In this world, there are people who live the strenuous life—long, hard days outside in punishing conditions—and there are companies that make their gear. From the battlefield to the backcountry, from the edge of a raging wildfire to the top of a 15,000-foot peak, MYSTERY RANCH supplies these stalwart souls with backpacks to match their boldness.

Conceived in the Rocky Mountains and used all over the world, MYSTERY RANCH packs have always had a single purpose: to minimize the burden on your back. Which in turn maximizes your strength, speed, and overall performance—as a soldier, firefighter, hunter, skier, climber, or whatever bold and strenuous activity you call your own.

This much we know: how you spend your time is who you are. At MYSTERY RANCH, we spend our time making the best load-hauling backpacks in the world—and using them, ourselves, every day. Sewers set out at lunch for a quick lap at the local trailhead, while designers gather to plan the next day’s dawn patrol. Weekends are spent in the mountains; we return to work with broad smiles, stories to share, and worn-out dogs that snooze at our feet. Our enticement is alpine air and adrenaline; our reward, flushed faces and lactic acid in the legs. We embrace the strenuous life, and outdoor adventure is our passion.

With great passion, of course, comes great power—which in our case means the power to improve backpack design. And, that’s precisely what we’ve been doing since 2000, when MYSTERY RANCH was born in the burgeoning outdoor oasis of Bozeman, Montana. Founders Dana Gleason and Renée Sippel-Baker brought decades of industry experience to bear, furthering their longtime goal of making backpacks better, stronger, more flexible and durable—and, above all, more comfortable to carry when loaded.

Built on the bedrock of Dana Design and other renowned outdoor brands, MYSTERY RANCH has since become a bastion of load-bearing R&D. From the first Navy SEALs who placed a custom order to the thousands of elite soldiers who now rely on us to keep their loads as secure, stable, and pain-free as possible, it’s always been about doing the best for the best. Because as far as we’re concerned, nothing else is worth doing.

Moreover, nothing else so strongly drives our central imperative: the pursuit of perfection. The best fabrics. The best frames. The best technology. The best people and the best ideas. We listen to our customers’ problems and then do everything we can to solve them. We do this with a potent admixture of collaboration, creativity, and audacity. Not to mention hard work—and lots of it. We make backpacks, after all, and we make them for the long haul.

As the old saying goes, quality is never an accident—it is always the result of intelligent effort. With a synergistic blend of pack-building prowess and exacting customer demands, we produce simple, practical designs that are inherently purposeful: tools, not toys. Another unassailable adage: form follows function. Our packs have a job to do, and we make damn sure they’ll do it right—all day, every day.

At MYSTERY RANCH, our mission is to support your mission—whatever that may be. Our customers are the rough and rugged ones of this Earth, those ambitious men and women with a lust for adventure and an affinity for struggle—be it occupation or recreation, perilous profession or ardent pastime, daily duty or weekend escape. They’re discriminating people in demanding conditions; they must haul more and hurt less; they cannot—and will not—fail. And, if we have anything to say about it, neither will their gear.