I note that the Kuiu has magic wands much like the Dana externals. They're part of the frame, but serve the same function. I also note that there are quite a few internals with similar wands. To me, those wands are the genius of the Dana externals. Everything else about the Dana externals is solid, but pretty ho-hum. Lots of room for improvement.
I've wondered more than once if Dana is getting any kind of royalties on all of the "magic wands" out there, or even if he was the first to use them.
I noticed that too... however, they seemingly dispensed with shapable stays and went with a full surround belt. Big step backwards IMO.
Aside, Osprey borrowed the "side wands" from Dana (where they first showed on internals, not externals) and, IMO, made a better pack with the 1990's Fusion, then later Crescent's.
Arcteryx also borrowed them on the Bora line and still have them. The Osprey Argon still has them in a slightly different guise... yeah, they work and was one of the best three or four design features of the original DD packs to me.
