I'm looking to stretch the weight capacity of the SMD Comet pack of yore. The adjustable shoulder straps made it a good fit for my g/f. The capacity is decent for our purposes, but I need to ensure it will push to the 25-30lbs realm more comfortably than typical frameless packs. The two independent, flat stays they offered don't do much of anything. But I've seen a recent trend toward U-Shaped stay options for frameless packs. They made sense but I haven't tested one. And I assumed the horizontal 'U' bar was at the bottom, bringing real load transfer into the hip belt. But I spoke with Ron at SMD and, while he's willing to mod the comet for their 'Hoop Stays' he said the 'U' is at the top. Guess I'm confused as to the purpose of this method stay support. What do you guys think?

cheers,
-Michael

EDIT:
I realize 30lbs is probably asking too much. 25lbs is more the target.

Edited by uberkatzen on 02/28/2011 19:30:36 MST.

ULA's delrin hoop in their Ohm is also an upside down U- I'll let someone else explain the physics :)