Pack suggestions

I think you can get a SWD Long Haul 50 without pockets.

Maybe the previous version of the HMG with the very small hip belt pockets (3400 or 4400).

What about the women’s Kalais pack from elemental horizons The hip belt pockets are very easy to take off if not needed.

30 pounds is pushing it in some ultralight frames packs.

I would start with a budget and go from there. You could probably find a 3.5 pound pack cheaply with tons of options. If you want to get into the 1.5 to 3 pound range it will be trickier and possibly more expensive. But doable.

On the pockets. If you really really like a pack you can cut them off. But that reduces resale value. Another option might be to pin them down with a strip of electric tape.

I will second the Kalais.

Yea I have gone heavier with a granite gear crown 60. It’s really great for long stretches without resupply. Too bad the new one has to come with hip belt pockets and a brain. Maybe you can strip those off the v2. They are very inexpensive.

here is the v1 with 12 or 13 days worth of food. Not the most attractive looking pack but it is very versatile.

Seek Outside makes framed packs that are comfortable under weight (subjective opinion, obs, but I’m very happy!) and the hipbelt is pocketless.

Thank you, thank you for all of the suggestions!  I will look into the various options.  I have tried two Granite Gear packs and they do not seem to fit me well, but I will check out the rest.

At times like this I wonder if I should have kept my old Gregory Jade pack – it weighed 3.5 pounds but could carry almost anything comfortably!  At a minimum I wish I could do a side by side with my Octal and see if the extra pound of weight in the pack actually was noticeable given the better carry.

Mystery ranch’s futura harness system is quite good, especially anything with additional structure like the guidelight frame or CF/aluminium stays. I have hiked with 55 pounds in one of their ~1500 cubic inch backpacks with the most basic futura yoke system and 1 inch waist belt and it was fine. Looking at their catalogue, the scepter 50 is 3 pounds, the X-55 is 4 pounds (X-pac) and their terraframe tri-zip 50 is 4.4 pounds.

Hill people gear i think are superior to mystery ranch in their hipbelts and compression systems. I have not run heavier weights in them, but given these advantages i think it should be superior. The modularity of their system is also nice, but overall they seem heavier than some mystery ranches lightweight options.

i would like to try some hunting frame systems like Exo, kuiu and kifaru. Seek outside looks good too! Technical load bearing is a fascinating subject. Carrying lightweights is not a problem; carrying heavy weights is.

Take a look at the Hanchor Marl. 51L and will carry 30 lbs. in relative comfort. The stock hipbelt does have pockets, but it’s removable and Hanchor uses the same belt without pockets on two of their climbing oriented packs (Flint & Frost). Hanchor is great to work with, even custom request, so I bet if you asked them to swap the belts they’d do it.

The Kalais is amazing and can carry light or heavy easily.

If you haven’t already, check out Aarn packs.

+1 on the Aarn. If I carried more weight I would definitely give it a try.

You can do a rough test by loading up a regular pack and looping a heavy day pack through your arms in front of you. Balance is superb.

ULA? Mt Circuit feels great with 30# and I imagine they’d do a belt without pockets for you, although the pockets on the Circuit are terrific!

Many of my hiking friends love Osprey backpacks.