Viva la eBay!
Price of a very nice, high capacity, super ergonomic backpack if purchased new: $275
Price of same, used once, via eBay: $97 (after shipping and handling)
I’ve had one bad eBay experience before, but this certainly wasn’t it. And I do love my new backpack. So far I’ve got about 30 pounds (or 13 kg once I arrive in metric-land) of heavy, uncomfortable stuff like power converters, essential gadgets, and shoes in there, but I still feel like I could wear the pack all day. Previously I’d resolved to just suck it up and suffer through the airport in order to accommodate my stuff. Now it looks like that won’t be necessary. Of course, I say this having not yet spent days on end attached to my baggage . . .