1) Last Christmas my kids gave me a Bear-i-kade cannister. I love it and it is much lighter than the BearVault.
2) I washed out a few old plastic salad dressing bottles and am now using these for water bottles. They work great because of the flat shape, are fairly strong and weigh nearly nothing.
3) I am still looking for a lighter backpack but after trying several, did not purchase any of them because if the pack fit ME it did not fit the bear cannister!

I also walked more trail miles this summer than usual and forgot how easy it is to quickly walk 12-15 miles on a big trail but I still prefer off-trail travel.

I reconfirmed my preference of spending my last night out only a few miles from my car instead of arriving at the trailhead at dark and driving home half awake. No car camping is then required and I am a much safer driver for the trip home. (food in a car is a bear problem where I backpack). The down side is that I have to wait until I get home for my cold beer!

My pack weight (minus food and clothing worn) is now about 18#.