New REI UL pack

I always wanted one of their UL45 packs for a daypack, but they never fit my 21.5" torso. Neither did the Cruise series. Hopefully their "large" goes above the listed 19" torso size. Anyone tried on on yet?

My girlfriend recently bought one of the new Flash 50 packs: http://www.rei.com/product/778472 I took out the curved aluminum stays & HDPE frame sheet (which cannot be separated from each other) and trimmed a foam pad to fit into the frame sheet pocket. That seemed like it halved the weight of this already surprisingly light pack. She's only had the chance to take it out on a day hike but, since the top lid is detachable and it has multiple compression points it made a great light pack. I haven't weighed it yet but without the lid and frame stays it feels like its a little over 1lb. I'm going to post her full review and it should include precise weights at different configurations. That said, we are both really impressed with a lot of the features of this pack that clearly takes a few hints from popular lightweight pack designs like the G4.

I have the old UL60 pack before it was labeled the cruise. great packs, but i never carried enough to fill it up unless i had a 3L bladder, a full length z-rest and was carrying everything other than my girlfriends sleep system. even then there was enough room for a week or 2 more food… this year we got my g/f a ul45 so she can carry all her bulky stuff. Did they stick with the cinch cord compression system? that's the one thing I'll always miss about that pack. fill it, yank on the strap and your golden.

"Did they stick with the cinch cord compression system? that's the one thing I'll always miss about that pack. fill it, yank on the strap and your golden."

Nope. Standard side compression straps, one on each side. Too bad–I've always liked the cord compression too. Maybe it's more expensive to manufacture–sewing the sleeves and threading the cord was probably an incremental cost over side straps. Just guessing.

I work part time in the camping department at our REI so I've had a chance to look at these. Haven't tried one.