“However my total pack weight is routinely in the 24-26 lb range and I think I really need a frame to make that all-day/multi-day comfortable.”
Durston lives in the PNW where bear canisters are less required–or were, when I lived and hiked there. I like to use a Bearikade Scout, on 4-5 day trips, in part because it fits so easily horizontally at the bottom of a pack. But most canisters are larger than this. Partly because of the need for a canister, on a six day trip, my starting weight is also about 25 pounds. The geometry and hard sides of canisters require large-ish pack volume to comfortably carry. (I can’t stand trying to carry a bear canister up top, even when empty.)
All UL frameless packs don’t address this issue, IME. I wonder if packs have to be designed around the fact of having to carry a bear canister in order to start to answer the issues they bring up. They aren’t soft; they don’t compress; they don’t adjust to load–just the opposite. Load has to adjust to them. And to be fully and easily functional, a full 5-7 day or more load of food has to be inside of them. Even with a Bearikade, you have to add a couple of pounds to your base weight when using one, or more with other canisters.
For me, this required a frame pack in order to keep the load on my hips and the canister off my spine or back.
geeze, thread drift here, sorry! Dan’s pack looks awesome. I use a Schnozzle as a dry sack, and so don’t worry about wetting out my pack contents. But of course rain adds weight to absorbent pack fabrics, so a durable waterproof layer would be a good advance.
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