Thank you for the input. The Deuter packs look good, I'll give them another closer look. As far as my gear goes, the other big items I have are the Tensegrity 2FL tent, the Backcountry Bed 800 2-season bag with an Evolite pad, Alite Mayfly, GSI Soloist, and a Katadyn Gravity 6L. The other stuff fits in pockets. I guess where I struggle at is the clothing and food section of packing. I use a 10L drybag for clothes and pack it between 50-80% full depending on the trip. For food, I use the REI Flash 18 bag. Those are the two things that I noticed that weigh the most, but I didn't think it was too bulky (until it took up most of the space in the Ascend bag). I understand thats a lot of food, but I'm a big guy and don't know my needs just yet.