I’ve been a big fan of Huckberry for a few years - I don’t buy much as I’m not based in the US, but when I saw this Huckberry-exclusive Mystery Ranch collaboration, I had to have it. I managed to pick one up and I’ve been using it solidly for a year now so I have a quick review.
The bag is an exclusive camo pattern called “Desert Tracks” and comes with a couple of co-branded patches which are nice. I swapped them out immediately but kept them for my patch wall. Areas of the bag that don’t have the camo pattern are black and I really like that colour combination. The pattern is lighter than it looks in the promo pictures but along with the black makes for a nice design. That and the AquaGuard-style zippers really ties it all together. This bag is not subtle though - it does stand out in the office.
The full collection of the Huckberry-exclusive Mystery Ranch collaboration in Desert Track Camo
The bag has a listed capacity of 27 liters and Huckberry x Mystery Ranch claim that “this bag can fit enough gear for a weekend backpacking trip or everything you need to get you from home to the office to the gym”, but it feels smaller to me. That said, it’s absolutely perfect for my EDC requirements - laptop, iPad, med pouch, a book or two, and then the obligatory tech pounch. I carry a 14 inch laptop and a iPad pro and this bag can carry both easily in the padded floating laptop sleeve towards the back - as there is a document/tablet pocket too. By the way, this is plenty big enough for a 13/14 inch laptop. At the rear of of the bag there is a full length zip that allows you to access the laptop sleeve without having to open the main compartment. I rarely use this but imagine it would more useful for someone who takes out their laptop more on the move.
As for gaining access to the main compartment this is via that classic Mystery Ranch 3-ZIP design. This allows you to grab the front corner of the lid and pull it upwards and you get full access to the bag as a top loader. This is how I use the bag 95% of the time. But that third zip goes down the middle of the bag and allows you more access almost like that of a duffel bag. This is useful for packing the bag for more than EDC stuff, where packing out the bag is important. The main compartment has multiple interior pockets for organization - including the laptop sleeve that I’ve already mentioned. Again, inside high on the side wall there are two smaller mesh zip pockets - I use for a multi-tool and a few other bits. There are also two longer pockets internally to the front of the bag. It may seem obvious but all of this internal organisation eats into the internal main compartment area which is what I guess makes it feel smaller for me. Your mileage may vary but I feel sometimes a bit of a struggle to throw a hoodie or a coat inside.
The fully open view of the Huckberry-exclusive Mystery Ranch 2DAP
The zips are initial so so stiff - I always find this with the AquaGuard-style zips - but I changed out the zip pulls (it comes with just coyote coloured paracord pulls) and the pack also provides really useful tabs to pull against making the whole thing quite easy - especially once the zips are broken in.
The zips on the top of the lids
The lid itself has two zip pockets. A larger mesh pocket that fits quite a lot, and a smaller pocket. Normally that smaller pocket would be lined for sunglasses etc, but not in this case. It does fit a sunglasses case though, so that’s what I put in there. When you have the lid all the way open and folded over the larger mesh pocket contents are visible but the bag doesn’t give you access to it from this reverse side like the 5.11 Amp Series - which is a bag I also own a number of.
One thing I really like are the external bottle pockets. They’re big and stretchy so I use them for quite a lot of extras - Drinks of course, but I also carry a water proof cover for the bag and an emergency waterproof poncho too. You never know with the Irish weather. I’ve read that some people don’t like the design of these - they’re kind of puffed out, but the the way the bag is shaped I think they look about right. I mounted a small black pouch on the MOLLE over one of the external pockets but because of the way they sit, I don’t lose any of the functionality. The bottom of the external pockets have grommets at the bottom to allow water runoff.
The Huckberry-exclusive Mystery Ranch 2DAP
As to the rest of the exterior - There’s enough MOLLE on exterior to allows you to clip on additional gear. You can use it for some vertical pouches but I wouldn’t recommend using any horizontal ones. And even the vertical ones would need to be on the smaller side. However if you were using a few carabiners or hero clips or whatever, this pack gives you loads of places to attach. Even with the AquaGuard-style zippers, I haven’t tested this bag in anything other than a very light shower - I always throw a waterproof cover on. There are also two compression straps but I’m not quite sure about these - but I’ve never needed them on any bag I’ve had.
The thing that surprised me most of about the backpack was just how light it is. Huckberry x Mystery Ranch say in comes in at just 3 lbs (just under 1.4kg in real money), and it definitely feels very light on my back. Then with the adjustable shoulder yoke, I was able to set it up to be exactly as comfortable on my back as I would like. There is a stiff full-length frame in that yoke setup too that stabilizes the bag on the back. Another thing to note is that the bag does not stand vertically, if that’s something you need - it falls face forward, because of the rounded nature of the bottom. That bottom has a couple of rows of MOLLE that you can use to attach a bed roll or whatever you need to.
In conclusion, this pack from the Huckberry x Mystery Ranch collaboration has been a fantastic addition to my gear. Despite the fact that I think it feels smaller, it meets my everyday carry needs perfectly and offers great organization and comfort and I would definitely recommend it.