The recommendation of buying gears before a new pack is a great idea! I can't buy down sleeping bag since I'm allergic to feathers. I passed out on a friend's couch once and unknown to me I slept on a down pillow and woke up with stuffy nose. So with that being said, is there certain brands of synthetic sleeping bags matched with a good stuff sack that could be compressed smaller than the manufacture's spec?

Far as the rest of my gears go, all I really need is a new cook set and maybe some compression sacks. Currently I just take freeze dried and dehydrated food and use the GSI Minimalist cook set for those types of food. I thought about getting a cook set for when I don't want to take dehydrated or freeze dried food. Everything else I have is pretty lightweight and good enough for me. My tent can be more space saving if I pack the poles on the outside in a slot (assuming a new pack would have one) and compress my tent smaller. The rest of the gears are just miscellaneous and random small items that I don't think about until I see it in store or need it when on the trail.

The backpack I have is a Kelty that was purchased in 2002 if I had to guess. I'm unsure of the model. It's not a bad pack, but the ones I tried on at the store fits me a lot better and more comfortable. I felt slight pain on my shoulder along with soreness the next day after the trip last time I went backpacking and the hipbelts on the newer ones are smaller for me. I cannot change the hipbelt on this pack.