I love my Ions more than most people, but I don't think they check any of the feature boxes that the OP outlined. Not to mention the fact that they're no longer produced. LOL.

Can't comment on the other packs, but this is a pretty funny thread.

Check out the REI Flash 18. I think it's as close to what you are looking for and it comes in at 11 ounces. Has one interior pocket, place for hydration bladder, and a padded back.

I don't think you will find a pack as light as you want with padded shoulder straps and waist belt (and some of the other things you listed), but keep in mind that when carrying gear for just a day hike, you don't really need them.

Edited by jleeb on 04/01/2012 12:15:55 MDT.

John. I'll keep looking a little longer. When I'm carrying three litres of water and gear I'd prefer to have the hip belt and a bit of a frame to releive the weight. I don't want it all on my shoulders. If the Stoke 19 were about 3 inches longer in the torso, it'd do just fine.

BTW - have you found the day pack you want yet?

I have the Golite VO24 in a large torso and use it for day hikes a lot. It doesn't have the back panel but would tick most of the other boxes. It is an adventure racing pack but has enough volume for day hikes. I use it for bike packing as well and it doesn't move around at all when going down rough trails.

...and it's called the Salomon Raid Revo 30. Maybe the only nick is that the back panel, while padded, is not very stiff. I don't think they're made anymore, but they show up on the ebays every once in a while...

Camp X3 light, Lowe Alpine Lightflite 28.

I've been looking for something similar, but a bit more durable (heavier) and with dedicated crampon attachments.

JanSport Catalyst 20
Millet Couloir 30 Lite

Yeh, I found 2! Hahah. I got the Flash for my dayhikes and the Osprey Viper for trail running.

BTW, Warren, the Flash does have a hip belt. The padding in the back adds some rigidity, but it's less than an internal frame or stays obviously. Though, since there is a dedicated space for it, you could find any hard material that suits your fancy and fit it the space.

Edited by jleeb on 04/02/2012 15:39:56 MDT.

Dean,

Is the torso correct sizing or is it well below the shoulders? That's the only problem I had with the Stoke 19. Torso was unisex and probably three inches below the shoulders so it was not comfortable. Thanks for your help.

Avery,

I like the Lowe pack. The 25 or 28 is pretty cool and at 14.1 and 14.5 ounces respectively are pretty light. Wish they stated how long the torso is and how many CI they are. That would help. You wouldn't happen to know would you?

Edited by WarrenGreer on 04/02/2012 21:21:35 MDT.

I've never actually seen the pack and I couldn't find any more info on it =/

I just ordered from the REI Outlet a REI Stoke 19 pack, women's. It appears to have many of the features that you're looking for, and is also available in a men's version. (Only the women's is on closeout because REI has unfortunately switched to a unisex version.)

REI has two men's packs in their "Stoke" series which might be worth your investigating. The men's Stoke 19 (liter) weighs 20 oz. The Stoke 29 (liter) is 24 oz. Neither of these is on sale, but you could use the current 15% off coupon if you're a member.

Oops, I see you've already looked at those. The Stoke 29 does come in two sizes, though--did you try a large?

Edited by hikinggranny on 04/03/2012 13:21:19 MDT.

So Warren, if you remember from my other thread, I never decided on "one" bag. I ended up getting two, one for running (osprey) and one for day hiking (rei flash). My predictions came true. If you have not seen an osprey water bladder, I highly recommend you check the line out. They have a hard plastic frame built into the bladder so it never flops down, even when empty. The relevance of this is that, just as I had hoped, when outfitting the Flash 18 with the Osprey bladder (with our without the foam pad that comes with the Flash) I now have an 11 ounce bag with a sturdy frame regardless of how full it is. It actually works out waaaay better than I thought. For $27 (with the 20% off) for the flash and the $26 for the Osprey bladder, I would highly recommend at least trying the set up. You can always return it.

I pretty mcu had the same demands but could not find a single pack that met them all. I realized I did not need tham all at once either in a single pack.

I settled on a GoLite Rush (a 2011 model)in a large and a Gossamer gear 2012 Murmur. the GoLite gives easy hydration capability and i added the Osprey 2l bladder withe rigid plastic frame. The combination of the GoLite padded and ventilated back and the rigid osprey frame it carries well. It has a hip belt with pockets for trail snacks and will just hold a rain jacket or wind breaker, a cap and with effort an insulating layer too. The side pockets give me the option of more inside capacity without the bladder as I can put a water bottle in each. I like this for really hot days when I want the hydrationbladder and need little extra clothing. It weighs a little over 1 pound empty.

For cooler days or with rain pending I want more clothing capacity and sometimes less water. The Murmur meets this easily holding a puffy layer and a wind or rain shell, or all three of them if you really wanted. You could still add a hydration bladder and have two nice deep water bottle pockets too. A minimal hip belt but at 8oz. empty it carries so well it does not need a better hip belt. Both have their place in my day hike line up and the Murmur could easily handle a few nights out if needed.

My ideal would have been the Gregory Z30 except it weighed in at over 3 pounds. I really did not want a pack that weighed more than what I planned to carry inside of it!

