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Tag "packs"

Here’s one we’ve been itching to tell you about since we saw it at Shot. The Mystery Ranch Overload is the Clark Kent of backpacks. It looks pretty mild mannered just sitting there — but unclip a few buckles, and the frame opens up like a taco to reveal an adjustable area that is ideal for carrying heavy and awkward items such as mortar system parts or ammo cans. This arrangement makes the load more manageable because the weight of the “overloaded” equipment is carried centered and close to the back, instead of strapped to the outside/top/front of the pack.

Here’s the man himself to explain his creation. There are few photos below showing the rig hauling some Marine Corps mortar tubes and base plates. The bag alone weighs 4.5 lbs, holds about 4,200 cubes, costs about $389 and should be in stock by early April. If you already have a NICE frame (standard or BVS), your good-to-go. Otherwise you’ll need to shell out for one.

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SAER

Mystery Ranch showed us two of their newest designs, the SAER and the LD Alice. Check out out the photos and info in the captions:

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LinchpinThe Camelbak Linchpin is a HAWG upgrade featuring a Mystery Ranch Futura harness, side pockets, a front stash pocket and an admin panel up front. Using a 100-oz. reservoir and offering 1,850 cubes of cargo capacity, the Linchpin falls between the HAWG and Motherlode. The Futura harness allows the user to fit the harness to their torso height and make adjustments for wearing with or without body armor. Available in May.

Linchpin Features:

  • 1850 cubic inch capacity.
  • Side pockets designed to carry up to three M16 magazines each.
  • Glasses or goggle pocket.
  • Compressible overflow storage.
  • Outer flat map pocket.
  • Internal admin pocket.
  • Under-arm tube routing.
  • Dual antenna ports.
  • Top grab handle.
  • Velcro name tape panel.

Transport

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Tactical Tailor is known for its lineup of nylon equipment, and the past few years it has shown large growth in size and operations.  As this is being written, its store front is being completely gutted, remodeled and should be ready soon as a modern showcase of how far it has come over the years.

This year brings out a new line of packs from the Tactical Tailor crew, and we’ve had a chance to play around with some of them over the past month or so.  The following gives the specs for the packs, as well as pictures shot by the Tactical Tailor crew.  I doubt that living out of a pack will ever be enjoyable, and humping a fully loaded, large-frame pack isn’t something that most people look forward to, but this new beast does a good job of spreading the weight around to the right places.  The longest I’ve worn it is 25-30 minutes, which isn’t the same as an all-day trip, but it gave me a general feel for this new beast — and it feels good.

Hit the link for all the specs and more pictures.

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CamelbakUACamelBak’s “Urban Assault” backpack is a medium-sized bag designed for tactically minded city-dwellers who want to carry a lot of gear, a laptop, and water on their missions in the urban jungle.

If you don’t wear a tie to work every day — or you do, and you don’t mind looking like a college kid — this backpack can work as a great daily briefcase, especially if you’re commuting by train or bus. Pockets, sleeves and admin pouches secure loose papers, folders, pens and just about anything else, plus the dedicated laptop case is ideal for the expeditionary office drone. At 1850 cubic inches, it’s also large enough for a few gadgets or gym clothes.

If you’re getting ready to ship out to the sandbox, or looking for something to take on a hike across Death Valley, this may not be your first choice. The Urban Assault isn’t designed to accept CamelBak’s trademark suck-tube water pouches hydration bladder, instead setting aside two side pockets for its flip-up tube, Better Bottle water bottles.

Let’s take a closer look at the bag to see if it’s got what you’re looking for.

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ProductThe new Mystery Ranch Big Horn is the 3-Day-Assault pack’s big brother. Similar to their recreational Big Sky pack, the militarized bag is decked-out with a “stuffit” pocket (a.k.a. beaver tail), a beefed up suspension system and about 1000 more cubic inches inside for a total of 3000 cubes.

X-Frame is MR’s internal frame system. It consists of a couple of bars that cross and form a stressed frame, holding the pack and it’s contents up. There are a few pockets and a hydration bladder sleeve in the otherwise wide-open main compartment.

