I am in the market for a new pack. I went to REI today when it was nearly empty and brought in my current pack with everything I would take on a 10-day trip. I then tried several packs. One requirement is that my new Bear-i-Kade cannister had to fit inside the pack. I have the "weekender" which is the smaller Bear-i-Kade, yet I can stuff 8-9 days food in it.

It was a real dilema since the proper size pack for me is a woman's small. The only light weight pack that both fit me and the bear cannister (horizontally on top) was the Gregory Jade, woman's medium - but it still lacked the capacity I need. The men's medium Z-55 was better - everything fit - but it does not fit me! The men's "regular" Granite Gear Vapor could accomodate the bear cannister but was way to big for me and I thought it was really "fussy" and had a weird top. There was no small size to try. As much as I liked the Osprey packs, the cannister would only fit in sitting vertically up - leaving no room for the rest of my gear. Another interesting observation was that each pack can vary as much as an inch (circumfrance of the top opening) within the same model! That inch made the difference of getting the bear cannister sitting horizontally or not.

I want a 3,500 cubic inch capacity pack, under 3 pounds, that I can place my bear cannister in horizontally, and that comfortably carries up to 40 pounds total pack weight. A 3,000 cubic inch capacity is fine for a 10-day trip IF you do not have to use a bear cannister, but insufficient with the cannister. And yes, the bigger packs work, but I do not want a 6 pound pack. And I would rather not have to pay $500 for it!

So here is my question. With the prevelance of bear cannister requirements, why dont the pack manufacturers simply size the packs to accomdate a bear cannister? It would only take a few more inches top circumfrence. If you simply strap the cannister under the lid, it is not very stable. When there is 10-15 pounds of food in the cannister it shifts quite eaily if it is not within the pack itself.

It irks me that I have to pay $200+ for a pack then get out my scissors, cut it up and re-design it myself.