Mystery Ranch Terraframe 50 - Fitting issues

[Movadius]

I seem to be having a hard time getting my new pack dialed in. I'm having the same issue with this pack that I've had with every single pack I've tried in the past. I'm not an expert on pack fitting but I have suspicions that problem is related to my body proportions.

I'm 5'9" with a 19-20" Torso length, and wear around a 35 in pant size (38" waist according to Mystery Ranch measurement method). According to the Mystery Ranch site, that put me firmly in the middle of the scale for the size L of their pack. The pack comes with a L/XL yoke, and a size L frame/hip belt.

The reason I suspect my body proportions are causing my fit issue is that despite being modest height and normal torso length, I have a barrel chest and back, wide shoulders large traps. On top of that I also have a bit of extra fat. I've lost 30lbs this year and plan to lose another 15-20, but I do a lot of martial arts and heavy bag work so I have muscle on the upper torso that will likely not be going anywhere any time soon. When I measure my torso circumference at around the nipples, it's around 45" which I suspect is disproportionately large compared to my height and even my torso length.

How does this play into my pack fit issue? Well whenever I try on a pack in size "Small" or "Medium", The torso length might fit but the shoulder straps are always too short to comfortably span my traps/shoulders/chest and the neck area seems to always be too small/tight as well. So I go with Large or L/XL and then I run into a different issue. I always load the pack up with about 30lbs of gear and then put the hip belt where it's supposed to be. The problem then becomes a cycle of:

In order to have the shoulder straps long enough to where they span my traps/shoulders/chest comfortably and without digging into my chest and/or armpits depending on how i adjust the sternum strap, I need to either slack the shoulder straps or extend the torso length.

If I loosen the shoulder straps, it relieves the pressure from my chest but then the weight is hanging back and not on my shoulders at all.

If I raise the torso length to allow myself more shoulder strap length, that solves the chest pressure issue, but then the shoulders straps are being lifted off my shoulders by the load lifters and I would have to lower the hip belt too low on my waist to where it's too low and contacting my glutes, or slack the load lifters until the straps are contacting my shoulder again, but then the weight is hanging too far backwards.

It seems like nothing I do gets me to a place where the hip belt is sitting the right height, the straps aren't digging into my chest or armpits, the yoke is flush with my shoulders and not being lifted up by the load lifters, and the load lifters are pulling the weight forward enough to where it's not pulling me backwards. I can dial it in to solve any 3 of those issues but not all 4.


Is it possible I need a shorter frame like a M, but with a L/XL yoke? Does anyone know if there is a length difference between the frame sizes or if it's just the hip belt that changes? I'm thinking if I had a shorter overall pack frame, it would allow me to to extend the torso length to where the shoulder straps are long enough to be comfortable but without causing the hip belt to be too low or the load lifters to be too far back. I hope that makes sense.

Thanks in advance for any input you can provide. I really like this pack and want to stick with it but I need to figure out a solution before my 14 day return window expires.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Hmmm. I am 6’3”. 250#. 50 inch coat. I lift and do some crossfit. I am chesty, but not in a tacky way. Have plenty of meat upstairs in the shoulders and traps and a bit of a curve to my upper back as a result. I run a guidelight MT with a large/XL yoke and belt. If I remember right, my torso measures 21” but I run my MR packs about 2” shorter than that. Also when donning the pack, I:

1 - leave the shoulder straps loose but snug down the hip belt.
2 - tighten shoulder straps
3 - tightened load lifters
4 - attach and adjuststernum strap
5 - retighten hip belt.

That routine usually snugs the pack down to my back well and gets me the best comfort. I have to tighten the hip belt occasionally but rarely make other adjustments on the move. FWIW I had tried a Kifaru frame and pack system. If you have some serious curve in your upper back, their aluminum stays can be bent and formed for a better fit. You are going to be SOL on most packs with carbon frames.

 

[Movadius]

Hmmm. I am 6’3”. 250#. 50 inch coat. I lift and do some crossfit. I am chesty, but not in a tacky way. Have plenty of meat upstairs in the shoulders and traps and a bit of a curve to my upper back as a result. I run a guidelight MT with a large/XL yoke and belt. If I remember right, my torso measures 21” but I run my MR packs about 2” shorter than that. Also when donning the pack, I:

1 - leave the shoulder straps loose but snug down the hip belt.
2 - tighten shoulder straps
3 - tightened load lifters
4 - attach and adjuststernum strap
5 - retighten hip belt.

