I took it as being a permanent switch. I've never used Mountain Hardwear packs, and my Granite Gear experience is with the old Vapor Trail and the Virga (the frameless pack.)

fatboy99: With a 12-pound base load, you might want to look at the Granite Gear Virga, too. It only weighs a pound, but has no frame or padded hipbelt. (The shoulder straps are nicely padded.) It's a fixed suspension, so it either fits or it doesn't. However, if it fits, and you use your sleeping pad (lightly inflated, if it's an inflatable) as a "frame," the pack carries 20 pound loads fairly well. Just be aware that at 25 pounds it becomes pretty uncomfortable.

I eventually left the Vapor Trail because a 60-liter pack was too large; my load no longer filled it. I left the Virga because, at the time, my load was right at 20 pounds for summer, so extra water or winter clothes made it uncomfortable to carry.

I've been toying with the idea of giving the Virga another whirl now that I'm closer to 18 pounds in summer and 21 in winter. It would save a couple of pounds, putting me safely below the 20-pound comfort limit. However, I like my Osprey Kestrel 48 so well that I never seem to pull the trigger on the Virga. (I'd recommend that you look at the Kestrel, but it's a pound heavier than the two you're looking at.)