These days you don't have to go frameless to get a pretty light pack. I have given a couple of frameless packs a shot, but really found them pretty unsatisfactory, even for summer hikes where my base weight is 6-7 lbs. I know some folks are very driven by pack weight, but for me 9lbs for april/may in the Adirondacks/Green mountains/white mountains is about right. I can go lighter in the summer, but honestly I would rather do something other than hike in the bug season.
The Arc haul 40L is 1lb 2oz for a framed pack. its big enough to carry kit for temps down into the 20's and food for 5 days. I did look at some other competitors, but the Arc Haul is used by a lot of thru hikers and there was a lot of feedback on it, so I wasn't buying it totally blind. Thats one of the issues with lots of the smaller cottage manufactures is that your not going to see their products in a store and they don't sell enough to where you really will see lots of reviews.
In the summer I live in western mass and I walk my dog up the AT many days. In August you meet a lot of northbound Thru hikers and by the time they get to Massachusetts they have their gear pretty tuned and if nothing else thru hikers love to talk about gear. and the arc packs have been some of the most common packs the last few years.
