I wonder how many internal frame users have ever had the stays out of their packs?
Hiked with a guy this weekend who has some very serious loads in steep terrain under his belt and has never had the stays out of his pack. They looked like they were shaped pretty well -- for a guy 6" shorter than him. As it is, they create uncomfortable hot spots at the point that they cut back in towards his back when they still should be going outwards. Knowing that his stays are too thick of a guage to be shaped without a bench vise, I took the lesser path and didn't offer to fix them for him. Maybe next trip. In a pinch you can use a couple of boulders that are really close together to get those stays shaped.
I really believe the right thing for a direct to internet company to do is ship an internal with the stays out and completely flat along with instructions for how to properly bend stays. That's the only way that an internal is going to work correctly. Fit is too individual.
