mountain man,
The 1911 analogy IS a good one. As such, you will find many conflicting opinions and many brand loyalists defending their choices. Just like the 1911, some of the choices you make are strictly personal preference. There is NO one universally perfect pack. There is only what works well for you and what fits your buying parameters (i.e. cost and capacity).
What is optimum then becomes something of evolutionary journey. You will often find some great deals on used equipment (try eBay) as a result of others going through this process. The Dana Design packs are quality products, although the namesake has now sold out to a major sporting goods company and (I believe) they are now produced in Mexico. The
Bombpack is a good size (3,200 c.i.) pack that is not too big for fast hiking, yet is still big enough to carry a fair amount of stuff. However, at 4 lb. 10 oz., it is IMO kinda heavy for the cubes. Generally, I would prefer no more than 1 pound for every 1,000 c.i. of pack space. Closer to this goal, is the Dana Design
Bridger. I would take this over its sibbling
Bombpack design, as the back two outside pockets add 800 c.i. of handy carrying space, for very little extra weight. The Dana Design
Terraplane and
Astraplane packs are excellent choices for those having to play family Sherpa.
Lowe, Gregory and Arc'Teryx all have solid offerings in their product lines. I would suggest you go to a store that actually has the packs you are interested in and try them on -- fully loaded. The good outdoor stores will be only to happy to accomodate this sort of request. For more info, try reading some of the pack reviews posted
here.
The ultralightweight hiking craze has become a way of life for many. Do bear in mind, some of these folks go to extremes to lighten their loads (i.e. cutting handles off toothbrushes, etc.). As with most things in life, there are tradeoffs made in persuing that end. The ultralight packs have to give up something in order to reduce the weight. Some of the hardcore ultralight packs are nothing more than a sack with two straps. That is fine for some, but it does sacrifice most of the load distributing advantages of less stripped down pack designs. Do be aware, that often the tradeoff is durability for lightness. You will sometimes see Spectra cloth used ($pendy choice), in high end packs in an effort to make the pack ultralight, yet still remain durable.
I am not knocking the ultralight craze, as there have been a lot of gains that have trickled down to the rest of the hiking community. It has made me re-think my personal requirements a great deal. There are several good web sites to glean more info on the subject. For a good jumping off point, start
here. Also check out
this link.
Like the 1911, there are factory, semi-custom and full custom choices. Beyond such things as getting the colors you like, the custom packs generally offer better fit and load carrying ease. Now I realize you said you don't want to spend the money for an expensive pack -- let alone a custom one. However, others here may be interested to know more, and if your funds will permit this indulgence, then IMO you would do well to at least consider the advantages they offer -- if for no other reason than to better understand the design trafeoffs of lesser priced choices. The custom packs from
McHale & Co. are often said to be the best avaialble. You can order a video from them that will better explain why their packs work so well. IMHO, their suspension and frame systems are superior designs. The down side of buying from McHale; is that unless you are in Seattle, you can't try one on. But they do offer a money back guarantee, should you decide you don't like what you ordered.
DD
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Desert Dog on 2001-06-11 12:54 ]</font>
