Questions on Molly Mac Pack design

[Humneso]

I received my MMP last week. Haven't had a chance to do much yet, but was going to take the family to the lake for a BBQ since it was so nice on Saturday, and the pack arrived just in time! So, I went ahead and strapped a bunch of random gear to the pack just to give it a whirl.

First, let me say that one of the things that drew me to the MMP in the first place was the simplicity of the system. I love simple when it works. It seems to be an extremely well thought-out design, and although the pack itself is simplicity, the options available seem to be rather extensive.

That said, I wanted to ask about some of the design. I'm sure there's a reason, and I'm not criticizing the design at all. I do not have enough experience in this field to know some of these answers, and I'm just interested in the reasoning behind some of it. I'm sure others may have similar questions! Most packs have "load lifter" straps attached to the shoulder straps to help transfer the weight to the hips. It seems like I remember seeing pics of some older MMPs that also had them. Why not the current model? It seems like you could even add 2-3 rows of PALS and just increase the length of the stays a bit - lengthening the pack as well as adding the lifters.

I also found it interesting that the stays stop before the hip belt. Obviously, it is designed to be able to separate the hip belt, but it seems that if the stays continued, they would also help transfer the weight? Now I know that there would them be an issue with the natural curvature of the back.

I do like how closely the pack rides to my body. That may be at least part of the answer to some of my questions!

Finally, any thoughts on the best way to distribute weight on the pack? With my old pack, I normally put my sleeping bags/pads at the very bottom of the pack, food/kitchen/heavier items in the middle close to the spine, with clothes and other items on top and down the sides. Is that also the best arrangement for the MMP? I'll probably have a load of about 30 lbs. I'd like it to be lighter, but I'll probably take some of my kids' heavier gear and let them carry my lighter stuff.

Hope all the questions aren't too tedious! I'm just trying to make sure I understand this thing so I can use it intelligently.

Thanks!
JB

[MacEntyre]

Load lifters don't do much for you with a Molly Mac Pack. They were used to mount the Front Pack, but that was complex.

The stays work well when longer. However, the key to loading a Molly Mac Pack is to have the load add structure. If you make a stack of stuff sacks that are all jammed tight together, they do a better job than the stays.

Build the load from the bottom. Put your heaviest stuff sacks on first, loaded tight together. Then, the stays can support the lighter stuff at the top.