mystery ranch guide lite MT frame mod

[yyyoniii]

i have a pintler and really want to use it as a day pack. its perfect in terms of volume and organization. the thing that disturbs me is the frame. it has really tall load lifters which limit my head moment in some instances - when i hike and scramble and try to look up the hike route, the frame hits the back of my head, also when i wear climbing helmet , the frame also hit the back when i try looking up when standing.
another important point is that i want it to be easily compressed for air travel, hopefully for a carry on.
i was wondering if i could cut the load lifters so that i would have the head clearance. basically its to transform the guide lite mt frame to the nice frame.
i know about the pop up frame, but sadly mystery ranch doesn't sell their frames separate, and i think the frame is too bulky for my needs compared to the guide lite mt frame.
i edited some picture of the frame to get an idea.

 

[taskswap]

I imagine the hard part is the harness that's wrapped around it - it's not removable and I'm not sure how you'd cut it and preserve the top buckles. If you don't care at all you could just sawzall them off and do the old lighter trick to melt/seal the cut ends of the harness. If you do care, you might find it's better to use a vice or vice grips to carefully bend and snap the frame at the desired spot without cutting the harness at all. The load lifters would flop backward but still be mostly usable and out of your way...

 

[justinspicher]

Look for a NICE frame on eBay. That’s what you want.

Pardon Our Interruption...

 

[rogerdoger]

What gave me more head clearance was shortening the torso length on my pack. Seems like it would make it taller but it pushed the frame a inch or so back and now I have better head clearance and the pack fits me better.