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  1. #26
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    JH/AK/Los Andes
    Posts
    2,678
    Anybody have any idea how big the avy tools pocket is going to be? I usually carry a BCA Chugach Pro Shovel and finding a pack that will fit it in the avy tools pocket is a pain to say the least.
    "The idea wasnt for me, that I would be the only one that would ever do this. My idea was that everybody should be doing this. At the time nobody was, but this was something thats too much fun to pass up." -Briggs
    Quote Originally Posted by LeeLau View Post
    Wear your climbing harness. Attach a big anodized locker to your belay loop so its in prime position to hit your nuts. Double russian Ti icescrews on your side loops positioned for maximal anal rape when you sit down. Then everyone will know your radness
    More stoke, less shit.

  2. #27
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    SoCal
    Posts
    6,749
    How about incorporating an Avalung into the Blackjack, like a BD Covert? Could come in handy for head-firsts into tree wells and to help breathing when there's a lot of snow suspended in the air around you.

  3. #28
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Posts
    101
    Is that just a normal plastic waist buckle? Like on a normal pack? That's not really well thought trough if it is. You will risk your pack getting ripped off in an avalanche. It'll be easy for your friends to find your pack though :P

  4. #29
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    Innsbruck, Austria
    Posts
    725
    ^^That is what I thought. Plastic seems a bit suspect considering that the other big players all have aluminium Loop buckles.

  5. #30
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Sandy
    Posts
    5,151
    Quote Originally Posted by _Aaron_ View Post
    Anybody have any idea how big the avy tools pocket is going to be? I usually carry a BCA Chugach Pro Shovel and finding a pack that will fit it in the avy tools pocket is a pain to say the least.
    Played with the Blackjack tonight. It's a pretty slick pack. The whole airbag fits in the lid of the pack and can be swapped out with a regular lid if you don't want to carry the weight of the airbag (spring days, etc.)

    The tool pocket will fit a chugach pro and is pretty good sized.
    When life gives you haters, make haterade.

  6. #31
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Van City and Whistler
    Posts
    2,026
    Quote Originally Posted by 1000-oaks View Post
    How about incorporating an Avalung into the Blackjack, like a BD Covert? Could come in handy for head-firsts into tree wells and to help breathing when there's a lot of snow suspended in the air around you.
    Or you could just by a stand alone ava lung, cut off the straps and zip tie it to one of the pack straps. Viola magic pack.

  7. #32
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    SoCal
    Posts
    6,749
    Quote Originally Posted by Atrain505 View Post
    Or you could just by a stand alone ava lung, cut off the straps and zip tie it to one of the pack straps. Viola magic pack.
    True, but the Convert integrated pack design is nice in that it puts the intake that much further away from the exhuast.

  8. #33
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Posts
    11,146
    sorry to continue the thread jack but if BD thought that the exhaust has to be that far away they would have engineered the stand alone unit to the same specs. also, ignoring the avalung feature BD packs tend to get less than stellar reviews as far as comfort and performance. makes more sense to me to use the standalone unit and wear it with your resort pack, day pack, or overnight pack as needed.

    Back to the Blackjack...can anyone confirm that the buckle is plastic while the other packs have burlier metal ones? And is buying through the MR website the only way to purchase these packs or are they also found in retail stores/online stores (I haven't seen these packs in stores, MEC, REI, backcountry.com etc). Thanks! This pack looks like a winner BTW.

  9. #34
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Seattle
    Posts
    33,546
    As well as the plastic belt buckle my first thought was..if the airbag is attached to detachable lid....

    Then how is lid attached to pack? I'd have thought you want that thing securely attached directly to the harness.
    Quote Originally Posted by Downbound Train View Post
    And there will come a day when our ancestors look back...........

  10. #35
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Van City and Whistler
    Posts
    2,026
    Quote Originally Posted by 1000-oaks View Post
    True, but the Convert integrated pack design is nice in that it puts the intake that much further away from the exhuast.
    Quote Originally Posted by bennymac View Post
    sorry to continue the thread jack but if BD thought that the exhaust has to be that far away they would have engineered the stand alone unit to the same specs.
    Answered for me. I know tons of people who have zip tied avalungs to all kinds of packs. Performs identically to BD packs and/or the standalone unit.

    Personally I just use the stand alone unit because on a day of sled skiing I am constantly switching between camera pack and skiing pack, but if I consistently used one pack in the backcountry I would be all over the zip tie method, because it makes one less thing to carry, easier to zip and unzip jacket, etc.

  11. #36
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    PNW -> MSO
    Posts
    7,889
    Mystery makes an avalung yoke for their packs. Just give 'em the guts of an avalung pack or one of the bandoliers and you can have the best of both worlds.

