OWNER REVIEW

The Works @ Mystery Ranch Mountain Monkey Day Pack
Richard Lyon
November 19, 2006

Personal Details and Backpacking Background

Male, 60 years old
Height: 6' 4" (1.93 m)
Weight: 200 lb (91 kg)
Email address: rlyon AT gibsondunn DOT com
Home: Dallas, Texas USA

I've been backpacking for 45 years on and off, and regularly in the Rockies since 1986.  I do a week long trip every summer, and often take three-day trips.  I'm usually camping in alpine terrain, at altitudes 5000 to 13000 ft (1500 - 4000 m).  I prefer base camp backpacking, a long hike in with day trips from camp, but I do my share of forced marches too.  Though always looking for ways to reduce weight, I'm not yet a lightweight hiker and I usually choose a bit more weight over foregoing camp conveniences I've come to expect.

Product Description

The Mountain Monkey is a medium-sized modular daypack sold by Mystery Ranch (MR) of Bozeman, Montana.  The company website states that packs designated "The Works @ Mystery Ranch" are now made abroad although "approximately 80%" of the materials come from the United States.  MR's six models in its Monkey line of packs can be added to or subtracted from through use of accessory bags and pockets that the company sells. 

Manufacturer: Mystery Ranch Backpacks

Website: www.mysteryranch.com. All quotations in this review come from this website.
Year of manufacture: 2004
Year of Purchase: 2004
MSRP: $ 99 US
Listed Weight, from website : 2 lb 2 oz (964 g)
Measured weight: 2 lb 1 oz (936 g)
Capacity: 1600 cu in (26 l)
Color: Black.  Now apparently available only in silver or blue.

The Mountain Monkey has two separate pack bags.  The larger bag (measured at 16 x 11 in/41 x 28 cm; there is no listed size) fits across my lower back and has an outside pocket that is sewn across at the bottom and attached to the sides with compression straps (see photo).  MR calls this a "Sticket;" it's comparable to the "Shovit" pockets on Dana Design packs.  (Dana Gleason, MR's founder and principal, founded Dana Design many years ago.) I use the Sticket for storing an item that's either likely to be needed quickly, such as a rain jacket, or too large for either bag, such as a shovel.  The smaller (7 x 9 in/18 x 23 cm) upper bag, which MR also sells separately as its "Sound Bite," may be detached to reduce weight or for separate use as a belt pouch.  It has its own hip belt that can be rolled up and stuffed under the bag when the bag's attached to the pack frame or used to lash skis, as discussed below.  Each bag has a main compartment with double zippers on the top and an inside Spandura™ (a Cordura – Spandex cross) pocket.  The Sound Bite also has an outside zippered pocket.

The Mountain Monkey has a two-inch (5 cm) hip belt and a sternum strap across the shoulder straps.  On each side of the larger bag is a Spandura hip pocket for items needed ready to hand.  I can insert one end of a narrow item (fly rod or shovel handle, for example) in one of these pockets and lash it along the side of the bag with the compression straps.  The Sticket pocket has a compression strap on each side at the top and a compression strap across the bottom to regulate the width depending on the pocket's contents.  The lower strap can be rearranged to carry skis as shown in the photograph below.

Materials: MR describes the "Wild Weave" fabric used for this pack as "a combination of 500 and 1000 denure [sic] Hard Cordura fibers randomly woven to isolate certain characteristics making them a better working whole." 

Warranty: Lifetime warranty against defects in workmanship and materials.  Also a ninety-day buyer's remorse period, during which returns are accepted for refund with no questions asked.

Field Conditions

I use the Mountain Monkey year-round, in winter while skiing and in other seasons for day hikes.  Winter temperatures have varied from – 10 to 40 F (- 25 to 5 C), including several days with intermittent heavy snow.  Hiking conditions ranged from a late fall hike in a snowstorm in Wyoming, temperature about freezing, through several North Texas summer days (always sunny) at 100 F (38 C) or so.  The pack and I have been through snow, hail, mist, fog, sprinkles, and heavy rain, and many fair weather days.

Evaluation

First of all, this is a tough piece of equipment.  All MR packs are built to last.  After two years of hard use and a couple of scrubbings with soap and water the pack looks like new, without a scratch or loose thread.  Top-shelf materials all around – the Wild Weave fabric, straps, buckles, and zippers – and workmanship to match them. 

I have always believed that MR excelled at weight management (see my review of the BDSB expedition pack).  That is accomplished in the Mountain Monkey by means of the pack's sitting slightly higher on my back than other day packs I've used.  The Sound Bite sits just below my neck and the main pack bag several inches above my waist.  Perhaps because of this, or perhaps because of its narrow silhouette, this Monkey does seem to cling to my back just as MR claims.  Whatever the cause I notice the weight less and it seems to move around less than other packs.

The Mountain Monkey's design allows full use of its capacity and gives me many options for different loads and different situations.  Early in its corporate life MR introduced interchangeable pack bags on backpacking and expedition frames, an experiment that quickly failed in the marketplace.  Here, though, MR's modularilty approach has succeeded.  For example, the inside pocket in the larger bag holds a two-liter (2+ qt) water bladder and there's a small port for a hose on either side.  If I need the large bag for other things, I can place the bladder in the Sound Bite or use the side pockets for water bottles.  If I don't need all 1600 cubic inches (26 l) - rare for me, but it's happened – I can easily detach the Sound Bite.  In the ordinary course of events, when I want to take just one more item, the Sticket pocket can take medium sized equipment like a shovel or a bunched-up clothing layer.  I once carried a bottle of wine in it. 

I bought the Mountain Monkey for use when on skis, on the recommendation of the MR sales rep.  When skiing inbounds I can keep it narrow enough (about 3 in/7 cm) that I don't have to take it off before sitting down on a lift.  For a backcountry or inbounds bootpack it's very easy to use the straps to lash my skis to the pack.  I link the bottom compression straps, which normally attach on the outside of the Sticket, between the Sticket and the pack bag, and adjust the straps to form a loop on one side.  With the skis held together by a ski strap or rubber band (not necessary with alpine bindings that lock when placed back-to-back but required for my telemark bindings), I slide the tails of the skis through the loop so that the bindings catch on the loop.  I then secure the upper portion of the skis with the hip belt of the Sound Bite.  The skis ride across my back at a slight diagonal  Whether because of the Monkey's back-hugging fit or because the skis are stowed with bindings together, this method provides much better weight distribution and stability than my usual alternative, using the side pockets and compression straps of a larger pack. 

The pack's tight fit definitely reduces the drag that a top-heavy or sagging daypack can put on my skiing.

After hiking through rain, snow, and mist, and many tumbles in the snow while skiing, the Mountain Monkey has been completely waterproof.

The Mountain Monkey has become my favorite day pack.  It's a great all-around pack, particularly for ski touring.

Upside

Comfortable and stable fit
Narrow width – I don't have to take it off to ride the ski lift.
Versatility.  The Stickit pocket especially.
Waterproof, at least so far
Easy to adjust
Top-quality materials and construction
Customer-friendly manufacturer.  All employees at MR's retail store in Bozeman are knowledgeable and helpful, in person and over the phone.  Over the years I have informally tested prototypes for Dana, and he acts on feedback.

Downside

I sometimes wish it had a bit more capacity, but I've thought that about every daypack I've ever owned.  In fact the size is an asset, as I can make it smaller by removing the Sound Bite or supplement it with hip pockets or holsters.  MR's packs aren't widely distributed, so someone who doesn't live near or visit Bozeman might have to buy it sight unseen.