People are getting poorer everyday, but the government is a golden goose that will pay and pay and pay if what you're selling has anything to do with the military.
I think you missed the story of the container that fell off the cargo ship full of Yeti coolers and how most of them floated to shore in very good condition considering
Mystery Ranch descended from Dana Designs, which really was the top of the line serious user backpack, back in the day. I still use a fantastic Dana Design large waist pack that works great.
I've lived in Bozeman for 34 years. This is the home of Dana Designs and Mystery Ranch. I've owned 3 Mystery Ranch packs. The day after the sale to Yeti was announced on the local news I walked down to their show room to buy another. The show room was closed. I spoke with a few employees and they didn't know when... or if... the show room would reopen. I had to buy my 4th pack online. All of our local sporting goods stores sell Mystery Ranch. You see them worn all over town. They are super popular here. I've known people who work there. I can only hope that they keep them here in my hometown. If not, at least we still have Sitka.
I've only used products of Mystery Ranch, that can trace there linage back to the Dana Designs packs. I've been curious about their other stuff, but I now don't know if I want to send money to Yeti's pocketbook now. Not after what Yeti did in 2018.
Yeti has also cobranded with Goal Zero and coming out with power banks. Yeti products are very high quality, but beyond the reach of most people due to price.
GoalZero, YETI, and now Mystery Ranch will all have 1 thing in common... overpriced products that are outperformed by brands that cost half as much. My Ecoflow outperforms the comparable GoalZero. My OtterBox Venture cooler outperforms the equivalent YETI, and I bet there will be several backpacks which will outperform the Mystery Ranch offerings once YETI has taken over.
Hmm I might need to buy a new mystery asap! Love my pop up 28 for hunting/hiking. Been a great pack for 5 plus years of abuse. Left it out overnight in my yard after a little tick treatment… I will say 22 mins of getting hit with sprinklers and it was bone dry inside. This was after years and many overnights in the PNW rain. Couldn’t recommend mystery enough. My bino chest rig has also been great. That being said I see a lot of firefighters with it, that’s about it. They are not cheap that’s for sure. I hope they remain top quality like they are, I’ve put 750 plus miles on them in steep rough country. And could easily go another 750. Yeti does make good quality stuff, and they are both very proud of their product $$$$ let’s hope that’s a good thing.
The Mystery Ranch Hiker backpacks are not that much more in cost than Osprey or something comparable...considering the quality, durability, and stellar service after the sale of Mystery Ranch...I am FINE with that and currently own three different models of their backpacks. Moosejaw or CampSaver commonly offers 20% discounts on Mystery Ranch products.
I love the Mystery Ranch brand. I have a coulee 25 and 40 and a Bridger 65. All are excellent designs, quality and hands down the most comfortable packs I've owned even over other comfortable brands like Osprey. The military and firefighting gear is very expensive, but I don't think this is a villain line of mystery ranch products are any more expensive than other high quality brands like osprey, Gregory, etc.
Because mystery ranch is very big in my world, I can tell you to my knowledge they’re really good financially, because of their practically the only supplier of backpacks to the United States military. They’re trying to break into the hunting market really big right now. But they own the military.
They are one of few suppliers of *fancy* backpacks to the US military, which is still a fairly small percentage of the total. A bunch of random contractors can make whatever standard-issue cheaply-manufactured ruck is currently used by 95% of soldiers.
@@ExtremeSquared Agreed 100%. Mystery Ranch does not own the Military contracts at all. They may be preferred by some of the groups that prefer specialty packs, but they aren't making the issued rucks that most Soldiers or Marines use. I have spent the last 3 years as a Civilian on JBER in Alaska, and nobody runs Mystery Ranch up here. Every "non issue" bag I see is a CamelBak, I didn't even know they were still in the game, but they apparently are. From my own experiences with them, Mystery Ranch bags are trending down in quality as they became more popular. Yeti has always been overpriced for what they are, brands like RTIC and other clones have proven that. I can only imagine how much Yeti is going to charge for a bag that they cheapen down over time. Time will tell of course!
@@lynnjr457 I've been out of the loop for some time, but I agree camelbak was ubiquitous a few years back among units lucky enough to requisition name-brand upgrades. Also, the marines got a half-decent internal-frame pack for a few years that MR may have been involved with. Side note: As a civilian, I usually prefer my Vietnamese Mystery Ranch pack to my US-made Camelbak, though.
Yeti has made premium travel duffels and backpacks for some time. My wife and I own both. Not as big of a stretch as you may think. Just opens up a larger market.
Osprey packs are owned by "Helen of Troy" that also owns Hydro flask, OXO housewares, and a couple of others. Gregory packs are owned by Samsonite. And now Mystery Ranch are owned by yeti. Mountain Hardware is owned by Columbia sportswear.
Love your videos Luke, very honest and detailed, love the way you research and review products, definitely the best TH-cam channel I have ever watched. Keep up the awesome reviews you provide for all the watchers out there. God bless good folks like you and your family.
I own the Mystery Ranch "Scree" 32-L and is my go-to Daypack from now on, bar none. It is the finest quality, most comfortable Daypack I've ever owned, with the capacity to support an overnight camp if needed.
