AllOutdoor Review – Mystery Ranch Coulee 30 Hiking/EDC Pack

Mystery Ranch is one of those companies that needs no introduction at this point, if you are unfamiliar with them please refer to any of the reviews on this site covering their other bags. Recently they relaunched their popular Coulee line of bags with a few new sizes and colors. The redesign of the bags still features everything you would expect from Mystery Ranch in a mostly hiking-focused pack. So, today we are going to review the new Mystery Ranch Coulee 30 pack for its hiking and everyday carry (EDC) merits.

Mystery Ranch Coverage on AllOutdoor

The Coulee 30 was tested over the course of several months as a hiking pack and a few days as an EDC pack. The Mystery Ranch Coulee 30 was purchased by myself and Mystery Ranch has not been allowed to preview this review prior to publication.

Specs – Mystery Ranch Coulee 30

BEST USE – Hiking,
ACCESS – Panel loading
DIMENSIONS – 22.5″ x 10.5″ x 9.5″
FITS TORSO – Small/Medium: 15″ – 20″ Large/Xlarge: 17″ – 24″
FITS WAIST – Small/Medium: 26″ – 36″ Large/Xlarge: 35″ – 40+”
HYDRATION COMPATIBLE – Yes
STERNUM STRAP – Yes, Adjustable
VOLUME – 1770 cu in
WARRANTY – Limited Lifetime
TYPE – Day Pack
MATERIAL – 100% recycled nylon 210D Robic dobby
WEIGHT – 2.7 lbs
MSRP – $189.00

Quality and Comfort – Mystery Ranch Coulee 30

When is my favorite things about Mystery Ranch packs are their suspension systems. Out of all of the bags that I have owned I find that Mystery Ranch packs tend to be the most comfortable to me. This bag is no exception. The padding on the back of the pack is ultra comfortable and feels like a nice gentle hug whenever you strap in. The same could be said about the harness system. The foam is rigid enough yet feels comfy. All the foam has air vents built into it so that it will be more breathable than bags that don’t have this feature. I also like that there is more than one way to adjust the harness system of the bag on the bottom of the harness.

You have your traditional adjustment straps, but then on the top, you have two additional load lifter straps forgetting the pack is nice and tight to your back. Additionally, and probably my favorite part about the traditional Mystery Ranch suspension system is the built-in adjustability with the back panel.

If you’re taller or smaller, are you going to be able to adjust the ride height of the bag to whatever suits you best. I really appreciate this feature because I have a shorter torso than most. To adjust the right height all you have to do is insert the plastic shell from the back panel behind the harness system. This which will disengage all the Velcro, then adjust the harness to whatever height you prefer. Note that there are adjustment sizing marks on the back panel so there’s not a lot of guessing when readjusting the fit.

Most of the external fabric is going to be made out of a 100% recycled Nylon 210 D, Robic Dobby. Wow, those are a lot of words I need to know is it’s going to be slightly water-resistant with a DWR treatment but also strong and 100% recycled, which is always a good thing. All the buckles on the pack are plastic, but certainly strong enough for a hiking bag. The zippers are all of the YKK variety with simple pull tabs. There are two pockets on the pack that are made out of a nice stretchy material that is also very durable.

Also, worthy of note is that the hip belt is removable! Well, I don’t normally use hit belts on a pack of this size. It’s nice to have the option. And I love that finally, Mystery Ranch is making packs that have removable hip belts incorporated into them. This is a big plus to me because if you want to convert this bag into more of an EDC roll, You’re not going to want to have a hit belt most likely. It’s going to look silly and so are you.

Organization – Mystery Ranch Coulee 30

Of course, this pack features Mystery Ranch’s, patented three-zip axis, which allows for quick entry into most of the bag. This has been a staple feature of theirs for many years now and the interior of the pack has a large stretchy nylon pocket that is designed to hold a bladder. Above the bladder is a hook point for said bladder system. Well, I like the inclusion of this pocket I would have liked to have seen it may be a little bit wider so that if you wanted to use this to hold a laptop, that was a possibility right now the only thing I can fit in here is an iPad. This is definitely a minor gripe and a more personal thing because this bag is designed to be hiked with.

Internally that’s it for storage and I wish there were a few more pockets on the inside. The top of the pack features a large mesh pocket for storing more of your high-use items like wallets phones, and granola bars. Externally there are two long pockets on the back of the pack. These pockets work great for holding additional clothing layers, or any of your bulky items that you may want to have access to And don’t want to have to dig through the entire bag to get. I think these are a nice inclusion and I support them.

Next to those external pockets, there are the large water bottle pockets. Again, these are made out of a nice stretchy material that I love well these are specifically made for water bottles you’re going to have to put a very large water bottle or even a canteen sized bottle in here to have it secured. Most of the time when I would put my Camelback water bottle in here, I would have to secure it with one of the side compression straps to keep it from falling out. The hip belt also has two small zippered pockets for your trial snack of phone and and very convenient.

Speaking of, there are dual compression straps on both sides of the pack to help cinch down or attach additional items to the bag. I always like seeing these on packs as they add a lot of versatility toy you can carry there are trekking pole attachment points on both sides of the pack. Overall, I think the organization on the outside the bag is good and you have a lot of options for storage and hooking things to this pack. Internally I wish there were a few more pockets for smaller items.

Likes

Suspension system
External pockets
Removable hip belt

Dislikes

Limited internal organization
Water bottle pockets are too large

Wrap-Up – Mystery Ranch Coulee 30

I think the Mystery Ranch Coulee 30 is a great hiking pack. I think if you’re going to use it for anything besides hiking are you going to have a hard time adapting it. For me, I found that it was much too large to be an everyday carry bag unless I was doing stuff for the military which requires me to carry a lot more gear around. I love the water bottle pockets but I wish they were a little bit smaller, and the harness system is phenomenal just like on most Mystery Ranch packs, if you’re in the market for a new hiking pack and you’re looking for something in the 30 L size range with minimal organization options, this might be the one for you. Note, I love the colorway of this pack in the classic black and orange and the other colorways for this bag look awesome. Also, this pack is available in women’s format and in 20, 40, and 50-liter configurations if 30 is not the size you are looking for.

Patrik Orcutt

Patrik Orcutt is currently a writer for AllOutdoor who has chosen not to write a short bio at this time.