Right now I have the very rugged REI Jet UL pack 1850 cui. I cut and stripped it down so its at 15oz. Now I see all these other packs out there. I would like a pack that would be good to use with a small bear canister in the Sierras, until they settle the whole ursack debate. In which when settled I would go back and use the ursack. The new MLD Revelation or the ULA Amp?

Can you really even compare those two packs? The Amp is 2600 ci, made of heavy ripstop and dyneema, and weighs 10.6 oz. Its built to be lightweight and pretty durable.
The Revelation is 2000 ci, made of .9 oz Spinntex, and weighs in at a whopping 3.3 oz. Its built to be the lightest weight possible.
If you have a sub-5 lbs baseweight then I would say go for the Revelation.
If your baseweight is much more than that, or you don't exactly baby your gear, the Amp is probably a better choice. I don't know about the bear canister compatibility of either one though.
ULA Amp vs MLD Zip, or MLD Revelation vs GG Whisper may be a better comparison.

Adam

I think the MLD Zip or Prophet are the MLD packs you want to look at. On the website, Ron Bell says that both are canister compatible. Since it doesn't say that about the Revelation, it may not be able to hold them. Check out the Prophet and Zip; they look like real winners. I will be receiving the Revelation very soon, so I will try it out for you with that pack.

P.S. The Zip seems to be in the same size/weight class with the Amp. They both look to be great designs.

Edited by gungadin on 02/09/2007 15:57:21 MST.

Robert I would go with ULA Conduit. 3200 ci. Between a cannister, tarp, clothing, other small items those two packs might just be a tad too small. You can check mine out in a few weeks.

I just got my Revelation pack in the mail today. It is a thing of beauty, and I'm very happy with my purchase.

BUT I don't think there's any way that a bear canister would work in it. Maybe, just maybe, if you had a tiny baseweight/volume. Still, don't forget that the maximum amount of weight you'd want to load in the pack would be 13lbs, and a bear canister takes up a significant portion of that weight.

To echo above sentiments, you should probably head more in the direction of the Zip or Conduit.

Thanks for all your comments. Miles let me know how well your gear fits into the New Revelation pack. I might have to have one pack for bear canister carrying and one pack for when I don't need one.