My pack isn't that heavy - seventeen pounds - so it's not the weight I'm necessarily trying to conditions for. It's more just wanting to stay used to carrying a pack - having a hip belt tightened around my hips, staying used to the way the harness fits, and the way the pack moves when I move. Having a sleeping bag in it means I get a more realistic feel for how it rides.

I weighed myself, with a full summer weekend load, the other day - I weighed 20 pounds less with the pack than I did 2 years ago without it, which I guess is something.