Mystery ranch has a bigger footprint in places like hunting, DOD contracts as well as wilderness firefighters than it does in hiking outdoors. And when it comes to back country hunting packs they are one of the 5 that always come up. Eberlestock, stone glacier,kifaru and kuiu being the other
Over here is Australia you can find yeti at most outdoor stores but can't find mystery ranch anywhere. I hope this acquisition makes mystery ranch more available to us here down under.
My wife and I have some Mystery Ranch packs. They are extremely durable packs and yes at a cost. But I’d encourage you to test one out. The Bridger packs have a vest style rig and make loads feel lighter. We also have Osprey packs, but I think the MR is better.
Eric Hanson is quite a fan of Mystery Ranch. From his reviews, they have unique lightweight backpacks with adjustable back lengths. However, they only sell within the US and Canada, so it seems quite a mystery to me how they can be "world-renowned". Merging with Yeti, I hope they sell worldwide in the future. I hope the quality will stay the same.
FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, Mystery Ranch was more in the market with companies like Stone Glacier, Kuiu, and Kifaru. These are backcountry hunting packs, not camping/hiking packs. (I'm not packing out an elk in a North Face or REI type pack!)As far as the acquisition by Yeti, seems like what Coleman did years ago. Coleman made coolers when I was a kid. Now, they make and sell all that is camping. My$0.02
Wrong...Mystery Ranch has a complete line of premium quality and durability backpacks targeted at the Hiking & Backpacking community - I own three of them.
Not at all that surprising of an acquisition to me. If you're into rafting, whitewater canoeing they have EXCELLENT dry duffels and some smaller packs in the Panga line. Absolutely bomber. Definitely worth checking out.
I concur with the sentiments of others here - while Mystery Ranch was a pricey option, they manufactured excellent packs. Now, with the Yeti acquisition, their prices will likely go much higher. I should've bought my Bridger 65 sooner, now.
If TOGW ever makes a second channel in order to go into greater detail and expand on topics featured on this main channel, it had better be called "And So On"
Dana Gleason fitted me with one of his MR packs at Neel Gap on the AT when I was thru hiking. Actually met 3 different times on the AT. It was his first line since selling DanaDesign. His footprint extends into the US military. I don’t believe those numbers are public. The name lives up to itself.
Mystery Ranch is well known in tactical and fire fighting Space. Super durable. Not light weight for backpacking. I wouldn't be surprised to se backpack coolers. You may also see them trying to go deeper into military contracts with cooler/insulation products for military.
man..i hope mystery ranch does not change...love their warranty and quality i have the blackjack 100 multicam for longer trips in use for quite a while
I find it interesting that the company started out as Dana Designs line of packs and the owner sold the company a bunch of years ago. Then eventually they started Mystery Ranch and built up that company doing the same thing. You don’t hear about Dana Design packs anymore, I wonder what happened to them?
Most of the times, companies acquire others and maintain their expertise in producing their products, keeping the quality at some degree, but in this case combining the supply chain. I think Yeti will make the mystery ranch backpacks easier to find in their already well established points of sale.
I just hope the mystery ranch quality doesn’t drop and the warranty doesn’t go away. I feel that mystery ranch isn’t as expensive as some of the highest quality load bearing packs. They are middle of the road quality and price especially since it can be bought on sale quite a bit. Also all of my luggage is mystery ranch and has served me very well. Hoping for good things.
I think that most of the people complaining about what the prices are going to be don't own a Mystery Ranch bag. Both Yeti and Mystery Ranch make quality Goods that are worth their price. I have tumblers that I've dropped out of a semi truck and a bag that has been getting tossed around for years
YETI purchase of Mystery Ranch makes complete sense to me from a business stand point. Mergers happen all the time. It probably is financially smart for all parties concerned because of said bad economy.
A while back, Yeti purchased Butter Pat Industries, a maker of very high end cast iron skillets. A Yeti cast iron skillet costs hundreds of dollars, but is the highest quality you can get. Heirloom type quality. I imagine they will do the same with backpacks. As long as the quality doesn't suffer, I'd say it's not necessarily a bad thing. I believe Yeti cooler products, or at least some of them, are made in China. I would like to see the money for high cost items go to American workers and companies, but it is what it is. I won't be affording/buying any of their products any way.
I would say your assessment of MR having poor sales due to the economy is accurate, the resale/ used market is strong with the brand. I think Yeti saw the dollar signs of MR products and think it's a cash cow with their scope of presence in retail and marketing, doubt that prices will go down much if at all though.
Yeti is the opposite of a company that uses its resources to lower prices for customers. Really odd that anyone would even entertain the idea that involvement with Yeti would make anything cheaper.
Mystery Ranch is a DOD supplier. They have a retail face, but their revenue stream is anchored by their US military sales. Yeti made a smart investment decision, as the core of Mystery Ranch's business is military, which is far more stable than commercial retail business.
