Excellent pack for extended length trips - Mystery Ranch Blackjack 80 INTL Backpack

I bought this pack on sale and with a discount code, so I payed SIGNIFICANTLY less than the full price of this pack (975$ on the Mystery Ranch site as of right now, I believe I payed a little under 400$).

The good:

I ordered the coyote color Blackjack 80L Size M, for reference I am 6'4" and weigh slightly over 200lbs, this pack fits me extremely well. The yoke is highly adjustable and should fit just about any man who isn't outstandingly vertically challenged. I adjusted it to be slightly longer since I am tall, and there was still room to adjust more if needed. The hip belt offered with the pack on this site only comes in the medium size, the hip belt worked fine but felt a little weird, so I ordered a different size hip belt from Mystery Ranch for 50$. I was able to install the new hip pads no problem and it fit great! I had to call to make the order since they don't have them listed on their site, but the customer service was good and they got me sorted out with no problems. The hip belt is also highly adjustable, very comfortable, and holds most of the weight of the pack very well. The shoulder straps are well padded. The pack can be cinched down close to your back very easily for the best weight distribution and avoiding shoulder strain which is very important to me. I like the size of the pack quite well, it is big enough to fit everything that I need, and allows for overpacking if needed. This is the largest bag that I would ever buy, and this is coming from somebody who prefers their pack as low profile and light as practical. This bag is by no means obese like a 100L bag or your typical rucksack is. You can fit your gear without feeling like you are a ninja turtle with a shell on you back. I normally do not use the entirety of the space in the pack so I am able to cinch down the pack to a smaller size quite easily, and to a comparable size of a 60L pack fully stuffed. The zippers are sturdy and good quality. The pockets, zippers, and bag itself are water resistant, but it's not a drybag so don't expect to go swimming with this and keep your stuff dry, I still recommend using drybags to organize your gear in the packs main compartment. The top flap can be detached for use as a daypack, I have not personally done this, but I guess you could. The 3 large quick access pockets on the lower part the pack are nice, I usually use the middle one for raingear, and the ones on the side for nalgene bottles. The inside of the main compartment contains molle webbing along the frame if that is your preferred method of organization. There is also a good map sized pocket in there. Each side of the pack has a vertical zipper so you do not need to open the top of the pack and dig everything out of it in order to get to an item towards the bottom, this comes in very handy. The weight of the empty pack is obviously not that of an ultra-lightweight backpacking bag, but is not that of a metal frame rucksack. You can absolutely use this for your normal camping/hiking trips, its not the lightest bag out there but if you know how to pack right that isn't an issue anyway.

The bad: (mostly my nitpicking)

It is a shame this pack does not come in more colors, specifically ranger green. The picture on the site makes the coyote color bag look more of a light tan, this is a little misleading as the bag is more of a darker coyote color, which I am still happy with. If you don't like it you can just throw a pack cover on over it. The water bladder pockets can be a tight fit for larger sized bladders, the pocket size is advertised as fitting a 3L bladder, other people have complained that it is a difficult fit. I recommend using a slightly smaller bladder or simply not filling it completely. The bag also does not come with enough strap keepers which is annoying, but you can get a pack of them elsewhere for cheap. The grab handle/drag handle is overly large which is weird, but it doesn't really get in the way of anything so who cares. I really can't say enough good things about this bag and can't really think of any real notable cons, so I will just end the review there.