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Christoph
05-15-2016, 11:33
I have an older Kelty Santa Fe 4000 pack. Took it on my thru attempt last year and had a pretty good experience with it. This year I took it on a section hike with my brother. I'm no ultra light seeker or anything like that, but I wanted to see if I could shed some weight off this thing to make the section a little more enjoyable. Last year during the hike I got my entire pack right around 30-33 pounds with about 8-10 days food and 2 ltrs of water. That was pretty good I thought.
So this time I read up a little bit on some forums and I removed the internal frame pieces (3 of them) and the top cover. Now, frames are obviously to support the bag, form to your back, and transfer weight correctly. I shaved 2.2 pounds from the pack and it actually formed to my back better (I have back issues so it actually helped). I pack it the same way every time so I know where everything is, even in total darkness. Did I just get lucky or has anyone else had experience/good luck removing the frames?

Hosh
05-15-2016, 11:53
Not familiar with the pack, but removing the inner stays will lessen load transfer to the hip belt. If you are comfortable with the residual shoulder weight, then tally ho.