Hi..you mentioned Osprey which was purchased by "Helen of Troy" a holding company that Also owns hydro flask. I have an original Dana Design pack and have met Dana Gleason, Wayne Gregory, and Mike Pfotenhauer of Osprey. The equipment world changes hands. The original Dana Designs was purchased by Marmot then dismantled.
I think it makes sense. Companies do organic growth like this all the time. Thats how they get bigger and diversify their products. YETI carries their own branded backpacks already. They probably want to improve their product offering. Mystery Ranch makes backpacks for military, fire, police....etc. YETI wante in.
MR started with limited US produced packs and accessories, qualifying as Berry Compliant for sales to government agencies and groups as well as the public. In recent years they expanded their product lines greatly by moving much (but not all) of their public production to Vietnam and the Philippines. They say that they have controlled prices while maintaining quality. Possibly valuable information to a company like Yeti.
MYSTERY RANCH SERVED ME WELL DURING MY OVER SEAS DEPLOYMENTS WITH THE SPECIAL FORCES. I HOPE YETI RETAINS II'S TOP OF THE LINE PRODUCTS AND RETAINS THE MYSTERY RANCH PRODUCTS AS WELL. OUR U.S. MILITARY DESERVES THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS! THANKS LUKE, I ALSO AM CONCERNED. DE OPRESSO LIBER!
I like the acquisition and I hope that the price of Mystery Ranch products will come down in price, however I do not want them to sacrifice quality to do so. On a side note you haven’t seen many MR products on the trail because a majority of their products are made for hunting, armed forces members, and firefighters. I love all your reviews and watch everything I see from you. Keep up the good work.
Brother don’t know what to tell you on this one???????🤨🤨🤨🤨. Maybe they were going under,,, or yeti just trying to help out. Mystery Ranch could have reached out to them? What if yeti is gonna use the load bearing solution with yeti insulation and combine them together. We won’t know a thing until they come out with something new🤓🧐 SEMPER FI
I did a little digging and word on the street is that Mystery Ranch will be staying in Bozeman. As it was told to me, Yeti is going to move their "soft goods" division here and run both out of the Mystery Ranch HQ.
Mystery Ranch are definitely a top of the line company that seems to experiment with designs and materials which is nice. Definitely pricey though, I view them equivalent to Eberlestock. I only have the Mystery Ranch Gallagator which is one of the more reasonably priced at $90. A really nice and handy pack and can function (barely) as a packable backpack while being much better of a pack than most packable ones (although much more expensive than most.
I can see it, a lot of outdoors folks use Yeti products, they see that and want to expand.....but you better BELIEVE the consumer will foot the bill for the purchase in higher costs.
It sounds like Yeti is trying to revive itself with the hunting community. A few years ago they lost a bunch of hunters because of a social stance. Mystery Ranch has a very good reputation with the hunting community. Although their packs are expensive, they compare with other made for hunting packs.
I did hear complaints about mystery ranch’s quality over the past few years. I see these packs get compared to osprey packs the most and those also have complaints about quality of recent pack redesigns. Hopefully we will see some of those issues addressed.
Two problems. While Yeti makes a good product they engineer here in the USA and manufacture in China. While most companies do that doesn't mean we need to support this business model. Which leads me to cost. I have bought two Walmart Ozark Trails coolers at about 20% of the cost of Yeti with the same performance. I work in an Amazon warehouse and 90+% of our products are made in China. As long as we continue to prop up their economy and not ours we are losing. We need to support America first companies and while that can be hard and more expensive it is well worth it to us as a country.
Mystery ranch is kind of a boutique brand, very high quality. I'm sure yeti is seeing diversified product lines as a way to expand further. I highly doubt mystery ranch wasn't doing well given the purchase price. Also the fact that the owner is an older gentleman he may have been actively seeking a buyer. If yeti was looking at expanding product lines it is a perfect marriage. Both companies sell high dollar items
it'll probably be another 1 to 2 years before we see what the fallout of acquisition has on Mystery Ranch. I have a Glacier backpack from Mystery Ranch and like it very much and their newer Bridger packs looks nice.
Same here, I just recently acquired the Terraframe50 for 1-2 night trips out in the backcountry with the boys. What’s nice about having a spare bag now is that if I have a buddy who wants to give backpacking a shot he’s got a bag to carry his stuff in. Had a buddy think we were car camping when he tagged along for a trip a weekend ago and we were able to fit pretty much everything he brought with him into the Glacier 71L pack. Mind you he had a bulky sleeping bag and sleeping pad that each probably occupied 15-20L each in the Glacier 😂. He carried it like a trooper and definitely said he’s considering going with MR for his first bag. Radix 57 is probably the next bag I go for as of right now. Need to read/watch more reviews on how it carries in comparison to the Glacier/Terraframe50
I think it makes sense for Yeti to buy them. Think about some of their cooler bag options. They also have a line of backpacks. I could see a very tough and rugged backpack coming from this merge.
I bought a Dana Designs Alpine Overkill pack back in 1995. I still use it and was disappointed when Dana Gleason sold off the brand to a major pack manufacturer. After a few years Dana Gleason came back with Mystery Ranch which focused primarily on government contracts that were produced in the USA. MR later started making a less expensive civilian line that were produced outside of the U.S. With that move and the end of the military contracts I wondered if MR was in financial trouble or, if Dana Gleason was ready to retire as a pack designer and sell off the business. Interesting, but also the end of an era of “bomb proof” packs.
