I see that Massdrop is about to have a Granite Gear backpack that they've altered the specs on marginally from the Crown 2.
It goes on sale December 8 at 6 a.m. PT for $119.99 . (So I think that's about 4.5 hours away from me posting this). Not sure what postage will be to Australia yet until it comes online.
However it may be of interest to some on here.
They've opted for a lid but it can be removed, or turned into a hip-belt dayback - which is kind of interesting as a proposal.
It's 1140 grams with the pack including lid (brain). Without the lid it's 995 grams. (The stripped weight is advertised as being 657 grams)
So not ultra-ultra-light (compared to say Zpacks and other Dyneema composite backpack offerings). But not a bad at 1 kg for a fully spec pack, and the weight can be cut down by removing any unnecessary bits.
Granite Gear stuff has a reputation I've heard for being very durable and long-lasting. The pack is well-featured too with hydration port and internal bladder sleeve. Pockets. Vapor Mark 2 frame with molded foam back panel with mesh ventilation. It's got shoulder strap cords which will fit water bottle of particular size.
What are your thoughts on it? I'm tempted...
https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-x ... -crown-x60
Emma