PathFinderX saw a thread saying most budget packs lose shape after a couple days out but i tried the decathlon forclaz mt900 50 and the internal frame kept the load from sagging even when i added an extra sleeping pad is that just how the stays are shaped or am i reading the complaints wrong
FogTrek PathFinderX, the stays on that Decathlon pack are likely pre-curved to hold their arc, which explains why it resisted the extra pad where straight-stay budget models flatten out.
shelterbuilder The curve built into those stays is doing most of the holding up. Straight rods in basic packs just bend flat once the weight settles in over a few days, but a pre-bent set keeps the tension across your back even when you stuff in something bulky like an extra pad.
PathFinderX pulled the stays out last night and they already have that bend to them from the start, so maybe that’s why it held up with the extra pad.