I almost bought a ULA circuit this morning but got cold feet when I realized that its top weight rating is 35 lbs. My usual weekend backpacking trip weight is about 28 lb but on longer trips and on other occasions I can go up to 40 lbs. I would like anything I buy to be comfortable up to 40 lbs because I carry that much when I hike with my wife. Other than the max weight rating the circuit is perfect for my needs. Here are my criteria...
a) 3 lbs or under but 3.5 would be ok-ish
b) same carrying capacity as the circuit - a little bigger is OK
c) XL waist strap with 38 inches of padding - same as the XL circuit (as far as I know nobody else has this)
d) XL waist strap with big pockets like the circuit
e) possibility of getting XL shoulder straps - mine are short on me on all of my packs (as far as I know nobody else has this)
f) shovel pocket or expanding mesh front pocket
g) $250 or less but I could stretch to $300 if it was "perfect"
h) waterproof would be nice but not necessary.
I know that the catalyst is probably the best alternate choice considering what I want, but I don't want huge. The catalyst is really way too big for me. Zimmerbuilt would get me exactly what I want but I would guess he's out of my price range.