How about a new thread topic? Or if we had a get-home-bag...it must have been awhile back!

I'd had been eyeballing a new small pack and decided to check out the Mystery Ranch Urban Assault 24. The other pack is a Vertx EDC Ready Pack and it resides in my trunk or gets moved to my wife's vehicle if we are off somewhere a bit farther than norm. Both cars also have bags with snacks, mylar blankets, rain ponchos, extra clothes and comfortable shoes and a bit of gear like water bottles and purifiers.

Just briefly I decided to make the Mystery Ranch (MR) a lighter and less stocked bag. Here's a few initial thoughts and I'll add more later and go over the contents more also.

Even though the specs say it's 25 liters ad the Vertx is 20....seems to me the Vertx is bigger! Some initial impressions are the MR rides higher which I like. The exterior side pockets are really tight to the body and the interior space pushes against them making water bottle placement more difficult. There is interior storage for a bottle on the inside along those outside pockets....but who wants to carry water bottles inside the pack? So I tried to go lighter with a lifestraw integrated into a collapsible water bottle....but it's only like 20 ounces and I'm not comfortable with such a small amount a water. Just ordered a small'ish/narrow nalgene bottle for the other side. The Vertx has more varied storage areas which I like. Plus the interior rear space (against back) is set up for a pistol and mags (or other things of course) with these things called tactigami that velcros where you want them placed. I've used it a few times like that and like it a lot.




Watcha guys carrying?