Stone glacier 5900 vs mystery ranch bear tooth 80
- Thread starter MBubley
- Start date
I am a new SG 5900 owner. I also tried on the MR Beartooth. Like every thread on this subject states, you have to try them. I think the priority has to be placed on the frame, not the pack. For me the Xcurve fit better. Just hugged my body. In comparison, the MR felt like it was pulling away. Now with that said, I was nit picking because I bet the MR would have been just fine. As for the bags. MR has more pockets, zippers and stuff in general. That stuff was just not important for me. I liked the simplicity of SG bags. And because SG has less zips and pockets, I felt it packed down to nothing better than the MR. But again, I am probably nit picking. Both are great bags.
I've owned both and I'll try my best to give you honest feedback.
SG Sky Talus 5900 Pros:
Simple layout.
Xcurve frame fits my body really well.
Compresses very well
Plenty of places to strap stuff to the bag.
X Fabric on bag between frame and bag so blood doesn't soak through
Very light
Carries weight incredibly well.
The amount of bags they have is great if you need to bump up or down in size.
Horseshoe zipper is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A slightly tacky lower back pad that makes the frame "stick" to you.
Cons:
Holy crap there are straps everywhere.
Sidepockets suck at holding a nalgene, but works great for tripods and rifle.
Hip belt is not super padded, but i prefer this, most probably wont.
Very few standard storage options unless you want to pay for all of the pullouts and extras.
SG doesn't sell a normal freaking Nalgene bottle holder (Kifaru or Seek works fine)
Doesn't have a "hook" in order to hang your bladder unless you buy their extra bag.
Mystery Ranch Beartooth 80
Pros:
Bomb Proof.
Extremely thick and padded hip belt
Tons of storage built into the bag
Lid is divided into two and lets you organize your gear pretty well.
Side pockets were super nice.
Has a pocket to hold a water bladde if that's your thing
Cons:
All that extra padding fills with moisture/sweat pretty fast.
For me, the pack slid down my lower back with more than 30 pounds.
The "U" zipper is a great idea, but the strap position makess it an absolute PITA to open if you have anything attached to the sides.
Frame has a decent amount of flex to it to where a weighted load moves around a lot.
Pack Fabric was kind of loud, but is legit bombprood. (This can go either way pro/con)
I ended up selling the Beartooth in order to get the SG Sky Talus 5900, and I would do it over again and again. The SG to me is more comfortable and better at holding weight. The SG doesn't slide down my back like the Mystery Ranch did. Best of luck to you and reach out if you have any questions.
SG Sky Talus 5900 Pros:
Simple layout.
Xcurve frame fits my body really well.
Compresses very well
Plenty of places to strap stuff to the bag.
X Fabric on bag between frame and bag so blood doesn't soak through
Very light
Carries weight incredibly well.
The amount of bags they have is great if you need to bump up or down in size.
Horseshoe zipper is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A slightly tacky lower back pad that makes the frame "stick" to you.
Cons:
Holy crap there are straps everywhere.
Sidepockets suck at holding a nalgene, but works great for tripods and rifle.
Hip belt is not super padded, but i prefer this, most probably wont.
Very few standard storage options unless you want to pay for all of the pullouts and extras.
SG doesn't sell a normal freaking Nalgene bottle holder (Kifaru or Seek works fine)
Doesn't have a "hook" in order to hang your bladder unless you buy their extra bag.
Mystery Ranch Beartooth 80
Pros:
Bomb Proof.
Extremely thick and padded hip belt
Tons of storage built into the bag
Lid is divided into two and lets you organize your gear pretty well.
Side pockets were super nice.
Has a pocket to hold a water bladde if that's your thing
Cons:
All that extra padding fills with moisture/sweat pretty fast.
For me, the pack slid down my lower back with more than 30 pounds.
The "U" zipper is a great idea, but the strap position makess it an absolute PITA to open if you have anything attached to the sides.
Frame has a decent amount of flex to it to where a weighted load moves around a lot.
Pack Fabric was kind of loud, but is legit bombprood. (This can go either way pro/con)
I ended up selling the Beartooth in order to get the SG Sky Talus 5900, and I would do it over again and again. The SG to me is more comfortable and better at holding weight. The SG doesn't slide down my back like the Mystery Ranch did. Best of luck to you and reach out if you have any questions.
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2020
not to high jack the thread but I have a Beartooth 8o that I bought the bag only option and attached to my current frame. MR says it was 6.6lbs. I weighed it and it is at 8.8. Can anyone confirm the actual to described weight for both packs??
cornfedkiller
WKR
- Joined
- Aug 17, 2015
- Location
- Iowa
How do you attach them to your SG? It’s pretty much my only gripe about my SG, and I haven’t found a good solution yet.
I attach it to my hip belt by running the two straps through the loop on the holder. I ended up buying a cheapy Outdoor Research pouch that has a velcro loop, and it works out great.
- Joined
- Nov 27, 2020
I have the Beartooth 80, and although it hasn’t made it on a trip yet, I’ve loaded it up and worn it around. Absolutely bombproof (as others have said), and I have no concerns about this bag lasting a long time.
The major plus for me was the subalpine color way, and my height simply wouldn’t have worked with a SG pack. A number of factors led me to the MR, and I have no regrets.
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The major plus for me was the subalpine color way, and my height simply wouldn’t have worked with a SG pack. A number of factors led me to the MR, and I have no regrets.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Any add ons youve purchased that are must haves? Dont wanna be wishing i had certain things once i get out
How tall are you? My local store only had s/m in the 80 and im 6’4 what about stone glacier didnt work for your height?
