So I bought an REI flash 18L with the dividend and have found it to be quite useful.
I originally bought it for fishing and mountain biking but have found out I can carry enough to go for an over nighter or even two night hike. Either a one night hike of some miles or a two day casual hike(dont need as much food.

Space is tight. I dont normally compress my bags but in this pack I do. The sleeping pad is attached on the out side with some stretch cord. I can fit the stove,fuel, tarp, cook gear, water, food and sleeping bag in there. Everything I would need for a normal trip. The one thing I lack is rope, just need to grab some for the food hanging.

Yes its very minimal, I only go out when I know the weather will be some what nice. I am not a fan of open air tarps all that much but the Cat Tarp I use is as small as I would go. Its roomy for two or three people pitched right.

Anyone else do this with a small pack? Makes me want to get a slight bigger pack to not have as bad of a space crunch.