I used a tumpline hauling saws, bars and hammers on a packframe building trails and fencing off sensitive meadows from BLM cattle leases in the Sierra decades ago. It helped, but can really give you a sore neck. You need to build up to using one, just not employ it from the get-go. Glen Roberts mentioned the GG Virga in another thread, I have beat the dickens out of a Blaze 60 and am impressed with its durability. The 26 looks like a winner, and the web belt can just be removed.Sleeping pad as a back pad in the pack. https://www.backcountryedge.com/index.php/granite-gear-virga-26.html