Yeti says its new backpack is built for work and play — can it actually deliver?

In recent years, the phrase “everyday carry” has picked up steam. That’s the idea that you should always have a few essentials on hand for whatever the day throws at you: your wallet, keys, a watch, maybe a knife or multitool. Personally, I’ve never subscribed to that mindset — my days are as varied as my hobbies. So when Yeti, a company whose products I do use every single day, released its Ranchero backpack, marketing it as an everyday carry, I was skeptical, even though it was one of Yahoo’s most anticipated products in March.

I have a different backpack for just about every activity I do: going to the gym, climbing, fly-fishing, hiking, photography, travel, even work. It’s a lot of backpacks (a friend and I recently counted, and yeah, it was embarrassing). There’s no way this one pack could replace them all. That’s a ridiculous ask.

But could it replace some? I set out to find out.

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Chris McGraw/Yahoo

The Y-style RipZip zipper gives you access to the entire backpack without having to dig around. Shop the 22-liter version here.

Pros

• Water-resistant
• Includes two stretchy water bottle holders
• Laptop sleeve fits up to a 16″ MacBook Pro
• Can be used as a carry-on
• Has five interior pockets and a secure exterior top pocket

Cons

• Expensive
• Heavy
• Not completely waterproof

$275 at Yeti

Style

The Yeti Ranchero looks very much like everything else from the brand (in my opinion, that’s a good thing). It’s minimalist yet tactical, and tough enough to survive a nuclear apocalypse. The bag comes in two standard colors, black and a gorgeous olive (the color I tested), as well as a seasonal pick, taupe. The stitched logo on the top of the bag comes in the form of a Velcro — sorry, hook and loop — patch, which can then be customized by buying a patch from Yeti or hundreds of sellers on Etsy. It also perfectly fits my foam patch for fly-fishing, but more on that later.

The Y-style RipZip zipper design comes straight from Mystery Ranch, a backpack brand Yeti acquired early last year, and gives you easy access to the main compartment without having to dig around. I have to admit, my first impression of the zipper was that it was strange. I have a couple of backpacks that have a clamshell opening from the rear, letting you get at everything in the bag, but they require taking the pack off completely, which, on the plus side, also prevents anyone else from sneaking into your stuff.

With the Y-zip, you’re giving up a bit of that built-in security, but ditching the hassle of having to take the bag off every time you need something.

Features

There’s a fine line between organized and “where the heck did I put my AirPods?” that the Yeti Ranchero walks like a pro. Inside, you’ve got a main compartment with five pockets to keep chargers from tangling with your clothes or gear. Looking for a dedicated spot for your laptop? You’ve got it. The external zippered pocket fits a 16-inch MacBook Pro with ease, so you don’t have to dig through layers of gym clothes and snacks just to send an email. There’s even a secondary sleeve in the laptop compartment that an iPad can comfortably call home.

Like most things Yeti, this bag doesn’t flinch at rough conditions. The shell is water- and abrasion-resistant, which means it’ll survive everything from dusty summer trailheads to a not-so-light dusting of snow. The molded base, which Yeti has named GroundControl, keeps it standing upright too — a small but deeply underrated detail when you’re fishing around for your keys or trying to keep it off the wet ground.

A stretchy side pocket snugly holds your water bottle, and the side compression straps help cinch the whole thing down when you’re traveling light. I’ve used similar features on alpine packs, but here they just make the bag feel sleeker and less bulky when it’s not stuffed full. You can also leave them behind when you don’t think you’ll need them, as I did most of the time.

There’s also a keychain. Not a dangling afterthought, but a very accessible attachment point in the top pocket so you’re not stuck digging for your keys. All in all, this bag is built tough, laid out smart and surprisingly polished for a bag that looks just as at home in a truck bed as it does in an overhead bin.

Work

I’m lucky that my job is remote, which means most days I’m writing from home. But for testing purposes, I wanted to go somewhere, so a nearby coffee shop became my workplace for a while.

My everyday carry for work is pretty simple: a laptop and charger (mine’s a 16-inch MacBook Pro, a holdover from my video editing days when I needed the horsepower), a pair of AirPods, a notebook and a pen. That’s about it. Coffee is also a non-negotiable, but the coffee shop had that covered.

According to Yeti’s site, the 27L Ranchero is built to fit most 13- and 15-inch laptops. Fortunately, my 16-inch MacBook Pro slides into the padded sleeve with no issue. My charger, keys, phone, AirPods case, pen and small Field Notes notebook all fit nicely in the top pocket, where I can grab them quickly. If you’re the kind of person who wants a little more organization, the main compartment has five additional interior pockets, three of which are zippered.

Day one: Work + gym

I would consider myself to be an early riser, but not the “I wake up at 4 a.m. and start lifting” Mark Wahlberg-style early riser. A 7 a.m. work start time comes quickly, so I usually make it to the gym after work when I can get a few laps in the pool and lift for a bit without feeling rushed. That means bringing along a water bottle, T-shirt, shorts and a pair of shoes, plus a bathing suit, towel and goggles.

Having not used any of the Ranchero’s interior space for my work accoutrements (insert Winnebago Man reference here), the backpack swallowed up all of my gym gear with ease. My go-to water bottle, a 32-ounce CamelBak Chute Mag Renew, slid easily into one of the two side stretch water bottle pockets, while the other held my empty Yeti tumbler, which I use instead of disposable coffee cups, at least when I remember to bring it. Work and then the gym? No problem for the Ranchero.

