[at-l] Pack Suggestions

[trippclark at mindspring.com (Tripp Clark)]

I so wish that I could join the ranks of many of you as a thru hiker or future thru hiker, but alas, family, job, and volunteer obligations have conspired to make this not in the cards.  Instead, my hiking partner and I chose in October 2000 to start section hiking the trail, beginning at Amicalola.  Typically we get in 3 - 4 weekend outings each year.  Our longest
outing thus far has been 5 days, and our shortest has been 2.  Now almost 3 years later, we have reached mile 338 at the Nolichucky River.  As we push ever northward, and get further from our South Carolina homes, it appears logical that travel time will dictate that the frequency of our trips gets fewer, but hopefully each will be longer. Still, I do not forsee any 
outings longer than 5 or 6 days in the forseeable future.

What this brings me to, is gear and weight.  Typically, my pack is 31 - 34 pounds in warm weather and 35 - 36 pounds in cooler weather.  This includes 5-8 lbs of food and 2.5 quarts of water.  This is down from my pack weight of about 46 pounds when we started in 2000.  I'll not list everything, but focusing on the major items here, I have reduced to a 2 lb 1 oz REI Sub
Kilo bag from a synthetic Slumberjack that was at least twice the weight and bulk.  I now usually use a 2 lb Hennessy Hammock instead of my 4 lb backpacking tent.  My heavy thermarest was long ago ditched for a Z-rest, and now, with the Hennessy, I carry an even lighter car windshield reflector that weighs almost nothing.  I most often carry no stove at all, but in
cold weather, when a warm meal is oh so nice, I carry a homemade alcohol stove or a lightweight cannister stove.

One major piece of equipment that I have not attacked is my pack itself. I have three different packs that I have bought over the course of the past 10 years.  All are by Peak 1 or Exponent (Coleman companies), and all have served me well, and I like them in spite of the bad rap that Coleman always gets among "serious" outdoor folks.  One is an external with the Kevlar flexible frames that they used a lot in the 80's and 90's.  Two are internal frame packs.  The newest one, and the one that I use most often now is the Exponent Rush.  It weighs 4.4 pounds, has a very good hip belt, and holds a capacious load of 5,000 c.i.  When I guage this weight against similarly sized conventional packs from some of the prestige companies, I find
that 4.4 pounds is comparable and even on the low end.  I am intrigued, however, by some of the 2 lb packs and sub-2 lb packs offered by GoLite and others.  The idea of shaving another 2-3 pounds is very appealing!  However, I have never used one of these in the field or had a lengthy discussion with anyone who has. I am worried that some of these will not have the suspension to comfortably carry 29 - 30 lbs (the upper rated limit of many of these) for 15 miles a day.

Given the type of backpacking I am doing (3 - 5 days trips) and the loads I am carrying (27 - 32 pounds excluding the weight of the back itself), I'd be curious of any thoughts some of y'all might have related to a lighter weight pack.  Any suggestions?

Oh, some personal stats might be helpful . . . male, height 5'8",
weight 140 lbs, age 37 (and probably 57 by the time I reach Katahdin at present rate!).

Tripp