Tony

if the torso happens to fit this would meet most of your stated needs, if not, the Talon 22 w/ it's adjustable torso length would work (albeit a little heavier)

I also like the Osprey bladder w/ it's built in frame sheet

Mary,
I mentioned this earlier about the Stoke 29 “Also looked at the Stoke 29, which has a proper sized torso but it is just too big for a day pack”. It just seemed too big and floppy but the torso was pretty good. Too bad they didn’t make the torso that long on the 19.

Jon,
Thanks for your suggestions. I appreciate it. I’ll check them out.

Anthony,
Glad you could fill me in on the Rush pack. Sounds a bit small for me. Thanks for sharing.

Mike,
You shared with me on the Hornet 24; I'm the one that asked about your experience because I knew you'd mentioned the torso was too short. So after you replied, I also decided to email Osprey to get the scoop. Here’s their email to me below.

Warren,
If you have a Torso length of 19 inches you would be right on the cusp of a S/M or M/L. Typically if a customer has a torso length of 19 inches of less they would be a S/M and 19 inches or greater they would be a M/L So, this would be a personal preference on to which pack fits and feels better. You did mention that the store you went to did not have a Hornet 24 to try on to see what size fits best. If they had a Hornet 32 or a Manta or Raptor in any size the same fitting rules apply. So if the Manta 25 in S/M fits you comfortably most likely the Hornet 24 in a S/M would fit the same way and the same for the Raptor or the Hornet 32. I hope this is helpful.

Thanks,
Customer Service Team
Osprey Packs, Inc. USA

Thank you all for your help. I've narrowed it down to the Lowe Alpine Lightflite 28 or 25, Hornet 24, or a custom built pack, which would be the lightest option.

Warren,

Not exactly what you are looking for, but my normal day pack is a Flash 18. It is heavier than my Murmur or zPacks zero (both of which I have used for trip up to a week long). The small capacity makes me limit what I take. 3 liters of water is not a problem, because with everything else I am still under 10lbs. Maybe re-evaluate what you are taking on your day hikes? No criticism intended. Plus the Flash is cheap, cheap, cheap :)

Sorry about posting about the REI Stoke 19 before I read all the posts! The women's version (discontinued and therefore on sale) arrived yesterday and is absolutely perfect for me. Unfortunately the new version is unisex, too big for me and too small for you! For some reason I never weighed my old pack (from TNF) and it turned out to be 39 oz, 11 oz. heavier than the backpack I take for 10-day trips!

With REI, you can order the packs that they don't have in stock (such as the Hornet 24) to be sent to the store. No shipping charge and you can try them on there and return the ones you don't want. If you time this to happen right after the billing cutoff date for your credit card, the charge and return credit should hit in the same billing period and cancel each other out! You can order several and decide which (if any) you want.

Another and definitely lighter possibility: one of the smaller ZPacks packs, such as the Blast 22 or the Zero X-Small or Small. Even adding extras to the Zero like side pockets and a padded hip belt, the result will be well under a pound. You can always add some stiffening inside to provide more weight transfer to the hip belt. Contact Joe Valesko of ZPacks and see what he can do for you. Maybe he could make you a smaller version of the Exo, which has carbon fiber stays. I'd suggest the hybrid cuben fiber fabric even though it's rather pricey. I have a hip belt pocket of the hybrid fabric (which bought to use for my fishing gear) and am impressed with it! I'm thinking about this option for a winter day pack, which obviously has to be larger than the Stoke 19!

Good luck! Please let us know what you end up with!

Edited by hikinggranny on 04/06/2012 01:46:30 MDT.

Warren- you are probably not on the cusp w/ a 19" torso- if you're going to order one to try on, get the M/L

my 20" torso was much too long for their M/L Hornet- they've (Osprey) evidently corrected this w/ the 46 by providing a S,M,L, but they didn't go to the three size format for the 32 or 24- they are still S/M, M/L

if your torso size works w/ the Hornet I think you'll be impressed w/ the pack- very full feature set, solid construction and still pretty light weight; I'm probably going to give the 46 in Large a go this upcoming season

Mike

Nick,
Ya, I should look at the Flash 18. It’s been mentioned several times in this thread. I guess the thing I’m not that thrilled about is the lack of padded hip belt, not sure webbing will be enough when I do get up to 10-12 lbs. Most of the time I'm way below that though.

Mary,
My current day pack is heavier than your old one! That’s why I want to move on. Plus the torso is much to long too. I’ve been thinking of ordering from REI then I can mitigate the risk. Gotta decide soon. I have also been giving thought to Joe @ ZPacks and Chris Zimmer for a custom pack. A Blast 22 with all the features I want minus some sort of back pad/frame sheet is just 9.5 ounces. So I know I can get a bunch lighter than a store bought solution.

Mike,
Thanks for the comments on the Hornet. I like it for the reasons you mention. I’ve noticed there is one on eBay for $75 and there are a few others that are cheaper than REI. I think your m/l suggestion is a good one.

I did also email Lowe on their pack but got no reply. It's only been a day though.