Since legendary designer Dana Gleason launched Mystery Ranch in 2000, the company has designed backpacks with a focus on what it calls "load carriage." That is, how a bag feels when bearing awkward, irregular loads. When you're a wildland firefighter, emergency responder, member of the military, backcountry hunter, or a failure-is-not-an-option backpacker or climber, "necessities only" can still translate to carrying a lot. These are the people who Mystery Ranch makes bags for. Even though the Galligator, Scree, and Radix, bring the ounce count down, these bags don't abandon the brand's longstanding principles.
As with every bag Mystery Ranch makes, each of this new batch has a different use case in mind. The Gallagator takes its best shot at versatility. Available in 10, 15, 20, and 25-liter sizes—weighing between 0.9 lbs and 1.4 lbs—the minimalist Galligator is made of durable recycled fabric and designed for easy carry and quick access, making it suitable for day hiking, runs, bike commuting, and travel. Central to the design is running vest-style shoulder straps with pockets that can fit a phone, camera, or snacks. Bungees and daisy chain lash points on every size make it hard to call the Galligator bare bones.
Mystery Ranch Scree, a lightweight technical mountain pack
The updated Scree is a lightweight technical mountain pack.
The Scree edges closer to true UL ethos. Available in 22 and 33-liter sizes, it's a technical pack for scrambling, climbing, and moving quickly through rugged terrain. It's a pack for a strike mission to a nearby peak, or a quick overnight out and back. Mystery Ranch says it's also a pack for hauling only the essentials, but the company still gave it an adjustable padded harness system, a cinch top, and plenty of compression straps for dialing in your load. The 22-liter version is just under two pounds and the 33 is 3.3 lbs, but—in a nod to the DIY modularity at the core of ultralight design—you can remove its hip belt and aluminum frame to dial it down further if you’re really a weight weenie.
Rounding out the trio is the Radix. The Radix is for outdoor overnighters lasting single or multiple days and it's available in 31, 47, and 57-liter sizes to suit the length of your trip. Instead of taking another pack in its catalog and paring it down to reduce weight, the company's designers started fresh to make a backpacking pack that has the qualities of an ultralight bag with the added benefit of a frame.
The Radix might not have a specific pocket and zipper for every item you want to carry, but it does have three huge external dump pockets with a quick cinch closure and of course, a fully adjustable padded harness system. If you do want to slim it down, the frame, waist belt, and some compression straps are removable. And the bag's compression straps and the bungee cords that cinch its pockets are repairable, too. All three sizes are made with Ultra-PE Birdseye and recycled 100D Robic Ripstop fabric, materials that are durable and light enough to help bring final weigh-outs to 3.1, 3.5, and 3.8 lbs, respectively.
