Wanted to get into some adventure racing/minmalistic weekend hikes. Just wanted to get some thoughts or sugestions on a recomended pack size, features, style and brand ect. whats worked for you or your friends...apreciate any advice on packs or adventure racing gear in general. Thank you one and all!

The Osprey Talon series are very stable, lightish, and have great organization and accessibility to food and water. The 22 is the most useful size. I use mine for 2-3 day hikes, and overnight mountain bike trips.

I really dig the GoLite LiteSpeed pack. It's intended for adventure racing. It's really quick to open because it has a zip instead of a roll top. You can access stuff deep down in your bag pretty quickly. Another advantage is you can remove the internal frame to save 10oz or so. I found mine very comfortable w/o the frame.

GoLite VO24?