Mystery Ranch Pop Up 40 vs Mystery Ranch Pintler
Quick take: The Mystery Ranch Pop Up 40 costs $24 less; the Mystery Ranch Pop Up 40 carries more (40 vs 38.6 liters); the Mystery Ranch Pop Up 40 is lighter (5.3 vs 5.6 lbs).
| Spec | Mystery Ranch Pop Up 40 | Mystery Ranch Pintler |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $475 | $499 |
| Rating | 4.2★ (42) | 4.8★ (175) |
| Type | Hunting Pack | Hunting Pack |
| Frame Type | Internal Frame | Internal Frame |
| Capacity | 40 L | 38.6 L |
| Weight | 5.3 lbs | 5.6 lbs |
| Max Load | 80 lbs | No official rating (Guide Light MT frame is proven on quarter-hauling packouts) |
| Torso Fit | S, M, L, XL yoke sizes with micro-adjustable Hunting Light Yoke torso length | S–XL frame sizes with micro-adjustable Futura yoke |
| Material | 330D Lite Plus CORDURA nylon | 500D LP CORDURA (500D CORDURA in Subalpine) with YKK coated zippers and Autolock SJ buckles |
| Back Panel | Telescoping aluminum Pop-Up Frame that expands from daypack mode into a load hauler, with Mystery Ranch's micro-adjustable yoke and foam back panel | Guide Light MT carbon-composite frame with Futura yoke and five-point waistbelt with Redirect system |
| Adjustable torso | Yes | Yes |
| Ventilated back | No | No |
| Raincover included | No | No |
| Hipbelt pockets | No | No |
| Removable lid | Yes | No |
| Hydration sleeve | Yes | Yes |
| Fits BV500 bear can | Yes | Yes |
| Warranty | Mystery Ranch lifetime guarantee against manufacturing defects | Mystery Ranch lifetime guarantee against manufacturing defects |
Pros & cons
Mystery Ranch Pop Up 40
- ✓The signature pop-up OVERLOAD shelf deploys in seconds, letting whitetail hunters haul a boned-out deer between bag and frame without ever owning a separate frame pack.
- ✓Treestand users on Rokslide say it carries hang-on stands and climbing sticks better than anything in its class, and its low profile lets you actually look up to climb a tree while wearing it.
- ✓An 80-lb load rating in a 40 L daypack footprint is unmatched by mainstream daypacks — Rokslide posters routinely cross-shop it against the far pricier Kifaru Stryker.
- ✓The Hunting Light Yoke micro-adjusts torso length across S-XL sizes, giving a dialed fit that generic one-size whitetail packs like the Badlands 2200 can't match.
- ✓An integrated 1/4"-20 optics thumbscrew on the frame lets you mount a spotting scope, camera arm or rifle rest directly to the pack — a favorite detail among saddle and video-heavy hunters.
- ✓The updated 40 adds a removable, adjustable lid over the old 38 and tweaks the frame's upper attachment to reduce the load slop owners complained about.
- ✓Face compression straps carry a bow or rifle cleanly for hands-free stand hangs, and interior loops accept Mystery Ranch Quick Attach void bags for organization.
- ✓Mystery Ranch's build reputation and lifetime guarantee carry real weight on forums — the Pop Up 38 it replaces stayed a cult favorite for years after discontinuation.
- ✗At 5.3 lbs it's a heavy 40-liter pack — nearly the weight of Kuiu's complete 57 L ICON 6 3500 frame kit — and owners feel it on all-day hikes to the stand.
- ✗At least one longtime Pop Up owner on Rokslide calls the newest 40 'bulky, heavy, with poor buckles and straps' and says it doesn't carry weight as well as the outgoing 38.
- ✗The 4.2-star owner rating on Mystery Ranch's own site trails competitors, with strap and buckle complaints the recurring theme.
- ✗Price jumped to $475 from the Pop Up 38's roughly $325 street price, eroding the value story that made the 38 a forum darling.
- ✗No hipbelt pockets — rangefinder and calls go in shoulder or lid pockets, a step behind Exo and Kuiu belts.
- ✗Hauling near the 80-lb ceiling on a daypack yoke and belt is punishing compared to a true external frame like a Kifaru or Seek Outside, per Rokslide comparisons.
- ✗The pop-up frame hardware rides along on every sit even though most whitetail hunts never use it — dead weight the minimalist crowd resents.
- ✗The plain foam back panel has no ventilation channels, so early-season and mobile hunters report a soaked back by the time they reach the stand.
Mystery Ranch Pintler
- ✓Outside Bozeman flat-out called it 'a masterpiece' of comfort, functionality, and engineering — rare language for a mid-size hunting pack review.
- ✓The signature 3-ZIP design opens the entire front of the pack — a GOHUNT owner on a Colorado elk hunt praised how easily gear came out and zipped back up compared to digging through a top-loader.
- ✓The Overload sling pivots the bag off the frame and sandwiches quarters tight against your back, giving genuine packout capability in an overnight-pack footprint.
- ✓The five-point waistbelt with Redirect system 'eliminates slippage over the hips' per Outside Bozeman, and owners consistently rank Mystery Ranch belt comfort near the top of the class.
- ✓The Guide Light MT carbon-composite frame is the same proven chassis behind the pre-2024 Metcalf and Beartooth — 'built like a tank' is the recurring owner phrase, and the 500D CORDURA is burlier than the 330D fabrics on newer rivals.
- ✓Organization outclasses minimalist bag-and-frame rivals: four zip pockets, two internal dump pockets, long tripod/spotting-scope pockets, and a hydration compartment.
- ✓Owner ratings are consistently excellent everywhere it's sold — 4.8 from 175 reviews on Mystery Ranch's site, 4.78 at GOHUNT, and a perfect 5.0 at Scheels.
- ✓Multi-year owners on Reddit's r/Hunting keep choosing it over the Sawtooth for the way it carries, and one reviewer noted 'if you pack it right, you can get 5 days out of it'.
- ✗Availability is the big caveat: mysteryranch.com lists it out of stock with no restock estimate as the brand transitions to the new MYSTERIUM line, and remaining retail stock is thin — Scheels shows 'only a few left' and GOHUNT was down to its last unit in mid-2026.
- ✗At 5.6 lbs it's heavy for a sub-40-liter pack — a Stone Glacier Avail 2200 system weighs two pounds less, and the newer Sawtooth 45 gives you more volume at half a pound lighter.
- ✗No hipbelt pockets come stock for rangefinders or calls — Outside Bozeman's lone complaint — and Mystery Ranch sells them as add-on accessories.
- ✗Getting quarters onto the Overload shelf means undoing the load lifters and disrupting your dialed-in fit, and Rokslide threads question how securely the strap system sandwiches a heavy quarter.
- ✗$499 is real money for an overnight pack, and a Scheels reviewer called it 'overpriced' versus the $200-300-off closeout pricing now appearing in stores — full-MSRP buyers are paying end-of-life prices.
- ✗It rides on the older Guide Light MT platform without the Mysterium generation's lighter Robic fabric, weatherproof CORDURA 5PM coating, or updated buckles — and with no restock ETA, there's no update path.
- ✗Actual volume is 38.6 L (2,355 cu in), tighter than its multiday billing suggests — packing beyond 2 nights requires a minimalist kit or strapping gear outside.
- ✗Mystery Ranch publishes no official load rating, so packout expectations rest on forum anecdotes rather than a spec you can compare against Stone Glacier's numbers.