Well I've used my 5lb LL Bean Mt. Washington pack, my 2lb homemade external frame pack, and my 15oz Go-Lite Breeze. Excluding my pack, my gear-weight is down to 12lb. Enter 12lbs food for 5 days, 2lb H20, 1lb Alcohol. I've carried all this weight in all 3 packs, and I keep leaning back to the Baked Bean Juggernaut. It certainly feels heavier at start, but 10 miles I feel less fatigued with it than with the other two packs (although I still love my external-frame because my back isn't soaked with sweat).
I believe it comes down to the monster padding, and hipbelt. Anyways, my new trend (if youd call it that) is minimum gear weight w/a cadillac bag.