The Mystery Ranch Chestie Mil Sternum Strap is exactly what it sounds like… it’s a replacement sternum strap for Mystery Ranch backpacks. It also turns out that it fits perfectly on the shoulder strap MOLLE on GROUCK bags.
Quality
The quality of the strap is exactly what you’d expect from Mystery Ranch. It’s well put together and I haven’t had any issues with it yet. It served me well at GORUCK Heavy 009 and I’m glad I had it on my GR2 because there were many times that I was pushing 70+ pounds. The plastic connectors that go through the MOLLE hold in place really well and you almost need a key or knife to pop them open once they are closed. This is good to note so that you don’t start playing around with it and end up locking the edges.
Price
The sternum strap is not cheap at $15 a pop (before the ~$10 shipping cost.) If you want to buy one I’d highly recommend getting a group of people together and placing a bulk order. The increase in shipping in minuscule and I think you can order 12 sternum straps for $1 more shipping than the cost one 1 sternum strap.
Overall
I would say that a sternum strap can be very beneficial to your comfort when doing a GORUCK Challenge. Is the Mystery Ranch Chestie Mil the best one to get? That’s debatable… especially when you factor in the price. Your other option is to give Maxpedition a call and ask for one of their replacement sternum straps ($11 shipped) and you’ll end up saving a good deal of money. Personally I prefer the Mystery Ranch one over Maxpedition but to some it may not be worth an extra $13+.
If you’d like to purchase a Mystery Ranch Chestie Mil Sternum Strap you can do so by ordering through Mystery Ranch’s online store. Just remember that there is a decent shipping cost attached to the price of one strap.
Events
I have used the Mystery Ranch Chestie Mil Sternum Strap in the following events:
GORUCK Heavy 009
During GORUCK Heavy 009 we had to bring a good deal of extra equipment which brought the average pack weight up to over 50 pounds. On top of that we had to carry sandbags and extra weight which really put a strain on the back & shoulders. The sternum strap did exactly what it was supposed to do and made carrying all of that a good deal better.
I cannot get the Mystery Ranch Sternum Strap open to move it down on my shoulder strap. It appears the pin locks in place and I cannot get it loose. I am afraid I will break it. What is the trick. I love the pack just need to lower the sternum strap!
It’s a tough one right? Here’s what I do… if you’re looking directly at the sternum strap you’ll see a small hole next to where the webbing runs through it. I put either a screw driver or scissors (pencils/pens will break) into the hole right next to the webbing. I then apply a little bit of pressure and it pops out pretty quick. I hope that helps!
Got it, thanks!
thanks for the review i purchased one because of this review for my goruck
Thanks! Glad this review helped you out!