Versatile light pack - Granite Gear Blaze 60 Backpack - Men's

Used this on a 12-day Philmont Backpacking trip. With personal gear, food, water, and emergency gear, I hit the trail with this loaded at about 54 lbs. I'm pretty sure on a couple of days when I took a bit of extra food and crew gear, I was pushing 60 lbs. The Blaze handled it just fine. It wasn't too hot on my back. The waist belt was comfortable even beyond its rated weight capacity. The waist belt pockets were great for keeping drink mixes, breakfast, and some purell. The brain was stuffed with a headlamp, map, sunblock/bug spray, hat, etc. All in all this is a VERY capable bag for what it weighs. I went back and forth between this and the Crown 2 and was very happy I went with the sturdier bag...especially since I didn't really control all the weight I needed to put in my bag. My total bag weight probably fluctuated between 42 and 60 lbs depending on the day, food and water load, and the group dynamics with my scouts. I'd recommend this bag again in a heartbeat. The extra weight capacity is totally worth the little bit of extra bag weight it cost. The buckled compression straps were super useful in attaching random boxes of triscuits, a chair, bear rope, shoes, or whatever else didn't fit in the Scouts' packs that day. The huge pockets had a chair and 2 1-liter bottles on one side and my tent and poles on the other. The brain and neck are super expandable, so I was able to add 4-5 extra meal bags, boxes of crackers, and even rolls of toilet paper that the Scouts didn't have room for in their packs. The volume this bag extends to is pretty phenomenal.