Thanks a lot for your thoughts, gentlemen.

I settled on the Osprey Stratos 32 which I had not considered or even seen in stores before this weekend.



It really feels great on my back, just like the Osprey Switch I own. This one is lighter, still roomy enough at 2000 cubic inches (32 liter). They say it's a great general-outdoors, mountaineering and backpacking daypack.

It has long pockets on both sides that follow the main compartment's length. One thing I really like is that you can either put a hydration bladder in the sleeve inside the pack, or outside the pack, behind the AirCore ventilation system mesh. You can also access the main compartment by one of the two side-pockets. There's an elastic pocket in front of the pack, along with two other elastic pockets on the sides to hold Nalgene-sized items.

Overall, this is my first top-loader and I must say i'm impressed. I just finished packing all my SAR gear and I still have some space for a few gimmicks.

The Fiamma would've probably fit the bill also, but I wanted to purchase only one pack for all my 3-season needs and for SAR.

I looked at the Gregory Advent Pro, it felt nice too! I was definately turned off by the compression system : the cords hanging all over the pack... messy! <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

Ttyl!