MLD Packs “Lightweight Suspension Upgrade”

I've got an older GoLite 70L Pinnacle pack that originally came with a soft foam sheet in a pad pocket. I replaced the soft foam with several segments of a Z-rest pad, and found that at least in that pack more than one pad thick made it too stiff and less comfortable. Maybe it might have carried weight better, but that really wasn't my goal there. Obviously, other packs could work differently, and I'm curious what will work best with the Prophet.

"Have either of you actually used the pack?"

No, and that's why I started this thread :)

MLD would do themselves well by posting more pictures of how the suspension upgrade works and looks. But this is a general complaint of mine of cottage companies – gear sold only online and minimal photos

I said this was a different take on the zippered pad pocket because it uses a different way to secure a pad in place (in this case, the Klymit airbeam). I would argue it's the same concept though.

Yes – you are correct that better pics would be ideal.

So in light of that, I will post a bunch hopefully tonight. Keep in mind that this is the Prophet and not the Exodus but you should be able to see other changes – i.e. thicker belt – 0.5 to 0.75", wider belt – 5" at the max to 2.5" at the min, etc.

Hopefully it will help.

I may not get a chance tonight, but I'll try to post some photos of the Exodus as well.

Just for the sake of future users that will find this thread via google search, I would like to mention that there are alternatives to the lightweight inflatable suspension, mainly this ->

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=95108

"I've got an older GoLite 70L Pinnacle pack that originally came with a soft foam sheet in a pad pocket. I replaced the soft foam with several segments of a Z-rest pad, and found that at least in that pack more than one pad thick made it too stiff and less comfortable. Maybe it might have carried weight better, but that really wasn't my goal there. Obviously, other packs could work differently, and I'm curious what will work best with the Prophet."

The Prophet came in yesterday. Yay! Nice pack.

Okay, tried it with the Klymit back pad first. That felt nice, and looks like it could support a reasonable amount of weight in the pack. I still have concerns about possible pad failure.

Then I tried it with a closed cell foam replacement. I've taken a Z-Rest and divided it into 2 segment sections, which by coincidence is about the width of the Klymit pad, and just a tad shorter. One layer on the Z-Rest pad seems a little soft, but two layers was "Goldilocks" firm – not too soft, not too hard. Seemed about as stiff as the Klymit, or perhaps a bit softer, and fit in the pad pocket perfectly.

Next step is to take it out on the trail and try it out to see how well it works under field conditions.