Thanks for reminding us of Granite Gear, Jason; they made (and I assume still make) an innovative and greatly functional product. I wore out one of the original Vapor Trails, and could never quite make the Virga work (I see it finally got a lightly-padded hipbelt.) After my first Vapor trail, I couldn't get the replacement to fit right (never sure whether they moved the fixed suspension length, or I shrunk (I'm about an inch shorter than I was 15 years ago.) About that time, I started using lighter, less bulky gear, and drifted away from the brand because the volume was more than I needed.

Anyhow, I'm curious about your take on materials. I'm not trying to contradict what you said, because I don't know that much about the technical aspects of pack cloth - I really do just want to understand better. If I'm interpreting correctly (and I may not be), it sounds like you're saying other makers (like Osprey?) use screen printing to "hide" the fact that they use inferior materials? I know that all the packs I've used in the last 15 years are made from lighter materials than the old Dana, Lowe, and Camp Trails (yes, I'm that old) packs I use - including my old Vapor Trail (which, I believe, had a lot of silnylon in it.) I've never had any problems with any of them failing. That makes me wonder if makers now use inferior materials, or have just realized that the really heavy duty fabrics of the olden days were way overkill, and that lighter fabrics will still provide sufficient strength and durability for most users.

Granted, I backpack in the eastern US, where I'm not dragging packs across granite or otherwise subjecting them to hard use. I can see how use might require stronger materials for some users.

So, what is the difference between the materials used by Granite Gear and other makers? (And for what it's worth, I don't like screen-printing on my packs, either. The Atmos and Kestrel models I currently favor seem to have less of that than other packs in the Osprey line.)

Again, I'm not trying to argue - you've just given me a chance to learn more about pack technology.