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The amount of times I've read "A lighter pack is easier to carry" is too damn high. Lower mass weighs less? Fucking incredible physics insight! Thanks, Einsteins.
Actually, though, you're all wrong. The insane cushioning and harness design on my heavy (by internal frame standards) Mystery Ranch pack make it feel 20 lbs. lighter when it's 40ish lbs.
20 lbs. lighter than what, you may ask? Glad you asked, 20 lbs. lighter than the packs made of thin plastic tarp with zero functional cushioning and minimal harnessing.
It is objectively easier to carry 40 lbs. in a Mystery Ranch pack than 20 in a Dyneema tarp sack for any amount of miles, anywhere. Why? Because excellent support, balance, and weight distribution can in fact cause 40 lbs. to place less stress on your joints and musculature and sap less of your energy than 20 lbs. in a limp plastic sack that offers almost nothing.
The last discussion I had with an ultralight fag on this board, he had no idea what a hoist strap was, and tore the wussy thin shoulder strap on his $500 brand-new Dyneema garbage bag the first time he tried to lift it incorrectly. Of course the manufacturer still sent him a replacement. After all, he was dumb enough to buy one Dyneema bag, so he'll be buying more later.
