What he said.. excellent reply Zalman.


I'd only add that many people switch to internal frame because "that's what the cool kids carry" so it's partly a style thing too.

If you really want to start looking at a lighter pack, look at what you're carrying in it first. lighten up your pack last - so that you buy a pack that is the right size and the right amount of support for what you are carrying *in* the pack. If you were to for example, buy my usual pack (frameless Granite Gear Virga) and then stuff 40 pounds of stuff in it - you would be very uncomfortable! even though the pack is VERY light (580 grams for the pack!)

I still use my big honkin 7 pound packs for carrying big loads, on the rare occasions (usually winter) that I do.