I liked the idea of the MR Pop-up and brought one home. Loaded some weight in it and tried it around the house. It seemed ok at 35 lbs but didn't like it at 50 lbs so exchanged it for a Pintler. I've been using the Pintler the last 2 seasons but don't care for the hip belt and am going back to my SO Paradox.
I tried a Stone Glacier in the store with 40 lbs and it felt great - better than the Pintler and comparable to the SO. If starting over, that's probably what I'd go with. Hard to justify now already having the SO which handles 70-80 lbs easily (as much as I've had in it).
My use is as a day pack with meat hauling capability as described in the OP. I bought the SO frame only and use it with the compression panel and different size dry bags depending on how much gear I'm carrying. I later bought a SO bag and lid, but prefer the dry bags.
