pouch with a shoulder strap that can be zipped on or off depending on the mission. This bag is so special and versatile we named it the “Kibisis” after the mythical bag that the Greek demi-god Perseus carried Medusa’s head in. The Kibisis is built to last and reinforced so it can also be jumpable making it one of the most versatile 2 day assault bags on the market.

-Contains MATBOCK’s external water seal antenna ports that can be closed when not in use

– Secondary pack for extra storage can also be unzipped and used separately

– Side pouches with compression straps are large enough to hold a standard Nalgene bottle

– Lightweight but durable construction

– Jumpable pack with enough space to support your operations

Specs:

Dimensions: 16.5” H x 11.75” W x 8.5” D
Weights: 2 LBS 3 OZ (992.23 grams)
Volume: 1,769 cubic inches (29L)
Material: Ghost and Ghost light

MATBOCK Products are handmade to order, so lead times can vary. Please contact orders@matbock.com with questions on current production lead times.

Carryology Best In Show Award to Mystery Ranch

Monday, January 31st, 2022

During last week’s Outdoor Retailer Snow Show, Carryology honored Mystery Ranch with the Best In Show Award for their new Bridger Backpack.

The Bridger Backpack was also a nominee for the Outdoor Retailer Innovation Awards. Offered in both men’s and women’s models, the Bridger is available as a 55 or 65 liter pack.

The Bridger Pack relies on an internal spring-steel wire frame.l coupled with the Endurance Yoke and its pocketed shoulder straps.

Features:
– Generous removable lid that converts to a hip sack
– Dual access to main bag
– Drawstring shroud access
– Two full-length zipper access
– Two, large stretch-woven back pockets with inner pockets and an elastic-topped dump pocket
– Dual adjustable tool attach
– Double daisy chains for lashing
– Side and bottom compression straps
– Speed Zip™ sleeping bag compartment with removable divider
– Pocketed waist belt

SHOT Show 22 – Carryology

Thursday, January 27th, 2022

I walk into Outdoor Retailer and who do I immediately run into but Taylor Weldon of Carryology. These guys are moving up in the world with their own booth and everything.

They brought along some of their previous limited edition collaboration packs with some of the best brands out there. If you’re interested in packs, www.Carryology.com is definitely worth your time.

Great to see you guys!

SHOT Show 22 – S O Tech Tactical

Thursday, January 20th, 2022

S O Tech is displaying their as-yet-unnamed small pack which is based on a pack used during the Vietnam war by indigenous forces.

The original ARVN Pack or Indigenous Ricksack had an X-frame made from steel, with a rivet in the middle. S O Tech made theirs from Tegris.

For reference this is a vintage ARVN Pack. you can see its lightweight cotton construction, twin outside pockets and side slots for 1910/M-956 Slide Fasteners.

SHOT Show 22 – 18 Series Bag Company

Thursday, January 20th, 2022

During one of the pre-SHOT Show range events I ran into a new Veteran owned company named 18 Series Bag Company.

Founded by retired Special Forces Soldiers, they set out to create mission specific bags and packs for the various functions on an Operational Detachment – Alpha.

Take for instance the Delta Bag which is a modular medical bag.

In addition to the large, lay flat main bag, it includes a zip-off Assault Bag and removable Fanny Pack. At the interior, there are six color-coded transparent pouches to organize your gear.

Plus, it’s rigged for jumping. While it was built for medical use, it can be configured for a variety of applications such as sUAS or EOD.

The bags are all Berry complaint.

18seriesbags.com

SHOT Show 22 – Mystery Ranch Launches 4 New Light Packs

Wednesday, January 19th, 2022

It’s been awhile since we’ve seen any additions to Mystery Ranch’s Mission line of packs so it is great to see four new light packs.

Clockwise from the top left they are RAID 32, Blackjack LT, Gunfighter 14, and Gunfighter 24.

These will be released in late Q2 in both Berry compliant and international versions.