Mystery Ranch Blackjack Airbag Backpack

Other Tidbits

I never knew how much I loved having a goggle pouch built into a pack until I used the Float 30. The Blackjack has one too, and it’s worth the weight and extra zipper to keep goggles/sunglasses out of the way and easy to get.

The “Flip Top Box,” which Mystery Ranch sells as a separate pack accessory, is pretty useful. It’s padded, secure, stays out of the way, and can carry my Canon S100 point-and-shoot camera plus iPhone/GPS or two-way radio. It will fit a Canon G12 by itself.

If you don’t need the airbag, the lid removes completely, and makes the pack work great for sidecountry. (A small compression strop keeps the top tight and closed.) There is also an optional “Rec Lid” for summer, travel, or a big spring ski mission. When the pack is empty, the Rec Lid doesn’t stay as tight as I’d like it to, especially when the going gets bouncy—it attaches with two quick release buckles instead of the burly metal rod attachment of the airbag system.

You can also add “longpockets,” 16×5.5×4-inch zippered pouches, that fit on the compression straps on the outside of the pack. They weigh a few ounces, but a pair adds 800 cubic inches of tight, secure space for bigger trips.

I do wish I had a hip belt pocket for quick energy food. The current picture of the pack on the Mystery Ranch site seems to show one, so I’ll try to get one for mine.

Note for Ski Patrollers

We have a small, all-volunteer-run ski area with old lifts and some fun, all-above tree-line skiing near where I grew up. I still help out with snow safety and general patrolling there and have done so for a number of years. The Blackjack carries my (pretty comprehensive) med kit, as well my snow gear, cornice cutting rig, and extra puffy, and stays low profile and tight.

Room for Improvement

Lack of hydration/helmet systems: I like simple packs, but some folks might pine for a few other features, including hydration system compatibility and an exterior helmet carry system. It’s a winter pack, and I’ve had mixed results with tubes for winter touring, but it’s nice feature in the spring, and I sometimes miss it. You can improvise one without too much trouble, however. Helmets fit inside easily, but it makes the pack bulkier on the up track and makes ski carry a little less compact.

Weight: It’s not the lightest airbag pack out there, but for capacity and versatility, I can handle 7.8 pounds. I’ve briefly used some of the lighter packs, such as the Mammut, smaller ABS Varios, and the smaller Float. If I had an airbag “quiver,” I’d consider adding a lighter one, but the weight savings isn’t worth it to me.

Compression strap placement: This is being super picky, but it seems like the pack could be that much more compressible if the compression strap attachment came right to the edge of the tool pocket zipper closure.

As mentioned above, the ski carry is the best I’ve used, but it’s only for one orientation. It would add more weight and straps than I’d be willing to have, but my old Anarchist used to be able to carry diagonal going either direction. I miss this on occasional steep sidehill traverses when my skis are on the pack and the tails drag on the slope/rocks and when doubling side by side (“Canadian style”) on the sled.

Bottom Line

When I used the ABS and BCA packs, I was constantly aware that I was carrying an airbag pack. It seemed like the whole rig was designed to carry the airbag system, and the ski pack was an accessory. This may be unfair of me, and I have more than a few friends who are delighted with those packs. What I notice, however, is that quite often their airbag packs get left behind for all kinds of reasons in favor of other packs. I used to do the same thing. Now I’ve got a ski pack that’s pretty close to perfect, and it happens to have an airbag system attached.