@Wandering Daisy WD...Great feedback, thank you!
I get the sense that if we amalgamated our wish lists for a pack (with what
@kpeter is looking for too - and no doubt others!) we would come up with something pretty darn obvious for the major backpack manufacturers. A decently light pack, that does not have to be so screamingly light that it is uncomfortable, and also fits the bigger bearcans horizontally
anywhere within the main compartment.
I say this last because three packs I have tried "taper" one way or the other so the BV500 (semi proxy for Weekender) only fits half way down, or only in the bottom sleeping bag compartment via an oval PITR zipper. (PITR = pain in the rear...Top oval arcing zipper layouts seem to snag and stick incessantly v. straight across horizontal zippers that do not! Can't fathom why
that is so oblivious to manufacturers!)
Ummmm, not sure what brand your two packs are - as ULA packs have names rather than volumes in their descriptor.
I have two packs (woman's medium, 55L and a 60 L, both a bit over 2lbs)
Presumably not ULAs from what you said later?
I'm also a bit spoiled by the ease of trying stuff c/o REI and having such an assured return policy if I don't like it. Special ordering from smaller manufacturers like ULA sight unseen makes me a little hesitant (despite that I would like to support them) as my track record of getting stuff online runs about 30% keep and 70% return. Plus I don't get big thrills from shopping anyhow. It's a hassle.
I too like a lid/top on a pack and am also happier with plenty of organizing ability plus ease of packing v. dumping everything into one cavernous hole. Likewise, I will not hesitate to add a pound or even a bit more to get those benefits rather than have a setup that gives me grief, requires finicky re-packing, or having to dig through everything I am carrying to get to some small item that ended up in the bottom. Pockets, in sensible moderation rule!
I have also had my tent and (foam fill type) Thermarest strapped onto the outside of my pack, horizontally, for three decades and might be resistant to change on that configuration! I will re-visit that if I have to but don't like the idea of my dew wet tent going inside my pack or off-balancing it by being vertical in a side pocket. Vertical placement outside in a side pocket may be more feasible now c/o a new 3 pound BA Copper Spur tent v. my old REI Half Dome 2 weighing 6 1/2 pounds, as
that would sure have me hiking with a tilt to the tent side!
Excellent points about thru-hiking designs! Yes, I see that now, how nearly all the UL packs are not really what I want for 10 or 12 day excursion off trail with no re-supply, etc. The closest may be the Seek Outside packs, but seems like not well known (nothing on an HST search) as one can add extras or not. I am snooping this one
https://seekoutside.com/divide-ultralig ... pack-gray/ but once again it's that going with an unfamiliar product I can't touch, feel, put on, etc. before ordering it and waiting 2 months, etc.
Hummmmmmmmmmmmm???
Thanks again WD, I really appreciate your 'definitively experienced' info and insights! Michaelzim