Mountainsmith Specter

Summary

Light(ish), tough, with just enough pockets. Great multi-day pack.

I have the older steel blue version which I believe has a larger capacity. Not ultralight but for as large and tough as it is I can't complain.

I love the big J zip which let you get to nearly every layer in the main bag. The hip-belt buckle disintegrated the first time I used it. Very annoying but none of the smaller buckles have been a problem, even in the winter. Great suspension and ventilation. Starts to hurt around 50lbs.

This is my main pack and I'm quite happy with it.

Summary

I've owned this pack for about 10 years. It's a very comforatable and durable. Lightweight too. Because it's a lightweight pack, the comfortable weight limit is around 35 to 40 lbs, although I've packed heavier loads.

That's it!

No longer made, so they are probably pretty hard to find, but this is an outstanding pack. It's, big, lightweight and sturdy. 

It's very comfortable and has a lot of great features.  Includes a removal (small) daypack, J zipper, good venting, etc. You usually sacrifice things like the extra zipper and daypack on lightweight bags, but that's not the case here. 

No complaints and it has held up well through about 5 years of occasional use for both backpacking and international traveling. 

I have used the pack for a skiing hut trip in Colorado and day trips. It replaces my old Frostfire 5500 that was too heavy. This pack is light enough to use as a day pack, and carries a moderate load well enough to X ski. I also will use it to replace my weekend small pack. My only concern is that I will pack too heavy for short trips becasue I have the room.

Very lightweight for a weeklong and beyond pack. 1,000 miles of hiking with this pack. My only pick is the zippers are hard to use.