Mystery Ranch Dragonslayer (warning, lot of pics)

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I received my MR Dragonslayer a while ago, and figured I’d post a short review with a few pics.

First I’ll say that I’ve been wanting a Kifaru for about a year now. The problem is, I don’t know which one. All of their packs have features I like, but also some I don’t like. So I was a little surprised myself that 5 minutes after seeing this one, I had ordered it. I like its features! Actually, I was going to order a Sweet Pea, but when I came to order it, they had revamped their website overnight and the first thing I saw was the Dragonslayer. I like single color packs. It even has water bottle holder built in, so I don’t have to mess with add-ons. I still kinda want a Kifaru some day, but for now, I’m happy with this one.

Let’s start with the logo, just to show that I’m not joking, the pack’s name really is Dragonslayer. :armor: Seriously. :laugh:

They actually got my order mixed up a bit. I ordered a small yoke and medium belt but received a medium yoke and a small belt. But it’s ok. I’m 5’8″ but with short legs and a long back, so the medium yoke works well for me. Not so sure about the belt. The pads are very thick and bulky. After a couple of trials, I removed them, as I like the pack better without and the stock belt it fine. The pads might be good for actual hiking, i.e. carrying heavier loads for longer periods. But for my uses, they are not really necessary. I think I’ll try them again later, though.

Oh, a word about “my uses” might be in order. This is perhaps a bit too large pack to EDC around the town as a daypack, so I’ve only used it (so far) for carrying groceries home from the shop. For that, it works well. Fairly easy to load, carries well with 14 kg food in it. Works fine for both walking and cycling. I will also be using this as a travel pack, but haven’t yet had an occasion to do that.

The inside of the pack looks like this:
  
On both sides there are long sleeve pockets and a mesh pocket. In the center there’s a 5×5 PALS matrix and a pouch, probably intended for a hydration bladder. Haven’t really used any of them yet, but I think the pockets will be handy in the travel pack use, for organizing snack, clothes etc.

It also has 5 colums and 3 rows of PALS on the outside, on both sides. It’s located fairly high, above the compression strap.

On the bottom the are two rows of webbing, two webbing loops and straps for attaching things. Haven’t used yet, but I’m happy to report that they don’t get in the way at all, either.

The top lid has two pockets. On top, there’s a smaller one with a few organizatorial sub-pockets. This is a wallet-sized pocket, it’s a perfect fit for my wallet.

Below that is a larger, mesh-bottomed pocket. This pocket is the size of the whole top lid.

I’m not actually sure what the material is, presumably some sort of Cordura. It’s not very stiff and doesn’t feel rough or heavy, so possibly it’s 500D, but that’s just my guess. The zippers are large and heavy duty. The shoulder straps are well contoured and padded.

They call the color “foliage”, but it’s not foliage green, it’s foliage grey. It’s an honest grey, it doesn’t look greenish or bluish at all to me. For the color mavens here’s a comparison pic of the only FG piece I have (pic taken outdoors but not in direct sunlight, color balance set with a white A4 sheet of paper):

Might as well show next to some actual foliage, too, right? In direct and indirect sunlight. The other pack is an Arcteryx Charlie, for size comparison (it’s a greenish-brownish “crocodile” color, but the webbing and add-ons are coyote). The Charlie pack has Mystery Ranch bottle pockets on the sides, btw.
 

And finally, a couple of pics of me wearing the pack. The pics are a bit grainy, because I set the camera some distance away in order to get a “flatter” perspective, but then I had to crop generously.
 

According to the specs, the Dragonslayer is a 2300 c.i. (38 l) pack. The Arcteryx Charlie is 1650 c.i. (27 l). Doesn’t sound like a huge difference, but the Charlie will easily fit inside the Dragonslayer, which in person looks and feels like it was twice as big. But that goes for capacity as well.

I have one slightly negative thing to say, the top access to this bag is not as good as I thought it would be. The back is anatomically curved, which is good for carrying comfort, but it’s also curved on the inside, which makes loading and accessing somewhat awkward. Of course, that issue disappears if you open the vertical zipper, but I was hoping I wouldn’t need to do that every time. Obviosly, loading and access with all zippers open is a dream.

So far, I like it, it’s a very good pack. But it’s still a new pack that I’m learning the ways of, so I’ll maybe update this someday down the road.

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