That routine usually snugs the pack down to my back well and gets me the best comfort. I have to tighten the hip belt occasionally but rarely make other adjustments on the move. FWIW I had tried a Kifaru frame and pack system. If you have some serious curve in your upper back, their aluminum stays can be bent and formed for a better fit. You are going to be SOL on most packs with carbon frames.

Pretend you have your current measurements, but your torso was 2 inches shorter than it is now. Do you think you'd be able to shorten the torso on your pack by another 2 inches and still find a way to get it fitting good with your upper body shape?

I've had mine come close to what I'd call comfortable a few times, where the only thing bothering me was it digging into my chest fat a bit... but that can be resolved by simply having less chest fat, which I'm already gradually making my way to.

I called Mystery Ranch and talked with someone who advised me the Medium size frame isn't any shorter than the Large, the only difference is in the waist belt. So I guess my options are stick with this pack and frame and try to make it work, or return it and keep trying other packs. I really like the features, design and aesthetic of this one- I'm gonna be hunting with it but I'm also gonna be doing a lot of camping, trail clearing and some backpacking with it so it seemed like a nice all-around pack for general outdoor use.

Can you recommend any other packs that would be similar but may have a different fit?

 

[Trackerbacker]

I'll try to look, I can't remember if it was @Jordan Budd or another person, but the statement of "at first it, 'right doesn't feel right'". It's somewhat between unnatural feeling and comfort.

How long have you been packing? How much weight you doing it with? And how long with that weight?

edit:
and how is that weight pack?

 

[Movadius]

I've been hiking through and camping in dense woods in eastern canada my whole life, but always using cheap and crappy quality tactical-style packs with no frame or hip belt. I never knew any better until I tried to do a multi-day winter trip with a pack without a hipbelt and it was not a fun experience.

Since then I've tried on a bunch of different packs and haven't been able to find one that feels like it wouldn't hurt my chest or back after an hour of hiking with it. My gear alone is around 20lbs for the current season, closer to 30 when it comes to winter. Add another 5-10 for food and water depending how long I'm going.

I've got about 25-30lbs in the pack right now as I'm testing it for fit. The only thing it's missing is my axe and tent which would add another 5lbs or so.

There are gonna be trips where I need to haul additional gear for others though, using the overload feature. Probably up to 60lbs at times. Then if I get into hunting...

Suffice to say, I think it's smart that I move away from trying to find a regular backpacking pack like osprey or gregory

 

[Desk Jockey]

Pretend you have your current measurements, but your torso was 2 inches shorter than it is now. Do you think you'd be able to shorten the torso on your pack by another 2 inches and still find a way to get it fitting good with your upper body shape?

I've had mine come close to what I'd call comfortable a few times, where the only thing bothering me was it digging into my chest fat a bit... but that can be resolved by simply having less chest fat, which I'm already gradually making my way to.

I called Mystery Ranch and talked with someone who advised me the Medium size frame isn't any shorter than the Large, the only difference is in the waist belt. So I guess my options are stick with this pack and frame and try to make it work, or return it and keep trying other packs. I really like the features, design and aesthetic of this one- I'm gonna be hunting with it but I'm also gonna be doing a lot of camping, trail clearing and some backpacking with it so it seemed like a nice all-around pack for general outdoor use.

Can you recommend any other packs that would be similar but may have a different fit?

Hard to say. Fit is pretty individual in my opinion and I think not all packs fit everyone.

Been hiking since the 90s for various reasons. I have used some shitty military packs and my civy / hiking packs have been north face, arcteryx and Dana designs / mystery ranch. My go to for lightweight hiking is a gossamer gear mariposa. As I mentioned, I tried Kifaru a while back. Bought a 22 and 26 inch frame and 3 bags. Just couldn’t love the fit. Got an MR hunting pack that worked for me and never looked back.

based on my experience, you may have some luck with kifaru because you can form the aluminum stays to your back. I haven’t kept up with the bags in their latest line but I am sure you find something close to what you have in the Terraframe. Having said that, that will be an expensive experiment but there really isn’t any other way to know what works.

anothe option to consider is finding one of the mystery ranch NICE military frames. If you can get one with the bvs pads, they really lock the pack down to my pack. They are heavier but totally bombproof And can be used with most of their current packs with some buckles.

 

[Movadius]

Just wanted to add this comment in case others find this post in the future.

I ended up returning the MR frame and getting a Kifaru Duplex Tactical frame with curved stays. It fit much better than the MR frame which was completely straight.

If you have a curved back, the MR frame might not be for you. I recommend trying it on in store as many people love them but it seems in my case it just didn't work with any size and adjustment setting.