I have bought a mystery ranch backpacks in the past, while it was very well-made and very durable it just wasn’t as user-friendly to a regular backpack or as many other mass-market backpacks are. Hopefully yeti will help streamline the design more towards user friendliness of their backpacks
Mystery Ranch is huge in the backpack hunting space. I am not sure how I feel about this acquisition tbh. I just bought a Beartooth 80 bag that I can swap to the Guide Light frame I have my Metcalf bag on. May go ahead and pull the trigger on a Popup 30 before this change.
Yeti might be keeping the other division separate and keeping those employees instead of letting them go. It's just one company, but still has two separate product lines.
Despite offering very different products, they share a customer base-those who drive pickup truck not for work but for entertainment. Wish them the best.
Yeti is eyeing that DoD budget. I’ve seen this with Arcteryx/Amersport…. I’m now looking for something to replace Arc going forward. I just don’t think Arc today is the same.
I dont know if I like it just because thats kinda like Harley buying Buffy, theyre both bikes but very different too...guess time will tell. Ive got a Mystery Ranch USMC pack thats one of my go to bags when the amount of weight I'm carrying doesnt basically require a good hip belt system like my Granite Gear chief (the USMC just has a 2" webbing waist strap).
My thoughts: Diversification can reduce risk to market volatility while also expanding market presence and potential for growth. When talking acquisitions and mergers, the hot sexy term is "Synergies". I'm guessing there is something the decision makers are seeing that makes them think the companies are stronger together than apart. What are those synergies? Cost savings?Manufacturing knowhow and efficiencies? Market knowledge and access? Supply chain integration? Cross functional applications of patents? Thermoses/coolers and backpacks seem like completely different universes. But, my brain keeps thinking, what do they have in common?
Yeti could be making a move for military contracts. Mystery Ranch purchase puts them in position. Yeti is also being challenged right now by Stanley. A smart move for them. I am not sure how it will trickle down to us lesser of quality packs to bring down price or perhaps lower standard of customer service.
Yeti was looking to get into current sales, which is military doe to the world wide war. So buying the IP of Mystery gives them access to a lot of new fields and money.
With the Stanley and Yeti Cup craze with the Gen Z's unavoidable. Will they start wearing tactical bags now too? Therefore forcing the Greyman to wear camo? Thoughts?
Yeti wants into the Govt contracting…. That’s what makes Mystery Ranch valuable.
Bingo.
People are getting poorer everyday, but the government is a golden goose that will pay and pay and pay if what you're selling has anything to do with the military.
yes, a client used to paying FU prices
Yup I had a Mystery Ranch ruck issued to me for deployment. It was rock solid 👍
yeti already had a small part of the gov't contracts (to the army suppleing themos for the field) like nike does. maybe a larger one ???
Glad I bought my custom made Atom Packs Mo40 for $330. I foresee YETI backpacks breaking the $1K barrier.
Great packs,just up the road from me 👍👍🇬🇧🇬🇧
I think you missed the story of the container that fell off the cargo ship full of Yeti coolers and how most of them floated to shore in very good condition considering
Mystery ranch already had some packs that broke 1k so…
MR has an ongoing military contract. 1k might get them a fannypack
Yeti will definitely increase the price 10 fold
It's not just ice chests, it's EXTREMELY expensive ice chest and tumblers
YES...I went with RTIC Cooler for my high-end cooler. I get same performance at 1/3rd less cost than a YETI.
Exactly! 💸💸💸 #ridiculousness
Mystery Ranch descended from Dana Designs, which really was the top of the line serious user backpack, back in the day. I still use a fantastic Dana Design large waist pack that works great.
I've lived in Bozeman for 34 years. This is the home of Dana Designs and Mystery Ranch. I've owned 3 Mystery Ranch packs. The day after the sale to Yeti was announced on the local news I walked down to their show room to buy another. The show room was closed. I spoke with a few employees and they didn't know when... or if... the show room would reopen. I had to buy my 4th pack online. All of our local sporting goods stores sell Mystery Ranch. You see them worn all over town. They are super popular here. I've known people who work there. I can only hope that they keep them here in my hometown. If not, at least we still have Sitka.
I've been using my Mystery Ranch day pack for 4 years now and I love it. I hope they dont reduce in quality on there packs know.
I've only used products of Mystery Ranch, that can trace there linage back to the Dana Designs packs. I've been curious about their other stuff, but I now don't know if I want to send money to Yeti's pocketbook now. Not after what Yeti did in 2018.
We wont have to worry about the prices going down
Hahah F's in the chat. They weren't low before though so maybe no change
Yeti has also cobranded with Goal Zero and coming out with power banks. Yeti products are very high quality, but beyond the reach of most people due to price.
