Buds soft at harvest

I have searched this site and can't find anything related to why buds would be soft at harvest. I checked inside for bud rot but there was nothing except normal looking buds. I am growing purple kush and had to compost my last grow as it was no good. I don't think this wlll be any good either. The buds are airy when squeezed, have no smell and are at 67 days of flowering. Attached is a picture of the trichs. Can someone please help. Thank you.

looks like dank

They won't harden up until they have been properly dried and cured.

genetics, low light intensity/ coverage, high temps, stress can all cause buds to be more fluffy.

I'm not sure it's genetics as I have one clone that is budding up perfectly, but 4 plants that have this softness. Low lights not the problem as under hps. I kept the air conditioner at 70 degress during the flowering time. Could it be humidity? It is around 60%. I just purchased a dehumidifier for my next grow(I am living in the swampy south). Do you think there's any hope for these plants by properly drying and curing them? I wrote down the steps for curing that were in another forum and will follow them, ie leting dry for 3 days and then putting in paper bags with paper bag strips between the buds, then to the glass jars. Thank you.

What is "dank"?

Looks good, but I don't even want to guess as to a reason until you cough up some info, like what kind of lights you used, and your temps.
Either, or both could cause fluffy (soft) buds.
The soft ones, are they outside of your main area of light?
Temps been constant for all?

they wont harden after drying/curing.

Density is a result of genetics, environment and proper nutrition.

The calyxes swell during the second half of flowering. Its hard to see how far yours are without a pic of the buds. I would only be looking at trichomes after the rest of the plant looks finished.

Are they 67 days from 12/12 or 67 days from the start of flowering?

The one kush clone that is doing really well is under overhead cfls with side lighting and are placed a short distance from the HD lamp (but doesn't get light from it.) There is one plant that has soft buds under the HD light and one that I have already composted. There is a room air conditioner in that room in addition to central air that I have kept at 70 during flowering. In the other room, two kush have soft buds. They have been under cfl lights with banks of lights above them and additional side lighting. These plants have been side by side; I also have a Carmellicious sharing these lights and it is doing good. I have kept the thermostat at 70 in this room also. I can't explain why two went bad (that is, the buds are fluffy, airy, don't know how to describe them) under the HD lights, two under the cfl and one very good kush under cfl, which is alone with no other plants sharing the light.

Their feeding schedules have been the same thruout. The humidity has been around 60degrees. I have read it should be kept around 40. Could this be causing a problem?

They are 67 days on the 12/12 cycle. The lights on the plants are out now, but this is a couple of views of inside the bud I sampled today.

they look fine to me. density is only a problem if your selling to so-cal weed snobs. you know, the 22 year old that moved here from the private community in connecticut a year ago that gets their card, goes to the most pretentious dispensary in town "dude i got dingleberry kush for only $25 a gram" and thinks their "like a weed expert" now. it has no effect what so ever on potency smell or flavor.
sativas tend to be fluffy. buds that dont get intense, direct light- eg. 600w hps 12-18 in away(from the bud) tend to be fluffy. 80 ish w/o co2 temps promote fluffyness. anything that stresses or otherwise prevents the plant from growing at a healthy rate ( nutes, temps, bugs, root issues, water issues...) will also tend to cause fluffy buds by preventing the individual flo9wers from getting as big as they could thus taking up the open space between them.

heat and shit light, you using cfl,

I recommend seaweed extract(kelp), cooler temps, and training to keep the canopy even. Shooting powder is a great finishing product, it will help. Once dried put them in an oven bag and suck out the air to compress....remember to burp.

Thanks so much for taking the time to explain this to me. I was told that buds that were not dense were not good for smoke and I should just use them for hash. You're right about the smell; when I broke it open, it had a sweet smell. It's a relief to know that the potency will be ok.

Just to throw it out there, but perhaps your hid bulb is a bit old, thus not pushing out nearly as much light as it should be. Just a possibility, as I've heard that airy bud is a light thing (to the extent it's not simply genetics).

As for composting the plants, please tell me you at least pull dry ice hash off before tossing a frosty girl on the heap.

Good luck!