Among my packs, I have a REAL Kelty pack, made in Glendale, CA in the 70's. I can pull view camera (incl 8x10) or med format gear out of that and have it operative every bit as fast as any dedicated camera pack, and protect the gear better without a bunch of redundant cushion weight. I just drop in poly kitchen wastebaskets into the top with complete kits (though multiple-system accessory like filters, light meter, certain lenses, go in side pouches). Dividers are made with simple fomeboard (actually, Gatorboard because its more durable), and bubble packing protects items. Plus there's lots of extra room for jackets, lunch, etc. In fact, for over two decades I put a full Sinar system in one of these, 12 @ 4x5 filmholders, PLUS up to 10 days worth of food, mountain gear, tent, sleeping bag etc etc. Approaching Geezerhood, I now use an even bigger true external frame pack for more food room, and have substituted a little Ebony 4x5 folder for long trips. But on dayhikes, I take anything from my Phillips 8X10 to 4x5 Norma, to a P67 system with large telephoto. I suspect that the real rationale for internal frame packs is that they're cheaper to make. But there are lots of "vintage" domestically-made ext frame packs laying around in people's closets - some never even used! They were far better made than imported equivalents. If you take an airline, most of these kinds of packs can be made flat for transport; or stuff your suitcase contents in there, then into a haul bag for check in. The camera gear can go into your carry-on. I'm well aware of the hassle of digging things out in a big internal-frame pack. My nephew was sponsored by North Face and had their really nice $600 huge internal frame pack. After a week hauling that thing over Class 3 13,000 ft ridges, way up in the headwaters of the Kern River,
he finally discovered that I had stuffed a Duraflame log at the bottom of it. He wasn't amused. That night, when I tried crawl into my sleeping bag, I discovered it was stuffed full of foxtail pine cones!
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