Well, when I can work overtime at work again, I can get a third pack. My Gust, if I forget to open the valve an my pad after packing the pack, tends to fold in the middle and the only things I have tied on the outside, is the chair I got over a year ago, and in the winter, my snowshoes if a late winter trip. I like stufff inside so I don't have to worry about it. I have time on my side, being a Libra, I tend to compare stuff too much, so if I have too many choices, it is tough to make a decision. I was looking at a few other packs tonight and some of them are getting up there in price and they aren't custom packs. I got to think about packs some on my o/n trip this weekend and realized, that even if I get a smaller pack where a canister can go on top, without the canister, I still have to pack the food somewhere. I've been on a rare trip now and then where I could have gone with little gear where a Zpack would have been ridiculously great! Some one else makes a silnylon pack, that is close to the Zpacks weight, but is a lot less. Hmm?

I was wondering about the SMD packs, reminded of them while reviewing a site that had pack comparisons. I found an old link to pack comparisons on White Blaze that was over two years old though. I'm really tempted to pick up another pack soon, but I need to get a few things I don't have that are needed for my trip to AK.

It took a few years and then, to actually own a top loading pack, to realize, no fussing with a zipper or two. Plus, if you had to pull a zipper down, it is hard to zip back up. That is what I run into with my Epperson pack. I can see why it is the pack style of choice for packers.