KChunter71
WKR
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2016
@pods8 makes the nalgene holder for your SG
KChunter71
WKR
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2016
I have the sky 5900 and I’m happy with it. Fit of the frame is number one. I can’t speak for the MR 80 as I believe their frame just updated again.
100 percent grab the small and large hip belt pouches. The large fits a smart phone and 10 rds of ammo in a holder perfectly. The small pouch ia great for snacks, headlamp, and little extras. If you run a bladder, go ahead and get their bladder holder ( i don't use it, but my buddy does and the only issue he has had is the bladder hose getting pinched easily). Also, 100% buy the autolocking buckles. Depending on how many days you plan on going, just get the 7900. The 5900 is great for 5 to 7 days. I've done 9 days with the 5900, but when packing an elk plus camp in one go, the 5900 was about ready to pop and looked ridiculous with all the stuff attached to the outside of it.
. Im switching to the 7900 this year.100 percent grab the small and large hip belt pouches. The large fits a smart phone and 10 rds of ammo in a holder perfectly. The small pouch ia great for snacks, headlamp, and little extras. If you run a bladder, go ahead and get their bladder holder ( i don't use it, but my buddy does and the only issue he has had is the bladder hose getting pinched easily). Also, 100% buy the autolocking buckles. Depending on how many days you plan on going, just get the 7900. The 5900 is great for 5 to 7 days. I've done 9 days with the 5900, but when packing an elk plus camp in one go, the 5900 was about ready to pop and looked ridiculous with all the stuff attached to the outside of it.
Good know im happy with the variety of options for bags from SG. At this point im not sure if ill be doing more than 7 at this point, but more bag is never a bad thing also depends on what i find for sale used within the next couple of months, will be my first dive into a quality pack and wouldn't mind saving some $$$ and getting a decent used one, last few months have been full of gear purchases, would you be selling the bag at all?
Unfortunately i cannot try on the SG before purchasing being from Canada unless i travel a province away just to try on packs so trying gain as much feed back from other owners
- Joined
- Nov 27, 2020
I’m 6’5 - I had read on some other threads that the SG was not as conducive for those with longer torsos, but I’ve seen varying evidence in that regard.
Another thing that motivated me towards MR - 20% off at Camp Saver.
At the end of the day, it checked all of the boxes (optifade, extra compartments, comfort) and didn’t leave me wanting the SG, which I’m sure is a superb pack.
It really all comes down to fit - if you have the ability, I’d order both, try them out, and send back the one that doesn’t work out. May be out the shipping cost but worth it to know that you got the right pack.
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cornfedkiller
WKR
- Joined
- Aug 17, 2015
- Location
- Iowa
I have one, but can't get it far enough back on my hip belt to keep my arms from hitting it when I walk.
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2014
- Location
- Thornton, CO
The xcurve is limited in how far back things can go due to where they terminated those straps, the EVO frame stuff can be mounted all that way back. Its a function of the frame belt setup, not the holder itself.
cornfedkiller
WKR
- Joined
- Aug 17, 2015
- Location
- Iowa
Yep, sorry if I gave the impression that something was wrong with the holder, thats not the case at all.
I should've said the hip belt design does not allow it to get far enough back to stay out of the way of my arms..
I just did the same comparison about a month ago. I ordered the beartooth as well as both SG frames with an R3 5900 bag to compare. My short answer is I don’t think you will go wrong with either but the SG Krux (straight) frame was the most comfortable for me.
Design/build:
From my limited experience both bags/systems seem to be equal quality Construction wise. The beartooth has more integrated pockets/organization than the SG bags but you can buy pockets to put in the SG.
Fit:
I am just under 6’3” and 220 lbs. I got the beartooth about a week before the SG frames. I set it up initially per the instructions on youtube and then spent quite a bit of time taking it on and off, tweaking the straps each time to get it as comfortable as I could. In the end I was pretty happy with how it felt, with 32lbs of weight in it, it was probably the most comfortable pack I have had up until this point.
Then the SF frames and bag arrived. I set them up per their YouTube videos and immediately both SG frames were more comfortable than the beartooth. The hip belt padding on the beartooth is not as tall as the SG so the weight/pressure was spread over a smaller area of my waste. Also the beartooth bag connect lower on the frame so with weight the bag would sag below the belt, you can probably minimize this by messing with the straps but the Difference in how the Sg bag attaches to their frame seems to make that almost impossible. To decide between the xcurve and the Krux frames I had to up the weight to 55lbs in the bag. With the additional weight It was easy to feel that the Krux frame was more comfortable. Ultimately the SG system felt much lighter than the beartooth. I know the advertised weight is more but for me either Sg frame with 55lbs felt lighter than the beartooth with the 32lbs.
Returning the beartooth was a little more of a hassle than the xcurve frame but neither was particularly difficult. The one thing to know is that MR does not handle the return directly, they have you ship it to a warehouse where they inspect it and then tell MR that all is well. How long that takes depends on what else is going on at the warehouse. For me it was 2 weeks from the time UPS said the pack was delivered until I got an email from MR acknowledging receipt. Not a huge deal but given all the negative press on shipping recently was a little annoying. SG acknowledged receipt the same day that UPS said it was delivered. It took about a week for the fund to show in my account once they acknowledged receipt.
Hope my rambling was somewhat useful.
-Matt
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