Also, my bike weighs 3lbs less than my buddy's epic. I do realize he has a full suspension (with a brain), but I was pretty impressed that an entry level bike like the hardrock weighs in at 30lbs. on the nose. And it probably weighs a pound less than that now that I got rid of the boat anchor stem/bars.
That's less than half of the magna that I bought 10yrs ago that got me into bike riding seriously.