  12. #37
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Colorado
    Posts
    9,356
    I will be looking forward to fondling this pack at SIA this week.
    Terje was right.

    "We're all kooks to somebody else." -Shelby Menzel

  13. #38
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Colorado
    Posts
    9,356
    Quote Originally Posted by PNWbrit View Post
    As well as the plastic belt buckle my first thought was..if the airbag is attached to detachable lid....

    Then how is lid attached to pack? I'd have thought you want that thing securely attached directly to the harness.
    Fondled and pulled the handle on this pack today.

    Plastic buckles are from an USA factory, they can control the quality/strength and the plastic are just as burly as the metal ones they considered. Weight is a concern, but strength is more important. They just found the plastic to be as strong.

    Option to order the pack with choice of which side the pull is on or dual pull sleeves, meaning you can have it on either side.

    Did not notice the lid attachment. I imagine it is a combination of straps and zipper.....when i blew it, it was bombproof....loud as fuck.

    best pack I have seen. retail 850ish.

    Small pack version coming soon.

    WANT.
    Last edited by DasBlunt; 01-27-2011 at 08:24 PM.
    Terje was right.

    "We're all kooks to somebody else." -Shelby Menzel

  14. #39
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    9,300ft
    Posts
    21,938
    Lid attachment sysytem is super bomber and includes a ton of strong webbing and metal.
    They said they drop tested the plastic buckle. And they were strong, and that most of the force is on the leg loop and shoulder straps.
    Quote Originally Posted by blurred
    skiing is hiking all day so that you can ski on shitty gear for 5 minutes.

  15. #40
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Posts
    11,146
    Thanks for those postings ^^

    I too WANT this pack...

  16. #41
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    SoCal
    Posts
    6,749
    Any updates on the availability date?

  17. #42
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    hell, CA pop 4
    Posts
    2,398
    any word lately?

    i haven't got call yet.

  18. #43
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    NorCal
    Posts
    2,573
    Louie Dawson's take on Wildsnow:

    http://www.wildsnow.com/4618/blackja...ackpac-review/

    Nice review.

  19. #44
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    SoCal
    Posts
    6,749
    The BJ airbag doesn't look like it's solidly attached to the pack compared to the others, but maybe they're all this way and the bag "shoulders" just give the appearance of more connections.
    http://www.skiingthebackcountry.com/...bag-comparison

  20. #45
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Dystopia
    Posts
    21,053
    Quote Originally Posted by kyle christenso View Post
    As a member of the sales staff working on the Black Jack AE project at Mystery Ranch I thought I would fill you in on a couple of details. First, the price of the system including the airbag will less than $900 when available for retail sale. The airbag is designed, built and tested by Avi Vest and can be installed in the Mystery Ranch Blackjack pack. The weight is approximately 8lbs with all components, and the airbag system takes up about 3.5 lbs of that. Watch Wild Snow for comprehensive compressions of all the airbag safety systems this season.
    ]
    Inside info.
    . . .

  21. #46
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    NorCal
    Posts
    2,573
    More recent review on Wildsnow of the new (lighter) version:

    http://www.wildsnow.com/5886/mystery...jack-review-2/

  22. #47
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    none
    Posts
    8,334
    What is the fill mechanism and how do they include 10 fills with a new pack? Has anyone done a pros/cons with this and the BCA packs?

  23. #48
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Posts
    24
    Hi gents,
    Ben Nobel here from Mystery Ranch. Our new Blackjack is ready to rip. We're doing a group buy on the Gear Swap forum if you guys are interested. Here's all the new specs.. http://www.mysteryranch.com/recreati...blackjack-pack

  24. #49
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    SoCal
    Posts
    6,749
    Hi Ben, since the Blackjack's airbag system is removable, will Mystery Ranch eventually offer a smaller ski pack (perhaps the Saddle Peak or Fuze) that accepts the airbag system from the Blackjack, for lift-served days?

    That's definitely one of the benefits of the Mammut Ride R.A.S. bags; I'm tempted to go with the Blackjack but would love the flexibility and light weight of the 2012/2013 Mammut system.

  25. #50
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Edmonton, AB
    Posts
    248
    I'm not entirely convinced that attaching it to a smaller pack would gain you much. The most annoying thing about this (and I think all other airbags) at the resort is the leg loop, unless they never make you take off or unbuckle your pack on the chairs. The pack itself can be compressed to be quite thin, no more than 15cm (6") thick with my shovel, probe, and saw in it. I stash the leg loop when I'm not out-of-bounds (there's a convenient little pocket for it on the outside of the pack), which makes it no more difficult to handle than any of my other packs.

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