Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Load lifter upgrades for Mystery Ranch Crew Cab

http://www.oneirosvalley.com/
Anyone out there using them ??? looks like a nice upgrade

Yes I just got mine about a week ago. I have been sick and swamped at work so I haven't been able to put it through its paces yet but walking around the house with 60lbs in the crewcab is a HUGE difference.

Fuzzy

For $80 I would hope it made a big difference.....

For $80 I don't see why that stupidly tall blonde spikey haired guy at mystery ranch who claims a 20 inch frame with a 3" frame extension(ie metcalf pack) fits him perfectly couldn't have come up with this product himself. I hope the boys at Oneiros Valley sell a ton of these things and make a bunch of money doing it! Lord knows there has been enough negative feed back about load lifter angle over the years for the " daypack" load hauler MR style packs that the actual manufacturer would have addressed the problem.

Hats off to Oneiros Valley

Fuzzy

Whoa, there, Warren, those guys at MR consistently give THE FINEST customer service in the entire backpacking gear industry and one of the several packs made by them that is still here in my basement, you may have even seen it, is older than you are.

When, Andrew Crow, was handling most of the phone orders/enquires for Dana and was one of the most outstanding individuals in ANY aspect of the outdoor sports/industry I have ever dealt with, I suggested a rig much like this to him in a phone call after I bought my first NICE setup, the one from which I stripped the CC which is now yours....this was about 2005 or 2006, IIRC.

But, while I am certain gazillions of much smarter guys than I am made much the same suggestions, you need to realize that these packs evolve as and when market forces dictate and MR could not have developed their current line without the contracts from the US Armed Forces....SO, many of the concepts that they MIGHT have introduced, were set aside so they could meet the military contracts FIRST, as several of their staffers have told me on the phone over several years was/is THE priority with them, as one would expect,as we hunters are a TINY portion of the overall pack market.

The situation here, IS, that these packs were developed for military customers, FIRST and thus were done so that a wide range of torsos could be fitted with relatively few frame sizes and adjustments. The Marines and SEALS and Rangers, do not get QUITE as "anal" about the nitpickery of teensy-tiny fitting issues as posters here do and so, the tall gentleman MAY and probably DOES find the pack as he shows it to "fit" according to HIS desires and comfort level.

So, maybe cut the MR crew a little slack as you will NEVER deal with better folks when buying a pack and after many packs, I find theirs as good or better than any others I have ever seen.

Oh, BTW, the Brno ZG .30-06, rings and scope went to a new home today, so, I am a little closer to my new "Toy".

Yes, and most of us have the cervical spine X-rays to show what happens when you just "suck it up"

I am a current user of the NICE frame, and have used a slew of other packs, with more coming down the pipeline.

-I'm 6'5" and get some lift from the new Metcalf bag. I wish the extension were about an inch taller for my height. However, just about everybody under my height should be fine with it.

-In the future it would be wise for MR to incorporate some type of extension into all of their packs. They could keep the NICE frame in production and add an extension to keep the hunting world happy. Yes, I know the 6500 and 7500 already have an extension.

-The customer service is great, but you HAVE to sell what the customers want. If you sell a product that nobody wants you won't sell much. The Metcalf is a step in the right direction, and with the addition of the side zip I am pleased.

-They aren't just competing with Kifaru anymore as THE top end pack to own. You now have SG, Kifaru, Paradox, and Kuiu all taking runs at the top spot. Customer service will have to stay excellent, and innovation will have to continue to keep the foothold in the hunting market.

Yikes, I just re-read my post and I seem to have a real ability(shortcoming) in coming off as a total ass when it comes to putting my thoughts into written sentences. I seem to forget that word spoken aloud in front of people with body language,gestures and tone of voice can come off as arrogant and snide in the typed form.

Dewey you are absolutely correct about MR customer service and quality.I can't come close to explaing this as well as you so I will leave it at that. Sreekers points about the competition in the pack market and providing what customers want are bang on in my mind.

One thing that I do wish is that MR had come out with this product as they have there own production facility and most likely have hit a better price point. I like MR products and will continue to use them, they are my pack of choice and will most likely be purchasing one for my wife in the coming year. If I ever figure out how to post pics I will do so of pack in action with the LLP.


Regards

Fuzzy

It's my understanding that MR is currently testing a similar retrofit and will bring it to market a bit later. Has anyone else heard some buzz along these lines?

There WAS something along those lines some months ago, but, I am satisfied with the fit of all the DD and MR packs I now own and so did not really give it any more thought.

I really DO think that much of this, in terms of "wait times" for mods. by the major highend makers of our gear is really due to their military commitments and we just have to come "second" while this war with the savages of Islam and the slime commies behind them, drags on and on and on.

So, I hope that MR WILL bring out something, but, still, kudos to the "new kids" for theirs and I can see a couple of the Lumbar pads in my future.

Further to the above and for anyone who may still be concerned with the lifters on MR packs issue, they DO NOW offer some carbon fibre sections, just what I suggested to Andrew Crow, back about 2006, with at least the new Metcalfe pack recently introduced.

So, with the new removeable waistbelt pockets, the little harness strap pocket for your GPS or cell and these plus some other items, they now have things "covered".

I installed Kifaru GPS pockets and Gunbearers on all my MR packs and have wanted a waistbelt pocket since I bought mine. Now, I can get what I want and I seem to "need" a new NICE Metcalf pack in "multicam" as my wife is recovering from spinal surgery in Oct. 2011 and now WANTS to have my MR "Deluxe" pack altered with new harness to fit her and is looking at my original "NICE" rig, equipped with the "Wolf Alpha" bag that I just bought last summer.

Pretty damned impressive, major spinal damage, just turned 66 and wants to go hunting with her old man......good women like this are worth more than any of us can imagine!

So, maybe, check this out as it seems that the guys at MR DO listen and then make what we picky, anal hunters want.........

I am still waiting to see a pack built better than Dana builds his and only Dan McHale impresses me as much in terms of customer service and care about you GETTING what is best for you.

Kutenay, there is still one weakness to the current design of the Metcalf....You lose all shoulder lift when the Load Shelf option is used. As the picture on their site shows when it is in this mode, the entire pack is farther from the back. The new frame extension is therefore no longer attached to the frame. The shoulder lift adjustment straps still run to Metcalf, but it's back to the same argument as before.

This is why I want a taller frame or an extension from MR. A retrofit onto all of old NICE frame and its done, no questions asked.

OK, my mistake, too early in the ayem as I awoke and rose at 02:30 today.....old age and all that.

I do agree, an extension to fit just the NICE frame IS what I suggested years ago and WOULD, IMO, really help taller guys to use the rig to the "max" comfort.

I am short, broad and the NICE fits me as well or better than aNY other pack I have ever carried. I am hoping to buy a full-on custom McHale sometime in the coming 12+months, so, this is "academic" to me....bet, I do hope that MR solves this issue to help you "long" guys.

Oneiros Valley came out with a new cheaper version of their lifter extension. It's only $35!

[img]http://oneirosvalley.com/products/g2-load-lifter-panel-llp[/img]

It WAS only $35! They just hiked the price back up. Probably since Mystery ranch changed their packs for 2016. Their new frame has a different design, so they don't stock load lifters anymore. Oneiros looks like the only option left.

The $35 cost post was from 2013???
The OV guys are a class act, I'm sure you'd be happy with their products.

Yep, and it was that price up until Tuesday when I was trying to decide if I should order one. Went to buy one on Wednesday and wouldn't ya know, the price climbed over night. That's what I get for waiting a day.

Hoping it works as advertised.

Crew Cab "mods" are lipstick on a pig.