@OP You don’t say what you intend to do with the pack when you're up north. Short walks ? Long treks ? Overnighting ?
If you only need to move your gear a few feet, you could put it all in a shopping bag I guess
… however if you want to move it some distance, you’ll presumably be wearing the pack for hours, and maybe for days - that’s where a well-fitting pack will come into it’s own (even an ill-fitting pack is going to be bearable for an hour or two - but a whole day, and the next, and the next - well, that’s a different story altogether). That’s why - if you are undertaking some serious trekking - I would recommend a pack with an adjustable harness that can be fitted to
you, not some average body shape. For example, look at the pack from
photobackpacker - the hip belt is available in small, medium, large and X-large (for men
and women) - there are two sizes of torso frame sheets and two sizes of air back pads. Expensive, yes - but fully adjustable. In contrast, the Lowepro only has an adjustable torso length (but it's the most important adjustment), while the F-Stop doesn’t have anything - it’s a one size fits all, one shot deal.
Putting photography aside for a moment, no one in their right mind would buy a regular pack for trekking with a harness that couldn’t be adjusted ... and yet, when it comes to camera packs we tend to forget about ourselves and basic ergonomics and think about our gear (will my nice new pack get dirty or wet if I put it on the mucky old ground, how quickly can I access it in case Sasquatch appears etc.) Like I said, not a huge problem if you’re only the carrying your gear a short distance or for a short time (as I guess a significant number of F-Stop buyers are; like SUV drivers who’s only notion of going off-road is parking up on the sidewalk) - but if you’re not, you’re just going to make life tough for yourself.
Finally, you also have the option of getting a good technical pack (such as those from Osprey, Deuter etc.) and adapting it to fit an ICU from F-Stop. No better way to get a proper harness, but some cutting and sewing required.
Jim
OT: I’m so fed up with airport carry-on restrictions, for flying I put all my gear in a Peli-case then put that inside a large North Face bag (because the sight of a Peli hard case screams ’steal me’). So much more relaxing flying that way. And yes, it's all insured.