Outside, the removable waist pads slip over the waist strap and lock in place with a combination of Velcro and a tri-glide on the pack’s waist belt. The waist belt can be folded and stowed neatly up inside the pack when not needed, but you’ll have to pull the waist pads off to make this happen. As on the 3DA, there’s also PALS webbing on the sides for a couple of extra pouches, water bottle pockets and water resistant zippers.

Weighing in at 5 3/4 pounds, it’s a beefy pack. But, it’s bomber built up in Bozeman, Montana, and backed by a no BS lifetime warranty. The $390 pack just shipped and is available in Multicam, coyote and foliage.

More pics, including the guts, after the jump.

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Mystery Ranch
Longbow and Kingcab

Longbow, Fall 09, $189
Kingcab, Fall 09, $285

Mystery Ranch showed us a couple of new packs. The first is a new take on their Crew Cab, open bay load carrier. The Kingcab combines the heavy duty NICE frame with the versatility of the Crew Cab and adds a large, rigid PALS field on the back that will carry another pack. MR suggests a medic might use this arrangement to carry a litter in the Kingcab while strapping an assault pack to the back for fast access to medical supplies.

The Longbow is a thin, tall 2200cu in 3-zip pack that attaches to a MR NICE frame. The outside of the Longbow is mostly clean with one lid pocket and 6 compression straps and a large amount of organization on the inside with 2 long reservoir pockets and 4 internal detail pockets. The longbow would be a good choice for attaching to the Kingcab, because then you could have a large ruck that you could break down into an assault pack by taking the Kingcab off and attaching the longbow directly to the NICE frame. The photo shows a Longbow attached to a Kingcab on a NICE frame.

The Longbow is $189 weighs 2lbs 4oz w/o frame and 6lb 8oz with a NICE frame
The Kingcab is $285 and weighs 3lbs 9oz w/o frame and 7lbs 13oz with a NICE frame

Eagle Creek Cicada 28L

Spring 2010, $150

The Cicada is a freshly designed bag that will keep your stuff dry thanks to the raincover-like top. It’s even got a lock to prevent casual theft during TDY travel.

  • Split Wing cover that’s weather/theft resistant with a Ratchet Lock buckle
  • Hold’s a 17″ laptop
  • Zippered top/panel load main compartment access
    Padded laptop compartment/hydration sleeve
  • Smart Travel Security organization
  • Two pockets for electronic chargers/cords
  • Dual access padded/fleece-lined pocket for sunglasses or electronics
  • Exterior compression straps for managing the load
  • Molded foam back panel with contoured shoulder straps and sternum strap
  • Internal HPDE frame sheet with aluminum stay
  • Tuck-away waist strap
  • Water and abrasion resistant Bi-Tech™ material on bottom

Arc’teryx Aerios 7

Spring 2010, $89

The Aerios is a superlight trail running pack at 14 oz that offers 425 cubic inches of storage. Enough for a water bladder, snack, first-aid kit and some raingear bungeed to the outside.

  • Rigid mesh backpanel and perforated straps for airflow
  • Panel loading
  • Waistband can be positioned on chest to control bouncing
  • Side stretch-mesh pockets
  • Made with 100d & 420d coated fabrics
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Assault packs have come a long way from the ubiquitous A-III style 3-Day Assault Pack. Military lore would tell you the A-III style was first designed in the 1980′s for use by naval welders to carry their tools in and out of the bowels of half-built ships in southern Virginia. Operators of the day saw the bag, recognized its utility and adopted it.

Advances in material and design have lead to a crop of new packs that will more than take care of you for a day or two in the field. These new designs offer advances in integrated hydration systems, ergonomic design, and highly engineered fabrics and frame materials. We chose 17 packs that represent some of these advances, threw them in a pick-up truck and drove a few hours to an undisclosed military installation so we could get feedback straight from the line.

Hit the jump for the GearScout primer on assault packs.

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Skycrane
Although it’s not a product of Cybertron, the Eberlestock Skycrane is a highly adaptable backpack designed with the long-gun shooter in mind. Made from 1000 denier fabric, the 5500 cubic inches of storage doesn’t even include the signature rifle scabbard for an A3SS sniper dragbag. It’s also got a removable shooting pad and a removable patrol pack. The heart of the scalable pack system is a 2400 cubic inch internal frame pack that grows to hold 7600 cubes. You can get the kit for $560, or order it without the drag bag and save $100.

Update: Added bigger pics after the jump.

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