GoalZero, YETI, and now Mystery Ranch will all have 1 thing in common... overpriced products that are outperformed by brands that cost half as much. My Ecoflow outperforms the comparable GoalZero. My OtterBox Venture cooler outperforms the equivalent YETI, and I bet there will be several backpacks which will outperform the Mystery Ranch offerings once YETI has taken over.
If you think Yeti is high priced, you must not have ever seen Mystery Ranch.
Goal zero when it first came out was on the leading edge but sadly their tech and materials are outdated and sadly overpriced.
Mystery Ranch is better off with Yeti than private equity firms.
That's a false dilemma, but very true.
Just when you think prices can’t get any higher.
Hmm I might need to buy a new mystery asap! Love my pop up 28 for hunting/hiking. Been a great pack for 5 plus years of abuse. Left it out overnight in my yard after a little tick treatment… I will say 22 mins of getting hit with sprinklers and it was bone dry inside. This was after years and many overnights in the PNW rain. Couldn’t recommend mystery enough. My bino chest rig has also been great. That being said I see a lot of firefighters with it, that’s about it. They are not cheap that’s for sure. I hope they remain top quality like they are, I’ve put 750 plus miles on them in steep rough country. And could easily go another 750. Yeti does make good quality stuff, and they are both very proud of their product $$$$ let’s hope that’s a good thing.
The Mystery Ranch Hiker backpacks are not that much more in cost than Osprey or something comparable...considering the quality, durability, and stellar service after the sale of Mystery Ranch...I am FINE with that and currently own three different models of their backpacks. Moosejaw or CampSaver commonly offers 20% discounts on Mystery Ranch products.
I love the Mystery Ranch brand. I have a coulee 25 and 40 and a Bridger 65. All are excellent designs, quality and hands down the most comfortable packs I've owned even over other comfortable brands like Osprey. The military and firefighting gear is very expensive, but I don't think this is a villain line of mystery ranch products are any more expensive than other high quality brands like osprey, Gregory, etc.
Because mystery ranch is very big in my world, I can tell you to my knowledge they’re really good financially, because of their practically the only supplier of backpacks to the United States military. They’re trying to break into the hunting market really big right now. But they own the military.
Thanks for the comment it helps us civs know more
They are one of few suppliers of *fancy* backpacks to the US military, which is still a fairly small percentage of the total. A bunch of random contractors can make whatever standard-issue cheaply-manufactured ruck is currently used by 95% of soldiers.
@@ExtremeSquared Agreed 100%. Mystery Ranch does not own the Military contracts at all. They may be preferred by some of the groups that prefer specialty packs, but they aren't making the issued rucks that most Soldiers or Marines use. I have spent the last 3 years as a Civilian on JBER in Alaska, and nobody runs Mystery Ranch up here. Every "non issue" bag I see is a CamelBak, I didn't even know they were still in the game, but they apparently are.
From my own experiences with them, Mystery Ranch bags are trending down in quality as they became more popular. Yeti has always been overpriced for what they are, brands like RTIC and other clones have proven that. I can only imagine how much Yeti is going to charge for a bag that they cheapen down over time. Time will tell of course!
They're preferred by people who have a choice. Everyone else gets a basic assault pack and ruck from CIF.😂
@@lynnjr457 I've been out of the loop for some time, but I agree camelbak was ubiquitous a few years back among units lucky enough to requisition name-brand upgrades.
Also, the marines got a half-decent internal-frame pack for a few years that MR may have been involved with.
Side note: As a civilian, I usually prefer my Vietnamese Mystery Ranch pack to my US-made Camelbak, though.
I love Mystery Ranch backpacks. Hope that they still cover the life time warranty on their gears
Exactly...the same lifetime Warranty AND the after the sale maintenance and repair department.
Yeti has made premium travel duffels and backpacks for some time. My wife and I own both. Not as big of a stretch as you may think. Just opens up a larger market.
Osprey packs are owned by "Helen of Troy" that also owns Hydro flask, OXO housewares, and a couple of others.
Gregory packs are owned by Samsonite.
And now Mystery Ranch are owned by yeti.
Mountain Hardware is owned by Columbia sportswear.
Love your videos Luke, very honest and detailed, love the way you research and review products, definitely the best TH-cam channel I have ever watched.
Keep up the awesome reviews you provide for all the watchers out there. God bless good folks like you and your family.
now we can look forward to $10,000 back packs
This, get 'em before the price quadruples because of a name.
Just join any branch of the U.S military. I'm sure that's what they pay now. 😂
Going into the outdoors. Thats funny. Outside is the natural side. Inside is the manmade side.
As if Mystery ranch packs couldnt get any more expensive.. lol
My husband and I both use Mystery Ranch backpacks. Their "In and Out 19" is one of my favorite small daypacks.
I own the Mystery Ranch "Scree" 32-L and is my go-to Daypack from now on, bar none. It is the finest quality, most comfortable Daypack I've ever owned, with the capacity to support an overnight camp if needed.
Mystery ranch has a bigger footprint in places like hunting, DOD contracts as well as wilderness firefighters than it does in hiking outdoors.
And when it comes to back country hunting packs they are one of the 5 that always come up. Eberlestock, stone glacier,kifaru and kuiu being the other
Mystery Ranch has top notch gear...hate to see anything change.
