lightweight but comfortable daypack to suppliment standard gear

Panel, clamshell or top load.

I am open to any of the options mentioned. I can make do with any of them. If I can find a light yet comfortable option that keeps me from getting jabbed in the back and is compact enough to bring along I'll be very pleased. If there is a way to attach it to the exterior (like the osprey system) fabulous, if not, I'm hoping to not take up too much room if its going to be packed internally.

Side question. Where do you all pack your daypacks on trips you find a legitimate purpose to bring one?

Sorry for the bump, but hoping to get some opinions in time to pull the trigger and be able to receive it before my next trip!

Personally I would use my main pack, but if you are against that then I would find a small dyneema fabric pack.

Not sure what your weight requirements are but you may want to take a look at REI's Flash 18 pack http://www.rei.com/product/827110/rei-flash-18-pack or Gossamer Gear's Minimalist Daypack http://gossamergear.com/packs/backpacks/minimalist.html. Both have padded back pack panels and are in the 9 – 11 oz range. The REI pack comes with a hipbelt but the GG does not.

I almost always carry a lightweight daypack; my backpacking is just to get closer to do peak bagging in the Sierra or similar day hikes from a base camp.

I had an REI Flash 18, then switched to a Golite Ion. The Flash was just a little too small to carry my stuff: down jacket and 1.5-2L water, plus incidentals (lunch, first aid kit, emergency stuff, extra camera lens sometimes). When I used to to more hard-core climbing, I'd carry crampons and ice axe in the spring.

As to packing the daypack: I put all loose stuff in it and sort of use it as a stuff sack. The straps can get awkward, but turning the daypack inside out can help with that. The drawstring top of the Flash was better when used that way.

If you can find one of the old Flash 18s at the discounted ~$20 price, that might be worth trying. I didn't see much in the newer version to recommend it. I think maybe they changed the arrangement of the pockets inside, but I don't remember if they made it better or worse.

go into rei or other such and try em all on with yr gear …

some of the packs mentioned on here are pretty minimal, which you already indicated doesnt work

the only way to get a good pack is to try em all on and pick the best fitting one at the best price and weight

I was just in REI on a similar mission and the Flash was substanial, although unpadded. So you would have to add 1/4" CCF against the back or multi-purpose something from your kit (pillow?, inflated water bladder?, fleece sweater?, detach a section of your sleeping pad?). 10-11 ounces and ?? $39-ish ??

I just used Sea-to-Summit's 20-liter, 1220-cubic-inch, 2.4-ounce minimialist mini-daypack on the !EPIC! Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim trip. > a marathon, vertical miles, snow storms morning and night; it was a good test of gear. I didn't have anything as pointy as a camera, but water bottles didn't stab at me AT ALL, which I was concerned about. At 2.4 ounces and packing down to the size of dog turd, I wouldn't hesitate to bring it BPing for dayhikes expecially if the volume could help with the day or two post-food-resupply by wearing it on my chest with a low-volume pack on my back.

http://www.rei.com/product/799600/sea-to-summit-ultra-sil-packable-day-pack

REI said Sea-to-Summit makes a bigger version that REI doesn't carry, so I'm going to be checking that out. -David

Here's their slightly larger (22 liters) ultra-sil daypack. Also very minimal, but with the compression cord on the back, you could both snug it down and/or lash a sweater or poncho on the backside.

http://www.seatosummit.com/products/display/162

$55. But those straps are unpadded, so while it works for me, you might have too much weight in camera gear for that to be comfortable without beefing up those shoulder straps.

+1 on sea-to-summit. Ridiculously light weight, I carry it without regrets on any backpacking trip where I want to day-hike from my tent. No problems with a water bottle being uncomfortable.

As much as I like my sea to summit daypack too, watch out for it. I carried a small umbrella in it one day and produced 5 tiny holes in it. I taped them up with a tent patch kit but I really watch out for anything with edges. BTW I bought it from L.L. Bean when it first came out for a good price. They stopped carrying it the next year.Maybe warranty claims? That Ultrasil pack for $55 is light . Maybe too light.Sales and availability seem low-almost no reviews. They were recently at Campsaver for $20% 0ff . But for the same initial price there the OR Drypeak bagger which I also own is 3 times heavier but it is a better pack . You can set it down on a substantial bottom and the ice axe sleeve is robust.I carry my tripod in it. Good minimalist straps that are wide. Sternum strap. And a good drybag.

I just ordered this one this morning. Smaller, but lighter and should easily replace my sleeping bag stuff sack and take care of basecamp/dayhike/summit stuff nicely. Very reasonable price and great company:

http://gossamergear.com/wp/tribal/featured-product

This gives me an excellent starting point. I live in a relatively small ski town with closest REI/equivilant 100 miles away… local mountaineering shops have very limited options and will not be updating inventory for at least another month. I will probably order from REI and can always return if it doesn't work out.

Using pack as a stuff sack is brilliant! I'm going to see what I can make work using the idea!

