I will be hiking the JMT this summer with a good friend of mine Stacy. She currently has an Osprey Aura 65, but I'm trying to help her lighten her load for this trip. At 4lbs, the Aura 65 is just too heavy and I'm looking more in the range of 1-2lbs. She has a budget of $100 and is a tiny bit flexible. She is looking for a pack that has a frame and can carry a BV500 bear canister. She is 5'7". Could you guys help me in solving this problem?

Also the pack does not have to be new. If you are looking to sell a pack that fits this criteria please let me know.

Edited by butts0989 on 02/04/2012 17:28:22 MST.

http://www.golite.com/Quest-P957.aspx Still over your 2lb goal but it's going to be super hard to find a sub 2lb pack with a frame.

Possibly a women's Jam, keep the included back pad and use her sleeping pad as an additional "frame"? They are on sale for $69 and weight 1lb, 12oz.

Paul thank you so much! This is heavy by my standards but this is a great pack for all around use. Ill send her the link, hopefully she likes it!

I have a Jam2 and I'd have to check on the BV500 canister but I'm thinking it might be tough to fit much of anything else in.
What my husband and I did was he carried the BV500 in an Atmos 50 and I carried the first nights dinner outside the bear canister.
Our trip was only 5 days, but were carrying 2 dinners for our group of 10 (20 dinners) and our breakfasts and lunches. We find for trips that are 1-5 nights at altitude that we just don't have our typical appetite. We have cut the amount of food we bring way down over the past few years.
At any rate, depending on how you are sharing the rest of the things she might bring we just find it is easier on me to not carry a bear canister. Not sure if you plan to resupply. If so, then you can likely get away with one canister between the two of you.
I'm 5'6" and use the women's size large Jam2.

Allen, you say she is 5'7" but do not give her torso length,her height means nothing, torso length everything.This would probably be a good pack in your price range but I can't tell if it would fit her?

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/xdpy/forum_thread/53562/index.html?skip_to_post=500544#500544

specs here

http://gossamergear.com/packs/backpacks/mariposa-plus-ultralight-backpack.html

POD wore it on her PCT thru hike and beyond

http://gossamergear.com/wp/tribal/trail-ambassadors/felicia-hermosillo

Edited by annapurna on 02/05/2012 11:20:56 MST.

Ya I'm not quite sure what her torso length is, probably around 16''. Ill send her a link to that pack, thanks Anna!

Well it looks like i finally convinced to her to adopt the "ultralight" principle of backpacking so she now is going to go without a frame and get the GoLite Jam. Thanks for all the help!!

If she finds a foam pad frame inadequate, remember you can also do a little modding and get a light frame/stays in there for better support. It would not weight much.

Thats very true, I have thought about doing that with my ULA conduit as well, I would like to put some sleeves for carbon struts on the inside corners, kind of like the new Ohm 2.0.