Just add the word "tactical" to a product description and the price increases considerably. Yeti prices are going up.
Over here is Australia you can find yeti at most outdoor stores but can't find mystery ranch anywhere. I hope this acquisition makes mystery ranch more available to us here down under.
Wildfire sports do sell some Mystery Ranch here in Oz - I bought a Bridger 55 from them
My wife and I have some Mystery Ranch packs. They are extremely durable packs and yes at a cost. But I’d encourage you to test one out. The Bridger packs have a vest style rig and make loads feel lighter. We also have Osprey packs, but I think the MR is better.
Eric Hanson is quite a fan of Mystery Ranch. From his reviews, they have unique lightweight backpacks with adjustable back lengths. However, they only sell within the US and Canada, so it seems quite a mystery to me how they can be "world-renowned". Merging with Yeti, I hope they sell worldwide in the future. I hope the quality will stay the same.
I have the Mystery Ranch Bridger 65 backpacking pack and love it. Never seen anyone else out on the trails ether with one or a different MR bag.
FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, Mystery Ranch was more in the market with companies like Stone Glacier, Kuiu, and Kifaru. These are backcountry hunting packs, not camping/hiking packs. (I'm not packing out an elk in a North Face or REI type pack!)As far as the acquisition by Yeti, seems like what Coleman did years ago. Coleman made coolers when I was a kid. Now, they make and sell all that is camping.
My$0.02
Interesting stuff!!
Wrong...Mystery Ranch has a complete line of premium quality and durability backpacks targeted at the Hiking & Backpacking community - I own three of them.
Yeti also just bought the high end cast iron skillet company Butter Pat. A very small company compared to Lodge.
Not at all that surprising of an acquisition to me. If you're into rafting, whitewater canoeing they have EXCELLENT dry duffels and some smaller packs in the Panga line. Absolutely bomber. Definitely worth checking out.
I concur with the sentiments of others here - while Mystery Ranch was a pricey option, they manufactured excellent packs. Now, with the Yeti acquisition, their prices will likely go much higher. I should've bought my Bridger 65 sooner, now.
If TOGW ever makes a second channel in order to go into greater detail and expand on topics featured on this main channel, it had better be called "And So On"
Dana Gleason fitted me with one of his MR packs at Neel Gap on the AT when I was thru hiking. Actually met 3 different times on the AT. It was his first line since selling DanaDesign.
His footprint extends into the US military. I don’t believe those numbers are public. The name lives up to itself.
Both are awesome companies making awesome ultra high quality gear!! Hope it goes well!!
Mystery Ranch also had many govt contracts for military packs. So this will be interesting to see how expensive they get now.
Mystery Ranch is well known in tactical and fire fighting Space. Super durable. Not light weight for backpacking. I wouldn't be surprised to se backpack coolers. You may also see them trying to go deeper into military contracts with cooler/insulation products for military.
man..i hope mystery ranch does not change...love their warranty and quality
i have the blackjack 100 multicam for longer trips in use for quite a while
Will they come out with a joint effort backpack cooler?
I find it interesting that the company started out as Dana Designs line of packs and the owner sold the company a bunch of years ago. Then eventually they started Mystery Ranch and built up that company doing the same thing. You don’t hear about Dana Design packs anymore, I wonder what happened to them?
Most of the times, companies acquire others and maintain their expertise in producing their products, keeping the quality at some degree, but in this case combining the supply chain. I think Yeti will make the mystery ranch backpacks easier to find in their already well established points of sale.
I just hope the mystery ranch quality doesn’t drop and the warranty doesn’t go away. I feel that mystery ranch isn’t as expensive as some of the highest quality load bearing packs. They are middle of the road quality and price especially since it can be bought on sale quite a bit. Also all of my luggage is mystery ranch and has served me very well. Hoping for good things.
Prices are going to shoot through the roof
Excellent combination for the outdoor enthusiast.
A wile ago Yeti turned on gun owners. I have never had another Yeti in my kit.
I think that most of the people complaining about what the prices are going to be don't own a Mystery Ranch bag. Both Yeti and Mystery Ranch make quality Goods that are worth their price. I have tumblers that I've dropped out of a semi truck and a bag that has been getting tossed around for years
YETI purchase of Mystery Ranch makes complete sense to me from a business stand point. Mergers happen all the time. It probably is financially smart for all parties concerned because of said bad economy.
Like you said, I've never noted a Mystery Ranch BP on the PCT. Less than ULA....but perhaps Yeti will take them in a different direction.
A while back, Yeti purchased Butter Pat Industries, a maker of very high end cast iron skillets. A Yeti cast iron skillet costs hundreds of dollars, but is the highest quality you can get. Heirloom type quality. I imagine they will do the same with backpacks. As long as the quality doesn't suffer, I'd say it's not necessarily a bad thing. I believe Yeti cooler products, or at least some of them, are made in China. I would like to see the money for high cost items go to American workers and companies, but it is what it is. I won't be affording/buying any of their products any way.
