Book bag - best day pack?

While packing for day hike I usually start off with something like the military surplus patrol pack, pack my gear, then decide if a smaller or larger pack will do. One of the drawbacks to this, the patrol pack has two canteens mounted on it. So whether I need two canteens full of water, they both get filled up. This will sometimes add unnecessary weight. Also, the pack itself is not that lightweight. Just about everything military surplus seems to be built for durability rather than ergonomics and weight.

Let's back up a few decades. In the 1990s just about everything I needed for a lightweight overnight warm weather trip would fit in a Jansport bookbag. This would be a hammock, canteen, water filter, MRE, maps, poncho, compass and GPS, matches, mosquito repellent.... would fit in the backpack. Plus, the pack weighed almost nothing.

For some reason I shifted to heavier packs and more gear than I us to carry in the 1990s. Being 25 years later I can feel the difference between the two packs and weight. While the bookbag does not have a stiffener like other packs, everything adds weight.

I find myself wanting to go back to that lightweight pack and being selective in the gear I carry.

For those of you who do not know what the patrol pack is, here is a video about it.

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Book bag - best day pack?