Mystery Ranch Urban Assault 18 - I've talked about Mystery Ranch Urban Assault 21 before (multiple times), I love the bag. But there are two other offerings on this bag: the Urban Assault 24 (the look and feel of which I don't like so I won't try it) and the Urban Assault 18. The 18 is
Trimming the width and depth of the bag and wisely reducing the height from 20.25" on the Urban Assault 21 to 18.5" on the Urban Assault 18. The end result is a bag that has
Mystery Ranch Urban Assault 18
Same capacity and dimensions as the 21L, but shorter to fit shorter frames. I bought two of these, one for each of my daughters. They love them, even if they are still a little too big for them.
Mystery Ranch Urban Assault Review
The previous backpacks my kids used were the GORUCK Echo/KR1, which are 16.5 inches tall. They are also wide and have the classic GORUCK shoulder straps. So while their bags fit very well vertically, they struggled with oversized straps that were sometimes close to the outside of their shoulders, as well as a width that was wider than they are/were.
Instead of lowering the height by shortening the bottom, they pull it in at the top, meaning the UA18's straps clip right on top of the bag—no load lifters required. sharp man.
Urban Assault 18 turns that on its head. The bags are narrow enough that they feel snug against your back, but the extra two inches of height does show in them. It's not enough to cause complaints, but visually they seem a bit large for children, especially smaller ones. I would say the minimum height for this to fit a child is around 50 inches, which means a slightly older child.
Convenience was a big determining factor in purchasing these bags, as no kid wanted to carry their GORUCK bags as a backpack for hiking during lockdown. After the first outing with the Urban Assault 18, my oldest son commented, "better dad." Which I guess is a testament to how many packs I've been tested on, but I was also very pleased with the comfort of this pack. "The straps are very nice, they are so soft."
Mystery Ranch Urban Assault 24 (ua24) Review
They both love the fit and comfort of these bags, and I have to agree with them - the Urban Assault 18 has a great shoulder strap setup even for someone like me who is 6'-3". Although I find the bags a little small for me, not so small that I can't carry them when necessary.Aces.
This is just a very comfortable bag whether full or nearly empty. My children use it without complaint and are very happy with it. They both have GORUCK bags, and both opt for this Urban Assault 18 whenever they're asked to pick up a pack to take with them.
So while I can think they look a bit bigger visually on the kids, none of the kids seem to mind one bit. My youngest wears it hanging very low and said "it's better this way" - ok boy.
There are two modifications I made. One is mandatory and the other is 50/50 what you have to do.
Mystery Ranch Urban Assault Backpack 24 Shadow
This bag is smaller than the Urban Assault 21, but it doesn't have as many drawbacks as many of the "smaller version" bags. So you can take most of the Urban Assault 21 and use it directly as a complement to the 18. Yes, the straps are a bit narrower, but the proportions are scaled down so nicely that the bag still looks good.
This isn't the best for shorter kids, as I don't think you'd try this if they're under 50 inches. But when they start to grow, this bag is fantastic. That being said, it's not that younger kids can't use it, it's just that it will hang up more and depending on your child, that may or may not bother them.
You can find them on sale for around $66-$95 fairly regularly, but even for a full $125 they're very well made. And of all the kids' bags I've tried, these are the ones my kids find comfortable and easy to use while still being durable and well-made.
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Mystery Ranch Urban Assault Backpack Coyote
To see all the members' items, check out the best product guides, see photos of the bags I've tried on, or check out my "what I wear" lists. In the ten years I've been in business and the seven years I've been writing on this site, there is no brand that has intrigued me but eluded my list of reviews more than Mystery Ranch. Its cutting-edge design, incredibly cool take on standard items (3-Zip is AMAZING!), and super-high quality have always intrigued me. These are the heaviest hardcore products. If brands are judged by their customers, no outfit is worse than Mystery Ranch. They were hyper-technical, unbelievably tight outfits that looked amazing, but something I was never able to fully use. I mean really, how many people have the balls to be smokejumpers (because you know, firefighting and skydiving aren't dangerous enough on their own, right...)? My weekend warrior did not measure up to the Mystery Ranch package.
That's not to say I didn't want one, but the Macpad PFII works pretty well for me, and the MR stuff started at almost four times the price. However, being impractical and expensive has never been a big hurdle for me to review an article.
But then MR did something crazy: they released more packages for the general public. This is similar to when Ferrari releases a $40,000 car. This wealth of design ingenuity and quality firepower is rarely available to the masses. And yet here it is. Of course, MR hasn't been able to release packs to the general public in the quantity needed for the retail they currently employ, so these packs are not made in Montana with the rest of the MR family of equipment. All of these general audience packs are manufactured in MR inspected facilities in the Philippines and Vietnam. Another boutique pack maker, BO Gear, has done something similar with its first mass-produced bag, the Subbie, which is also made in Vietnam.
When I saw that the general public MR packs were available through my old friends at Huckberry, I was thrilled. There couldn't be a better combination: Hackberry's ability to highlight new and intriguing things and MR packages that are, well, always intriguing. I contacted Huckberry and they kindly provided me with a preview of a sample pack that seems more suitable for widespread use: Urban Assault. So, with giddiness probably unbefitting of a 39-year-old man, I bring you this, my first (but certainly not my last) review of the Mystery Ranch pack. Buckle up and hang in there... this is going to be one hell of a ride.
Mystery Ranch Urban Assault 24 Reviews
Here is the product page. Urban Assault is $139.95. Here's a review written comparing Urban Assault to other MR packs. I couldn't find a video review. Here's a link to Hackberry (login required, what... no login? A newsletter story about the greatest teen criminal of all time is worth the price of admission, which is zero, alone), where you can find Urban Assault.
Let's cut to the chase: 3-Zip is the best thing to happen to bags since shoulder straps were added. I honestly didn't realize how cool 3-Zip was, but now that I've seen it up close and used it myself, I can tell you it's amazing.
It's extremely rare to find a design that's so plain and simple, yet such a vast improvement over everything else, that it's hard for me to really judge the rest of the package.
Even with foreign manufacturing, the fit and finish here is still top notch. There were no loose threads, snags in the material, or sloppy stitching. Even inside the package everything was clean and tidy. 3-Zip was especially nice. I was worried that there would be some messy parts where the three zippers met, transitions that couldn't be synced, but even there everything was fine. The mesh on the base and shoulder straps was also neat and clean. The whole package gave off a very professional look. I've worn this to a law conference, in the Acadian mountains, and on a number of other smaller adventures and never felt like the pack was out of place. Its finish makes the backpack look less military and more usable, which is the point. In a non-camouflage color, the packaging looks like it could have come from an Apple Store (check out the white), it's so clean.
Mystery Ranch Urban Assault 21 Backpack
MR knows how to make a
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