I would say your assessment of MR having poor sales due to the economy is accurate, the resale/ used market is strong with the brand. I think Yeti saw the dollar signs of MR products and think it's a cash cow with their scope of presence in retail and marketing, doubt that prices will go down much if at all though.
Yeti is the opposite of a company that uses its resources to lower prices for customers. Really odd that anyone would even entertain the idea that involvement with Yeti would make anything cheaper.
@@phasmata3813 Yep agree
YETI makes a great fully waterproof backpack. So it makes sense to expand to this market.
Mystery Yeti... Sounds interesting
Or “Yeti Ranch” 😅
The Mysterious Yet Ranch.
I remember when yeti said it was against the second amendment. They hoped on that band wagon a long time ago, with Dicks and a bunch of others.
Looking forward to tactical coolers
Mystery Ranch is a DOD supplier. They have a retail face, but their revenue stream is anchored by their US military sales. Yeti made a smart investment decision, as the core of Mystery Ranch's business is military, which is far more stable than commercial retail business.
Hi..you mentioned Osprey which was purchased by "Helen of Troy" a holding company that Also owns hydro flask.
I have an original Dana Design pack and have met Dana Gleason, Wayne Gregory, and Mike Pfotenhauer of Osprey. The equipment world changes hands. The original Dana Designs was purchased by Marmot then dismantled.
Yes, The Figfoot, and Yeti, can be seen by a high-powered handheld Lidar scanner, when they are "Phased-out", where our eyes cannot see them.
I think it makes sense. Companies do organic growth like this all the time. Thats how they get bigger and diversify their products. YETI carries their own branded backpacks already. They probably want to improve their product offering. Mystery Ranch makes backpacks for military, fire, police....etc. YETI wante in.
As if Mystery Ranch wasn’t expensive enough.
MR started with limited US produced packs and accessories, qualifying as Berry Compliant for sales to government agencies and groups as well as the public. In recent years they expanded their product lines greatly by moving much (but not all) of their public production to Vietnam and the Philippines. They say that they have controlled prices while maintaining quality. Possibly valuable information to a company like Yeti.
Oh my. The backpacks are going to go through the roof in cost now.
Yeti recently bought a high in cast iron company.
What company is that?
love hearing about this side of the industry. 👍
This is the beginning of the end for yeti.
MYSTERY RANCH SERVED ME WELL DURING MY OVER SEAS DEPLOYMENTS WITH THE SPECIAL FORCES. I HOPE YETI RETAINS II'S TOP OF THE LINE PRODUCTS AND RETAINS THE MYSTERY RANCH PRODUCTS AS WELL. OUR U.S. MILITARY DESERVES THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS! THANKS LUKE, I ALSO AM CONCERNED. DE OPRESSO LIBER!
I like the acquisition and I hope that the price of Mystery Ranch products will come down in price, however I do not want them to sacrifice quality to do so. On a side note you haven’t seen many MR products on the trail because a majority of their products are made for hunting, armed forces members, and firefighters. I love all your reviews and watch everything I see from you. Keep up the good work.
Brother don’t know what to tell you on this one???????🤨🤨🤨🤨. Maybe they were going under,,, or yeti just trying to help out. Mystery Ranch could have reached out to them? What if yeti is gonna use the load bearing solution with yeti insulation and combine them together. We won’t know a thing until they come out with something new🤓🧐
SEMPER FI
I did a little digging and word on the street is that Mystery Ranch will be staying in Bozeman. As it was told to me, Yeti is going to move their "soft goods" division here and run both out of the Mystery Ranch HQ.
I have a mysteranch hunting pack....was sooo expensive, but good qaulity.
Mystery Ranch are definitely a top of the line company that seems to experiment with designs and materials which is nice. Definitely pricey though, I view them equivalent to Eberlestock. I only have the Mystery Ranch Gallagator which is one of the more reasonably priced at $90. A really nice and handy pack and can function (barely) as a packable backpack while being much better of a pack than most packable ones (although much more expensive than most.
Actually I also have a Coulee 25 which is really nice. Good color schemes as well.
I can see it, a lot of outdoors folks use Yeti products, they see that and want to expand.....but you better BELIEVE the consumer will foot the bill for the purchase in higher costs.
Yeti is anti black rifle which makes Yeti equal to Bud Light for me.
You go culture warrior 🤪
black rifle is trash. your military has contracts with budlight. seethe.
It sounds like Yeti is trying to revive itself with the hunting community. A few years ago they lost a bunch of hunters because of a social stance. Mystery Ranch has a very good reputation with the hunting community. Although their packs are expensive, they compare with other made for hunting packs.
Yes they bought mystery ranch. I have no idea if this is a good or bad thing
I did hear complaints about mystery ranch’s quality over the past few years. I see these packs get compared to osprey packs the most and those also have complaints about quality of recent pack redesigns. Hopefully we will see some of those issues addressed.
Two problems. While Yeti makes a good product they engineer here in the USA and manufacture in China. While most companies do that doesn't mean we need to support this business model. Which leads me to cost. I have bought two Walmart Ozark Trails coolers at about 20% of the cost of Yeti with the same performance. I work in an Amazon warehouse and 90+% of our products are made in China. As long as we continue to prop up their economy and not ours we are losing. We need to support America first companies and while that can be hard and more expensive it is well worth it to us as a country.
