Mystery Ranch 3DAP

[Formidilosus]

Mr Form,
I stumbled across mentions of this Fjallenraven Stubben and I've been very intrigued. Any long term use opinions / review? I've found a used one for sale in my area but I'm not really sure it fills my needs as a medium distance hike-in day hunter in Colorado (mostly later seasons elk & deer). I'm highly intrigued by the design for organization and shooting off it, but not thinking its great for packing out meat...

It is a better day pack for normal life. Probably could make a good dive or turkey blind bag. It is not a general purpose brining bag or a meat hauler.

 

[Dobermann]

Mr Form,
I stumbled across mentions of this Fjallenraven Stubben and I've been very intrigued. Any long term use opinions / review? I've found a used one for sale in my area but I'm not really sure it fills my needs as a medium distance hike-in day hunter in Colorado (mostly later seasons elk & deer). I'm highly intrigued by the design for organization and shooting off it, but not thinking its great for packing out meat...

I've had one for about 5 years now, based on @Formidilosus's mention of it.

I ran it as an everyday bag for about three years, and now just use it as a range bag and sometimes-3D course bag when I'm 'caddying' for my son.

I debated for a year about making a dedicated thread, titled something like "The Fjallraven Singi Stubben: Love to Hate It, or Hate to Love It"?

I won't capture everything here but ...

Pros: fits everything I need for an EDC bag; natural fabric; built-in rain cover; seat is really handy on day hikes; front opening gives easy access.

Cons: Fabric got wear holes on the bottom (where it would be placed on ground, as it should be) within first year alone. Majority of use was to work, so it was on carpet - this fabric failure was not from hard outside use (the internal seat frame is steel, and excessively heavy for most strenuous hiking day pack use, for me). This is not the longevity I would have expected for the high price point.

The top opening is pretty constrained due to the seat frame - a standard laptop doesn't fit in, necessitating using the front zipper. However, I personally found it didn't fit under all plane seats (and the steel frame often held me up in airport security).

But the main thing - due to the green color, the squared-off lines, the large external size relative to useable internal space, and the necessity to buy and use the external pockets to carry water bottles, or have a way to quickly access a first aid kit ... I lost count of how many times colleagues asked me "Where are you off to?", "Are you going hiking after work?", "Are you ex-military?", and simply "What do you carry to work everyday - that bag looks huge."

In other words - in my context (mainly office-based work, but in a rural town where it's not uncommon for people to wear hunting camo clothes casually), it still stood out far too much. Drew too much attention, comment, and wider speculation on my background and interests - and acted as an invitation for people to ask questions about me they otherwise would not.

It might be a different context elsewhere, but for me, this is not the bag if you're wanting to go unnoticed (or have something that will hold up to long-term use).

I swapped it out for a Kifaru Checkpoint (before they make the silly change to only offering in Multicam Black) - far better organisation, fits more stuff even though it's externally smaller, fits better under airplane seats, doesn't get held up in airport security, is far more comfortable, and looks like a regular backpack ... when they offered them in grey, it was a far, far better 'grey man' bag.

Still love the Stubben, though, for short low-key day hikes - the built-in seat makes for comfortable breaks off the ground - but that's become about it for me.