My search is being slightly revised…. Some of the features I "needed" (wanted :P) are evolving a bit. While some of these SUPER minimalist packs look amazing and the weight is very appealing, I'm afraid if a small tear formed my camera (body (3500+1300-1600 primary lens-, and whichever extra lens I have (1200-3500 depending on days selection) will equate to a drop that costs MUCH more and leaving me regretting saving a couple ounces on the front end….. I also believe that regardless of whether or not I need both lenses on a day hike, I'm apprehensive about leaving my spare at camp….

Secondly, I decided I'm probably going to pick up 2 daypacks. most likely a flash 18 as it is super cheap, and a more substantial option that is between 1-3 lbs. I live in Breckenridge CO and most of the ideal destinations I plan on visiting have steep/strenuous climbs. Our day to day travels to get to camp will be relatively short and I am confident I will have an equal amount of time if not greater with the daypack strapped to me than my 65L. I would rather carry an extra lb or 1.5 lbs for the 3-5 miles to get to camp than carrying 1/3 to half of my entire packs weight around on spaghetti straps. I also would love a pack that offers a bit more protection when setting down my pack to grab a shot. While wrapping a lens in an article of clothing will offer some protection, I have horrible luck… the ONE time I too abruptly set down my thin fabulous 3 oz pack, it will inevitably have a load shift and at the very least I'll end up with a cracked lcd, or knock the calibration of a lens off…

I was considering something like the osprey stratos? As I have not handled this pack, I'm curious if the suspension system is large and will deem itself unpackable? I'm thinking I'll stuff all my clothes, socks, etc into the daypack and lay flat (inside the primary compartment) at the rear/outside of the pack.

I'm hoping for suggestions that are similar or excel with a similar or superior comfort level to the stratos. I've decided that with a 15-20lb potential load I would like to keep the weight on my hips not my shoulders.

For trips that are not going to justify an additional heavy long lens, tripod, etc, the small and light option will be MUCH more ideal and versatile. I won't have to go without the comfort of a pack and try to use the stupid pack lid fanny pack but not lug the extra unnecessary weight. I would LOVE to find a GoLite Ion but seems to be striking out thus far…. Is the gossamer minimalist or the rei flash more durable? I assume the ion takes the edge on both but if I can't get one, its a pointless desire…

Honestly, with the weight you'd be carrying with those lens (and with some appropriate padding) most daypacks will either not be big enough or comfortable enough to accomadate all that equipment.
I'm looking as well into the best way to backpack with my photography equipment and I believe customizing your own camping pack would be best (zpacks, zimmerbuilt ??). Here are some of the things I've been thinking about.

Ideally you'd be able to use such a pack for events as well as hiking and camping. I like having my equipment easily and readily accessible.

Maybe combine the daypack (if not using main pack) with a belt (detachable from main pack ?) where you can attach lens pouch (make those as well) a la thinktank or lowepro.
Since you have a pro body and heavy lens and moving around, I'd rule out a neck strap (just trying to be thourough, hoping I'm not leaving anything out), shoulder straps (blackrapid etc) and the personally the spider holster.
Personally I like peak design capture camera clip system but you'd need a strong enough attach point I think. There is always the cotton carrier camera system but that I haven't tried yet.
I also like the optech dual harness, even though it's not on the hips I've carried all day very comfortably 2 bodies + grips and a sigma 50-500mm / 100-300 (better than the dual blackrapid straps); unfortunately it does swing quite a bit and it is hard to kneel down with.

Still, it's a lot of hard, unyielding weight to carry. Get something comfortable and padded at the expense of a few ounces.
I tried using the REI daypack, it did sometimes poke me in the back and in general didn't quite satisfy me.

I'm aware that I'm sort of going for a one size fits all but just about every other options out there hasn't quite cut it for me .

I kinda just skimmed through this thread, so my apologies if this idea was mentioned previously, but have you considered using a case like f-stop gear's internal camera unit series? I don't have personal experience with this particular line of products, but I've wanted to give these a try for a long time.

http://fstopgear.com/en/product/mountain/icu

They come in all shapes and sizes and you could use one to convert just about any pack to a camera bag – and the case would provide structure to even a small frameless pack doing double duty as a compression sack.

I have my in primary pack carry dialed in. Its the day adventures I need to worry about. I have a lowepro trekker 300 for photo only days that I've been pretty pleased with. For overnight/extended trips I've developed a packing system for gear in my baltoro 65. I plan on picking up the peak design capture and stick with my 5d mk ii (or upgrade to the mk III). And leave a 16-35 2.8L on the body. I think most trips will include just the wide angle an a 70-200 2.8 is L. So for day trips, I will have just the camera with those two lenses, a shell, possibly rab microlight, water bladder (2L) snacks, and tripod. Careful packing and the fact that my camera will frequently be out of the pack will help except for
on the approach. Camera specific options are too bulky for what I am looking for. While the padding is far superior, I am confident a day pack will be sufficient so long as I don't select on that a simple snag could result in a hole that I watch all my gear pour out of like a garbage bag in a parking lot… I want to keep the padding on my shoulders and hips ;)

I'm apprehensive about creating a modular pack so to speak. I think I can find a comfortable setup by adding a supplimental day pack at what i consider a lower risk of pack failure. I agree with a previous post completely that this weight is going to add up quick but would prefer to add some ounces to gain the comfort level I desire (while being mindful and carefully weighing this decision).