Mystery ranch is kind of a boutique brand, very high quality. I'm sure yeti is seeing diversified product lines as a way to expand further. I highly doubt mystery ranch wasn't doing well given the purchase price. Also the fact that the owner is an older gentleman he may have been actively seeking a buyer. If yeti was looking at expanding product lines it is a perfect marriage. Both companies sell high dollar items
it'll probably be another 1 to 2 years before we see what the fallout of acquisition has on Mystery Ranch. I have a Glacier backpack from Mystery Ranch and like it very much and their newer Bridger packs looks nice.
Same here, I just recently acquired the Terraframe50 for 1-2 night trips out in the backcountry with the boys. What’s nice about having a spare bag now is that if I have a buddy who wants to give backpacking a shot he’s got a bag to carry his stuff in. Had a buddy think we were car camping when he tagged along for a trip a weekend ago and we were able to fit pretty much everything he brought with him into the Glacier 71L pack. Mind you he had a bulky sleeping bag and sleeping pad that each probably occupied 15-20L each in the Glacier 😂. He carried it like a trooper and definitely said he’s considering going with MR for his first bag. Radix 57 is probably the next bag I go for as of right now. Need to read/watch more reviews on how it carries in comparison to the Glacier/Terraframe50
I think it makes sense for Yeti to buy them. Think about some of their cooler bag options. They also have a line of backpacks. I could see a very tough and rugged backpack coming from this merge.
I bought a Dana Designs Alpine Overkill pack back in 1995. I still use it and was disappointed when Dana Gleason sold off the brand to a major pack manufacturer. After a few years Dana Gleason came back with Mystery Ranch which focused primarily on government contracts that were produced in the USA. MR later started making a less expensive civilian line that were produced outside of the U.S. With that move and the end of the military contracts I wondered if MR was in financial
trouble or, if Dana Gleason was ready to retire as a pack designer and sell off the business. Interesting, but also the end of an era of “bomb proof” packs.
Well, Yeti did offer backpack soft coolers and I think big water-resistance equipment duffle bags, the "Panga" line.
I have bought a mystery ranch backpacks in the past, while it was very well-made and very durable it just wasn’t as user-friendly to a regular backpack or as many other mass-market backpacks are. Hopefully yeti will help streamline the design more towards user friendliness of their backpacks
Mystery Ranch is huge in the backpack hunting space. I am not sure how I feel about this acquisition tbh. I just bought a Beartooth 80 bag that I can swap to the Guide Light frame I have my Metcalf bag on. May go ahead and pull the trigger on a Popup 30 before this change.
Yeti might be keeping the other division separate and keeping those employees instead of letting them go. It's just one company, but still has two separate product lines.
Yep, I wouldn't have expected that.
Despite offering very different products, they share a customer base-those who drive pickup truck not for work but for entertainment. Wish them the best.
well, they’re both proud of their stuff. I definitely depend on my yeti’s
Yeti is eyeing that DoD budget. I’ve seen this with Arcteryx/Amersport…. I’m now looking for something to replace Arc going forward. I just don’t think Arc today is the same.
I dont know if I like it just because thats kinda like Harley buying Buffy, theyre both bikes but very different too...guess time will tell.
Ive got a Mystery Ranch USMC pack thats one of my go to bags when the amount of weight I'm carrying doesnt basically require a good hip belt system like my Granite Gear chief (the USMC just has a 2" webbing waist strap).
My thoughts: Diversification can reduce risk to market volatility while also expanding market presence and potential for growth. When talking acquisitions and mergers, the hot sexy term is "Synergies". I'm guessing there is something the decision makers are seeing that makes them think the companies are stronger together than apart. What are those synergies? Cost savings?Manufacturing knowhow and efficiencies? Market knowledge and access? Supply chain integration? Cross functional applications of patents? Thermoses/coolers and backpacks seem like completely different universes. But, my brain keeps thinking, what do they have in common?
THANKS! I thought it was going to be Yeti purchasing Coleman :-)
I think the Abominable Snowman made a great PR move in changing his name to Yeti.
Yeti could be making a move for military contracts. Mystery Ranch purchase puts them in position. Yeti is also being challenged right now by Stanley. A smart move for them. I am not sure how it will trickle down to us lesser of quality packs to bring down price or perhaps lower standard of customer service.
It is the same customer base, so the purchase makes sense.
Yeti was looking to get into current sales, which is military doe to the world wide war. So buying the IP of Mystery gives them access to a lot of new fields and money.
just checked, Yeti does make some backpack, and they are even more expensive than Mystery Ranch....
With the Stanley and Yeti Cup craze with the Gen Z's unavoidable. Will they start wearing tactical bags now too? Therefore forcing the Greyman to wear camo? Thoughts?
Yeti buying Stanley was my first thought when I saw your thumbnail.
Yeti will jack the prices up so high the n ormal person cant afford it igloo coilera will hold ice just as long as yeti