Mystery ranch Metcalf: worth the cash?

[CampRipleyLF]

Try it before you buy it as yoke and belt fit matter more than who made it. Lots of great packs, I found KUIU to be great for me after years of great service from the MR Crew Cab, but there are now many top manufacturers that make hunting specific backpack hunting packs.
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Also check out Camofire and classifieds, MR often shows up in both for decent savings. Good luck

Agreed, if you have to option, try them on! Plenty of great brands out there like stone glacier, mystery ranch, kuiu, etc. The fit is key and it you can try them on!

 

[Wheaty17]

You won't be sorry about your Metcalf purchase. I take mine with sand bags up the hill every week. It is very comfy. Might want to buy some Kifaru or Kuiu organizer bags. Not many pockets in the Metcalf.

 

[Farmingdales Finest]

Don't overlook other brands besides the "hunting" type packs. There are many that can handle heavy loads, and cost 1/2 the price. Also shop the used market to save some cash as well.

What Bambi said even within Mystery Ranch. I just bought the MR Glacier from Moosejaw.com.

It is about the same advertised size as the Metcalf. It looks like a smaller version of the Marshall and is rated to carry 90 lbs. The Metcalf is rated to 150 lbs and has the load shelf. I am not convinced that is worth $175 at retail. But then I got 30% off so I only paid $250. I have been doing weighted cardio carrying 50 lbs and honestly barely feel anymore weight than carrying 25-30 lbs. Its a great pack. If I need more space I can do a couple things. Take the sleeping bag out of its compartment and strap it to the outside the pack and then the only thing that I own that would be in the sleep pad and food so I could carry an elk quarter inside the pack and not have to make space. If need be I could add a Grab It to lash the game bag on the outside too all for a huge savings with as much weight as I would want to carry.

Good luck with whatever you do!

 

[805Bowhunter]

I have been using the metcalf now for over a year and it is fabulous. As others have said though, more than the brand is a good fit. One thing you can do as well is if you sign up for the mailing list through BlackOvis, you receive a coupon that can be used on any products. I believe it is 10%. Wont make a huge world of difference but $50 is $50. I believe they have free shipping too. Best of luck

 

[speedyburd33]

I bought the Metcalf from GoHunt.com but haven't used it yet. To those of you who have one, what is the maximum number of days of gear/supplies you've been able to pack in with it?

 

[fmnjr]

Haven't used mine yet either. But it's rated at 4,333 cubic inches and I remember reading somewhere that rule of thumb for backpacking is 1,000 cubic inches/day so it's worth a 4 day trip maybe if it's maxed out?

 

[Farmingdales Finest]

Here is the Terraframe 80 from MR. All of the options of the Metcalf with better organization for way less money. Just can't swap packs on the frame.

https://www.moosejaw.com/moosejaw/s...Terraframe-80-Bag_10365858_10208_10000001_-1_

 

[BishopB7]

I bought the Metcalf from GoHunt.com but haven't used it yet. To those of you who have one, what is the maximum number of days of gear/supplies you've been able to pack in with it?

5 days for me with my metcalf, and I had packed according to this number. Pack can definitely hold enough supplies for a longer stay. I think with regards to staying this number of days or more, and using any brand of pack in this volume range it really starts to come down to one’s own comfort levels and experience levels of what is needed to “comfortably” stay any duration. Getting efficient at knowing your creature comforts, and how many oz. you can EFFICIENTLY carry on your back (including an animal) are the main things to consider. One more thing is get familiar with your pack! Know how to use every latch and buckle, know how to separate the pack from the frame before you get an animal down, etc. Just another way to be efficient.

 

[805Bowhunter]

I bought the Metcalf from GoHunt.com but haven't used it yet. To those of you who have one, what is the maximum number of days of gear/supplies you've been able to pack in with it?

Ive done 15 with the Metcalf but with a bit of a "modification" to the pack using the load shelf as my place to carry all food. Honestly looking back, I probably could have stretched it to 20 if I had the time off work and done more detailed planning with regard to calorie efficiency. I took a StoneGlacier load cell dry bag, link below, filled it with all of my food for the entire trip, and used the load shelf to carry it. It was an awesome setup (albeit pretty heavy pack weight going in) especially because when I got to where I was going to setup my "base camp," I could simply take out the food I needed for the day or spike camp, and immediately just leave the food/dry bag hanging in a tree. Its about as simple as it gets. The dry bag is 2500 cubic inches and $34. As long as you have water close by, the dry bag will allow you a significant addition of days if you utilize the metcalf this way. Honestly the bag can serve multiple uses on a long backpack in which is a huge benefit.

https://www.stoneglacier.com/collections/accessories/products/load-cell-dry-bag