I've looked at Kifaru.

One, set up the way I want, I don't like the price.

Two, it looks like a lot of their bags are a tube with a zipper at each end, and while I'm finally trusting zippers, I don't trust them THAT much.

Three, I want to have the option of MOLLE, but I want to have the pockets that I know I'll be using normally hard mounted to save weight and money. Only future or mission specific expansion pockets and anything that should be able to be detached quickly should be on MOLLE, in my opinion.

Four, Tactical Tailor, while a well known and time tested brand, isn't a "cult" brand. I try to avoid anything with a profile that high.

Got any idea what that will weight, empty???

With the frame, about 8 pounds. I know, sounds heavy, but by deleating the need for a dry bag in the summer, losing a quart of water and some other things, it is going to be saving me weight when I strip off the small pack.

There will be an overall weight gain with the small pack, but expanded capability as well. I'm going to be doubling the amount of water I can carry on just the vest, and with the vest and small pack, I'll have a full gallon, which is one of my goals. Seven quarts gives me two days of water, and I usually only carry one day's worth. No more being limited by water courses, which will open up some bug out routes for me.

Two things I ALWAYS like to carry "too much" of are dry tinder and clean water.

You can never have too much water, at least most of the time. Got any idea what the total weight of your rig will be, fully loaded??? My back is starting to hurt just thinking of it, but then I have a bum back...

Well, right now, it breaks out as follows:

Ditch kit: ~7 pounds, mounted in a chest harness w/ 1 liter of water

BOB (summer configuration): ~40 pounds, in a frameless pack w/ 4 liters of water and five days of food

Winter add ons add about 22 pounds. Approx 16 pounds is tied up in my old, early 80s vintage, USGI surplus arctic bag.

Along with a new pack, I'm planning on replacing my cold weather sleeping system. I can cut half the weight of that using modern materials. I've also got nylon tarps that are going to be replaced with tyvek, which should save me about four pounds.

The configuration I'm looking at will take the sleeping bag out from under the bottom of the pack. I know from experience that, at least to me, adding 10 pounds onto the weight of the pack proper takes less out of me than having 5 pounds in a dry bag slapping the backs of my legs. So if I can get my load to stop playing grabass, I can manage the weight better.

It is not going to be a small pack. I'm the first one to admit to this- between BOB, the ditch kit and the small pack, I expect to have about 10-12 pounds added after swaps for lighter gear, half of it in water. It isn't designed for ultralighters, although I am going to be incorporating some of their gear. My basic plan has always been a day+ of water, 3+ days of food; I'm at 5+ days of food, and I want to get to 2 days of water. I've got plenty of water options on my main route, but it is one of three major East-West roads in the state and most of it is down stream of either old quarries or farm land, so I'm always a little nervous with it.

And I do intend to field test the load. If it is too heavy, the small pack idea gets discarded and the bag for it gets sold off or retained as a day pack. But once upon a time, my gear ran about 65 pounds total, in the summer, and that was packed into a stock ALICE pack, frame and pads. I road hiked that beast once on what is now "route one" for me. With this rig, I plan to do it again- dry run for a bug out on foot by main route, complete with two anticipated way points for sleeping. (And one is programmed for the first night, so I can dump and reorganize gear with a friend if I have to.)

Makes my old worn out back scream at the thought, but it sounds like you have your plan well thought out, let us know how it goes...