Customer Reviews Mystery Ranch Catalyst 22

I bought this bag after taking my 17" work laptop (Dell Precision 7760) to a local retailer and trying to fit it into various bags. The ironic part is I had previously ordered a Catalyst 26 which did not fit this laptop due to the zipper path above the laptop pocket. The 22 has the laptop in the main compartment and just enough freedom on the zippers to fit it in there. As a disclaimer, a laptop of this size is not intended to fit in this backpack, which is stated in other comments, and I may have just gotten lucky by getting a backpack with enough tolerance to make it fit. I have greatly enjoyed this backpack though after owning it for a week. I use it as my main pack when bike commuting 30 min to work. I can fit a laptop, notebook, various writing utensils, laptop charger, headset, change of shirt, light lunch, bike lock, and bike cable. At this point, the backpack is maxed out on capacity. I wish I would have been able to fit the laptop in the 26 as this would have been the perfect amount of extra space for my daily routine. My only wish is that the pockets on the side were able to accommodate a larger water bottle. They can fit a standard .5 L bottle but that is about it. My go-to is generally a Nalgene and this is just too big. Instead, I use the pockets for sunglasses, wallet, and keys.

My last 3 backpacks kept having the zippers break. This one holds up great. Very durable.

I absolutely love my Catalyst 22. I recently had a 3 day visit out of state and only took this bag, and it was just perfect to fit all my stuff, including a hoodie I had bought for my Mom. I only wish I had went ahead and bout the 26 instead. But since my main usage of the bag will be for school, I think this bag will get the job done just fine. The material is awesome and noticeably strong. I love the Triple Zipper system, as it makes accessing the bag easy. For example, if you have something in the bottom of the bag, and you don't want to empty all the contents, you can just open the vertical zipper, and reach into the bottom, without messing up your stuff. If there was any critique I would give this bag, it's the water bottle pockets on the sides. I wish they were just a little bit larger and had some stretch to them like my wife's bag does. Other than that, I really enjoy this pack and it was incredibly comfortable to walk around the airport with during my trip because of the padding and adjustments in the straps. 10/10 would recommend.

I've had this bag for roughly 2 weeks and appreciate the compact ergonomic design that it has while retaining economical use of space in the design. Easy to wear and still carries my work computer and EDC items needed.

I bought this a month ago and when it arrived the zipper has issues making it hard to zip up and down. I started the warranty process but decided that was a bigger hassle than the zipper so I'm keeping the back. Storage wasn't as big as I was expecting, and there's not a lot too it, but seems like a decent bag.

Great pack overall but big fail on the water bottle pockets. You can't fit any standard bottles in them. The bottle has to be very slim to be able to use the pockets.

I was super excited to get this pack. 3 zip design similar to the Urban Assault, slightly larger and with water bottle pockets! The top stash pocket is more narrow and my hand (smaller female hands) have a thought time getting anything out and get scraped by the zipper going in and out. The inside laptop compartment is floated, which I appreciate, but is lacking the Velcro strap that is in the Urban Assault to secure the laptop. And the water bottle pockets the feature I was most excited about they don't hold even a standard Nalgene bottle. If they had, I would have dealt with the other features I felt were a downgrade, just so I could have the 3 zip design in an EDC. But unfortunately, I had to return.

I anxiously awaited the release of this pack as the outgoing urban assault 21 looked awesome, just lacked exterior water bottle pockets which is a necessity to me. As others have mentioned, the middle zip no longer goes all the way to the bottom, reducing its usefulness. Not a huge deal, but certainly a downgrade. The top "brain" pocket is a little tough getting your hand in and out of, but never had the UA21 to compare. The bag also sits a bit funny on my back, something to do with how the panels are laid out it seems, it just looks a bit awkward. Lastly, and the most disappointing, the water bottle pockets. Too loose for smaller bottles, too tight for the classic Nalgene. Why oh why wasn't a quality stretch material used?! I know this is a recent release, but I really hope these issues are addressed because this one just misses the mark for my EDC use. Some positives: -looks great while not on my back -black with orange interior is awesome -comfortable -good size for EDC