I hear what you are saying 1AKHunter.
I am answering to the foam laminating equipment question too. Like I said before, my customers come to me for something different than what they have already experienced. I don't believe in the thick sofa-like belts that you cannot get to grab the hips adequately. My customers don't come back and ask for me to beef up their belt either - they typically are amazed that they found a belt that works yet does not have all 'the right stuff'. Hardly any company has foam laminating equipment anyway. The foam people do this stuff at the contract level. We live in a world of specialties. One of my foam suppliers offers the laminating service but I do not need it. There is a fine line between getting a belt to grab the hips and not. I prefer to make the belt the way I want. Not all advancements are advancements. Much of what goes on in the industry is driven by novice ignorance and much of it by reviewers that don't even really know how to operate a pack. The result is a combination of stuff that looks awesome but does not perform. It's one of the things driving the UL industry - the packs just aren't working. The Ironic thing about that is that the the UL packs are not working either because it's all taken to the extreme. It's no wonder people like both my light packs and heavier duty packs. The same thing has happened to many shoulder pads. They are so ridiculously overbuilt they cannot possibly be comfortable. There is so much competition to do the wrong solution because it looks cool, that you cannot possibly do the right thing and survive. My CM hip belt page:
http://www.mchalepacks.com/sarc/03.htm
