Re: My back is shot from too large a pack. I want to go lite,

--- In [email protected], Dennis Phelan <dennis.phelan@...> wrote:
>
> Eric, Gossamer has a whole bunch of new packs and redisigned old ones.  The
> Gorllia is a smaller Mariposa (3000 cc Vs 4200)

Yes, I'm aware of Gossamer's other backpacks and the fact that my Mariposa is the old-style one. My Mariposa carries well with 25 pounds and is acceptable (if slightly annoying) with 30 pounds, I understand that the new-style curved aluminum stays add about 5 pounds to what the Mariposa will carry well, at the expense of a few ounces of weight. But I'm happy with what I have since I'm usually at 25 pounds anyhow unless I have to carry extra water to deal with desert conditions so (shrug). 

> Z-rest instead of their foam pad.

Glen van Peski actually designs Gossamer's backpacks around the Z-rest, or at least that was true back in the beginning. Due to the way retailing works they cannot ship the Z-rest as part of their setup, but it works quite well in my experience in any of their bags that have the sleeve in the back for the foam sleeping pad. The downside is that the Z-rest is ridiculously expensive for what you get, and is really only a single-season purchase because it tends to compress over time requiring a new one next season. But it is a slight bit stiffer than the foamies they usually ship with the packs, which helps with weight transfer on frameless packs like my old-style Mariposa.