Bridger 55

Shop around and find a Mystery Ranch Bridger 65. They're more comfortable and more durable than either of the packs you mention, and they are more well-designed in terms of ease of interior access and compartmentalization. The downside of Mystery Ranch is that Dana Gleason sold the company to Yeti t

As a massive Mystery Ranch fan, my two cents is that that bag is ludicrously massive and over-engineered unless you're using it for its specific use-case as a backcountry hunting bag. It's deeply sad that MR has discontinued their civilian hiking line, though you can still find those bags on distrib

If you can still find one, find a Mystery Ranch Radix 57. They're excellent for backpacking, and they only weigh 3.5lbs. Harness system is excellent, padding is excellent, and the adjustability is excellent. They have a brain on them that's removable/wearable, and they have a side zipper that goes t