You really don't have to be real concerned with compression if, that is, you know what you are doing. I have compressed many insulators and have never had a problem with any of my gear failing. Back in the seventies, you had to learn to compress everything because everything was "HUGE", and weighed a ton. I can remember when I did carry an external frame pack and starting out, some times weighed in at around 50-60 lbs. If that were the case today, I probably would no longer be backpacking because I just can no longer carry a load that large. I can remember getting lost up in the GSMNP back in the seventies in a huge snow storm and without any food and water our packs still weighed in at around thirty pounds. It was just the nature of the beast back in the day. No body seemed to mind carrying packs that heavy, but then again that's all there was to carry, so you dealt with it. You look back at the good old times but in this instance the newer times are the best because you have lighter gear that is much better in quality than the "good old days"...sabre11004...