Mystery Ranch
Mystery Ranch Sawtooth 45
Mystery Ranch's day-to-overnight meat hauler, refreshed for 2025 on the new MYSTERIUM frame with lighter Robic Kodra ripstop and a weatherproof CORDURA 5PM coating. The U-shaped 270-degree zipper opens the bag flat, and the patented Overload shelf turns a 43-liter day pack into a legitimate elk-quarter hauler. A 63-liter Sawtooth 65 joined the line in 2025 for multi-day trips.
Specifications
Features
Pros
- ✓Man Makes Fire scored it 4.9/5 and called it 'near perfect' after 120+ miles — a roomy daypack, a capable overnighter, and an excellent load-hauling hunting backpack in one.
- ✓The Overload shelf genuinely hauls elk quarters between frame and bag, with the long-term reviewer estimating 75-85 lb loads carry comfortably — huge capability for a 5 lb day pack.
- ✓The U-shaped 270-degree zipper gives wide-open, suitcase-style access and can even be worked from the side while wearing the pack — a repeated advantage over top-loading rivals.
- ✓The 2025 MYSTERIUM refresh swapped to lighter 330D Robic Kodra with a CORDURA 5PM weatherproof coating; Outdoor Life's testing found the coating kept contents dry and the fabric shrugged off abuse.
- ✓Outdoor Life praised the five-piece segmented hipbelt and flexible carbon-stay frame, writing that a loaded pack 'barely felt like wearing' — weight distribution is a class strength.
- ✓One of the highest-rated packs on Mystery Ranch's own site at 4.9 stars across 331 owner reviews.
- ✓Organization beats minimalist day haulers: 11 pockets including internal mesh, front organizational pockets, and MOLLE webbing on the hipbelt.
- ✓Built-in compression straps carry a bow or rifle cleanly for hands-free hiking, and the adjustable yoke across four frame sizes dials in fit that one-size whitetail packs can't match.
Cons
- ✗Frame squeak near the shoulders and hips was Outdoor Life's headline complaint — noise they warned 'could be a deal breaker' on a final stalk.
- ✗At 5.1 lbs it is heavy for a day pack — a Stone Glacier Avail 2200 weighs 3.5 lbs and a Kifaru Minikeg 2.9 lbs, and the weight penalty rides along on every hunt that doesn't end in a packout.
- ✗As of mid-2026 it is out of stock direct at mysteryranch.com with only a waitlist/backorder option, so buyers may have to hunt retailers for their size and color.
- ✗The fabric is water-resistant, not waterproof — the Man Makes Fire reviewer got soaked contents in sustained rain and recommends budgeting for the separate Pack Fly raincover.
- ✗No lid is included; Rokslide users note that adding Mystery Ranch's accessory lid pushes the combo price into bigger-standalone-pack territory.
- ✗No hipbelt pockets come stock — rangefinder and calls go elsewhere while Exo and Stone Glacier include belt storage.
- ✗The price has crept from $519 at the Mysterium launch to $550 ($600 in OPTIFADE), which is serious money for a day pack when full bag-and-frame systems start around $650.
- ✗Despite the name, Mystery Ranch's own spec sheet lists 43 L (2,625 cu in) — slightly under both the '45' badge and the outgoing version's 2,745 cu in.
Compare the Mystery Ranch Sawtooth 45
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