New Sone Glacier Xcurve Frame

[albravo2]

Thanks gentlemen, excellent advice.

I was trying to be a little sympathetic getting him the 6900 as the 'big' bag. My experience is that the guy with the biggest pack ends up with the biggest load.

But that is a lesson he'll learn the same way we all did.

[RiverOtter]

Lessons are good, because they're a direct result of experiences.

[Lastcar]

^^^^^Gotta second KH's advice on this one. Very little weight penalty with the big bag and it is designed with gussets to compress for smaller loads.

While being able to interchange bags on a single frame is a genuis marketing plan, by and large it's still an answer to a problem that didn't really exist. IMHO.

Concur. Have had three pack systems with a large and small bag. Small bag went on the frame once with each. When I was testing how to change bags. Never seemed worth it.

I will say one my favorite packs yet was the MR Longbow on the Nice Frame.

[SR80]

As mentioned before, with the SG one big bag is the way to go. I used to run a two bag setup with MR and kifaru. But the way that the stone glacier bags compress into bivy mode works so well you'll never know you have a 6900, 7400 ci bag on your back. The 5900 bag looks pretty slick too. I currently use the 6900 and have no complaints with it. Too bad the packs didnt come in a "kewl " camo pattern though...just joking, i just wanted to say "kewl"

[BgBlkDg]

I know, man! It makes an old geezer like me feel SO connected to the experts on various sites!

That said, one of the reasons I chose SO over SG is that the light grey colour seems to stand out more than I like in BC forests. I had that with the early issue MR BDSB I had and while this was an incredible pack and would pack 100 lbs. of concrete blocks for training, it was too "bright" for my preferences.

The MR Foliage is about the best "all around" colour I have ever used and it blends in extremely well. When, I got my first MR in that colour, I thought, "f**k, this is BUTT UGLY", then I packed it for several days in the South Chilcotin and was totally impressed.

The current SO Exposure is multi shades of brown and I find this the most useful all-around pack I have ever used. They continue to amaze me with design(s), quality and outstanding service. I am a grumpy old phart and it ain't easy to impress me.

[hookedonblacktails]

I've decided to buy our son a tent/pack/bag setup for graduation as he'll need to start accumulating his own stuff and I think quality gear will last as long and create as many great memories as any other grad gift could. The good news is he will be very busy with university this fall and he is damn near my size, so a gift for him will increase my own options.

I was leaning toward Stone Glacier and searched until I found this old thread. I'd missed all the great stories near the end. Pretty funny stuff... I can recall provisioning with triscuits, pepperoni and cheese at a 7-11 in Chilliwack on an ill-fated effort to climb Slesse. Too dumb to know better but smart enough to know it was worth the pain.

I'm thinking one bag (Solo 3300) for day/overnight and another for 5+ days (Talus 6900). Everybody still loving the Stone Glacier stuff? Other advice for a two bag/one frame setup?

I'd get the 7400, it's actually lighter than the 6900. And as mentioned it compresses down very small, when I got mine last month I opened the box and thought they sent me the wrong one it looked so small, it's just a well thought out design. I think you'll be happier with the larger one, depending on what type of tent and sleeping pad he'll use, these two items can take up a lot of space fast. Easier to just put things inside the bag than lash to the outside, also makes using the rain cover easier.