It's time for me to buy a new backpacking pack as my 15 year old Jack Wolfskin finally shit the bed. And despite it having a "lifetime warranty," Jack Wolfskin will no longer honor the warranty since pulling out of the North American market. I still have the receipt and hang tag in my gear file even.

I really prefer to buy American when it's an option. And the price difference between an overseas manufactured Eberlestock at $400-$500 isn't much cheaper compared to Mystery Ranch or Kifaru that's made here, by working class Americans like me.

The Kifaru Duplex lineup seems to be a bit lighter weight than the Mystery Ranch NICE frame pack offerings, but I've got an older(2001-ish) Dana Design 41L/2500ci pack that I love and it's still going strong. Although I've use it more as a carry on than in the woods since I bought an Eberlestock X3 Lo Drag about a year and a half ago.

A friend from work has both and he recommended Kifaru. I'm going to try his out but it will be kind of apple and oranges as his Mystery Ranch is about 2500ci and his Kifaru is 7200ci! I just thought I'd see what the hive had to say about one or the other as well as checking out what my friend has.

Of all my packs the Mystery Ranch Crew Cab iis the most durable & flexable pack I own. I had a friend that bought a Eberlestock & has since sold it to buy a Mystery Ranch.
They are all good packs but I'd go with the Mystery Ranch.

I'm a Kifaru Junkie. There, I said it.   I do like the MR stuff though.   Kifaru isn't cheap but is bomb proof.  I've got a Kifaru Koala, Xray and ZXR and have 0 complaints.Here are a couple of obligatory pics.

If your going that high end, what about McHale?

I'm about to sell a Kifaru Pointman that I own... I used it once, PM if interested.

Thanks for the replies so far. The pack I'm replacing is 4750 ci and I'm leaning towards a larger pack. I like the size of the MMR/ZXR at 5200 ci. As for the MR offerings I like the Wolfpack Alpha, which is kind of 2 packs in one. The main is 4200 ci, and the sleeping bag carrier is another 1900 ci. It's little larger than I'm after but i like being able to use just the main pack for 3-4 day excursions and then add the other one for longer trips.

I'm going to check out my friends NICE CrewCab and Duplex Timberline 1 later this week when we go to the range.