Day two: Work + fly fishing

Down the block from my “workplace” is a flowing stretch of water called Clear Creek. It’s famous for being the water used to make Coors, but it’s also a blue ribbon trout stream chock full of brown, rainbow, brookies and cutthroat. Normally, I bring along my waders and wading boots along with the rest of my fly-fishing gear, but on this cold spring day, I opted to stay out of the water. Still, I attempted to fit them in the Ranchero before leaving my house. The boots were a bit too cumbersome for the backpack to handle, though I was able to fit a jacket, my waders sans boots, a fly box and my fishing vest.

As soon as 4 p.m. hit, I was off, gear in tow. My 9-foot fly rod, housed in its tube, fit nicely in the exterior water bottle holder, held securely by the compression straps. The snow was falling pretty hard, but the Ranchero had no problem keeping everything dry. I threw two fly boxes and a larger tackle box in without issue, and thanks to GroundControl, I could set it on shoreline rocks and not worry about the bag tumbling into the water. That’s good, because unlike my go-to fly-fishing backpack, the Ranchero is not fully waterproof, meaning if you do take a tumble while wading, things are going to get soaked. Depending on your use case, that’s something to keep in mind.

Day three: Work + climbing

These days, climbing means working from the climbing gym (mine has a great workspace area), working on some bouldering problems here and there and meeting up with my wife for lunch to get some wall time in. For that, the gear I need is minimal: my climbing shoes, a pair of belay glasses, a chalk bag and my harness. If I were climbing outside, I would also bring along my rope, a grigri, quickdraws, some extra carabiners, a helmet and some other miscellaneous gear.

My climbing gym bag is much smaller than the Ranchero, so I decided to try and fit my entire loadout, usually packed in a 35L climbing-specific Patagonia Cragsmith backpack, into the much smaller Yeti. I was pleasantly surprised when everything I needed for work, plus all of my climbing gear, fit into the Ranchero, albeit with some effort. One exception: I had to clip my helmet onto the outside using one of the compression straps.

All told, that was over 15 pounds of climbing gear. Add my laptop and water bottle, plus the 3-pound base weight of the Ranchero, and I had over 25 pounds of gear on my back. Not nothing, but for the short walks to the crag, not a problem whatsoever.

Day four: Work + hiking

Hiking is just walking in nature. Most of the time, I’m wearing trail running shoes, but for this test, I wore regular sneakers at work and easily fit my Hoka Speedgoats in the Ranchero. Additionally, I threw in a light jacket, hat, sunglasses, a pair of shorts, a T-shirt and a water bottle. Bringing along trekking poles? Much like my fly rod, throwing them into one of the side water bottle pockets and securing them with the compression straps made things really easy.

At nearly 4 pounds, the Ranchero is not a light backpack. Most of the time I’m hiking, I like to wear my Salmon 12L Adv Skin running vest, which weighs half a pound, to hold all my stuff. The Yeti isn’t uncomfortable in this regard; quite the opposite. Still, it just feels like overkill for what I need. I feel the same way when it comes to running. The Ranchero is perfect for housing all of my hiking and running gear while I work, but once my hike or run begins, I’d prefer to leave it behind for a lighter option.

Day five: Work + photography

Of all of the activities I put this bag through, it feels most like it was built for photography. I have plenty of camera bag inserts that keep my lenses and camera bodies well organized, and thanks to the unique way the Ranchero opens, everything remains easy to access, no matter where I am. Additionally, though camera gear has gotten lighter in recent years, it can still be quite heavy, so I appreciate the support this backpack provides when trekking long distances with my lenses.

Travel

I’ve been testing this backpack for the better part of a month, and I have yet to take it on a plane. Neither the Ranchero 27L or its smaller 22L sibling are small enough to qualify as a personal item, though they both work as carry-ons. It’ll easily strap to your roller bag to give your back a break as you walk to your gate or baggage claim.

Is it the bag I would choose to buy solely for air travel? No. If I’m paying for a carry-on, I like to get my money’s worth, so I tend to bring a rolling duffel or a backpack like the Patagonia MLC 45L, which holds 50% more. At 27L, I can find a bag to fit the personal-item dimensions of even the stingiest airlines (we’re looking at you, Frontier) and avoid paying for a carry-on altogether.

Final thoughts

One thing I’ve yet to touch on is price. If you’re familiar with Yeti at all, you know that its gear isn’t cheap. That’s the cost of business when you’re making a durable, feature-filled backpack like this one, which has a price tag of $275. Ouch. I’ve never spent that much on a backpack. Most of my purchases have hovered around $100-$150 from well-known outdoor gear brands like The North Face, Patagonia, Salomon and Osprey.

That said, when it comes to doing everything well, the Yeti succeeds. Is a $275 Yeti backpack more expensive than a $200 Patagonia? Of course. But how about three (or in my case, many more) $100 activity-specific backpacks? You see where I’m going with this. If you’re looking for a do-it-all, jack-of-all-trades pack, look no further. This bag will probably outlast you and your children.

That said, if your week looks anything like mine did, you’ll find yourself packing and unpacking this bag every single day, which can feel tedious by day three. I prefer to have individual backpacks for each endeavor, so when a friend tells me the fish are biting, I can grab my bag and go, no packing necessary.

Yeti

If the Ranchero seems perfect but a 27-liter capacity is too much for your needs, check out the 22-liter version, which shares all of the same features (including being able to fit most 15-inch laptops) with a smaller capacity and overall footprint.

$225 at Yeti

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