Mystery Ranch x Carryology | The Dragon 2.0 Rises

Introducing our last collaboration backpack release of the year – the Dragon 2.0. That’s right, the fire-breathing beast returns. One of our most revered releases with the legends at Mystery Ranch has evolved. More streamlined, refined, and compact. All while retaining the features you’ve come to love from the original.


Dragon 2.0 comes in four timeless colorways, features a more EDC-friendly size while maintaining light travel capability, includes a redesigned modular Stick-It, and boasts morale patch artwork hand-drawn by the renowned Dan Matsuda.

Dragon Reanimation

When both our teams came together to discuss “what next?,” we unanimously agreed to evolve the Dragon, one of our favorite collaborations of all time. User feedback showed an opportunity to make this beast soar even higher.


This journey began with the Scape Goat pack, evolving into the Japan-only A & F edition Scape Artist, which led to the Dragon 1.0. Respecting this lineage, we went beyond new colorways. We returned to the design studio, wiped the slate clean, redesigned, refined, and improved the pack for a better user experience.


Our first step? It starts with a window-seat view of Montana’s blue-tinted Bridger Mountains as our plane descends into Bozeman through a flurry of wind and snow.


Hours later, our team: myself, Mike Knispel, and Laurence Fry, entered Mystery Ranch’s design war room, where we were greeted by the all-star team, Alex Rich, Tim Sakai, and Dana Gleason Jr. Moments later, we pulled up stools to the cutting table.

Dragon Scales

The Dragon’s DNA draws from Mystery Ranch’s military and hunting lines, with a heavy dash of EDC and travel sprinkled in. For this version, using mission-tested fabric was crucial. The Dragon 1.0 was made with Dimension Polyant VX50 Multicam Black and Dyneema, a colorway bold and wild with serious expression.


The Dragon 2.0 would be more versatile, having the ability to cross into more environments and scenarios, merging the best of Cordura and X-Pac with Dimension Polyant’s X50 Tactical fabric—500D mil-spec Cordura nylon laminated with 400D aramid X-Ply for strength and a waterproof polyester film backing.


Three colorways use this fabric – Black, Coyote and Olive. These colorways hold meaning, and are a colorful nod to the original Scape Artist released in the same three colors (in 500D Cordura).


And, to add some freshness, we added a White colorway in UVX40—a highly abrasion-resistant, lightweight, waterproof material. Made from 60% Ultra-PE and 40% polyethylene, UVX40 features post-consumer recycled black X-Ply and a polyester film backing.


Together, they represent four different adventure biomes: Urban (Black), Desert (Coyote), Alpine (White), and Forest (Olive), and we took this pack all over the world to test each one.

On-and-Off Expansion

We’ve always loved the Stick-It. The Dragon 1.0 was the first collaboration to feature a stowable version. For Dragon 2.0, we took notes from the original Stick-It design, adding loops and G-Hook Gatekeepers for full removal. Plus, we added three rows of MOLLE/PALS webbing and a Velcro loop panel for extra morale patches. Now, you can carry additional gear – from shell jackets to large oddly-shaped objects – on the fly.

Patch Symbolism

Dragons and unicorns. Icons of myth, rooted in the storytelling traditions of East and West. These mythical creatures embody more than fantasy; they’re carriers of symbolism. In the first Unicorn patch design, four distinct symbols emerged, standing in contrast to the Dragon patch. Yin and yang. Here’s the full breakdown of the symbolism.

The Unicorn 1.0 and Dragon 1.0 patches were conceived as companions, designed to be showcased side by side as a diptych, facing one another.

The newest iterations, U2.0 and D2.0, follow suit, featuring warriors astride their mythical mounts, poised in a moment of tension or harmony—an eternal interplay of opposition and balance.

Secret Pockets

The dual hidden zippered pockets on D1.0 were much-loved and useful for travel or EDC, great for securing small items that need to be kept safe when you’re roaming around questionable places.

Redesigned, they’re more easily accessed and awesome, and remain extremely discreet and tucked away.