Wow, this pack weighs more than the shoulder straps on my Astralplane. It's really exciting to see how far people can take the ultralightweight materials these days but the fact that certain crucial prts like padded hip belt, and padded shoulder straps were considered "optional" accessories has taken things just a tad too far. The lack of a suspension system seemed rather self-defeating because of its load transferring ability helps tremendously with fatigue that the extra weight saved on bigger loads won't be worth it. Reminded me of my first trip up to Weber Lake so many years ago with an old external frame pack - my shoulders and back ached for days.
John, in all fairness, the reason that you are not seeing load lifters or hip belts is because packs in lightweight to UL weights are not really good at carrying heavier weights. They are intended to carry lighter, smaller loads where a hipbelt or load lifters are not nescessary. Just my 2 cents.
That pack is made of cuben fiber and you will be seeing some UL tents coming out in this fiber. There are many innovations that have come out of cottage industry manufacturers. Folks just check out Mountain Laurel Designs, Six Moon Designs, ULA, Gossamer Gear and check out what they have. Lighterweight and knowledge makes hiking much more enjoyable.
