THE KELTY REDWING DAYPACK  My Pick For The Best backpack Around
Pros
It's a great friend in the field.

Cons
Plastic belt buckle might break if you toss the pack down a 200' cliff.

The Bottom Line
This may be the last daypack you'd ever want to buy.
For seven years now I have been using my Kelty Redwing Daypack as a climbing pack when I make my day-long ascents up the Colorado 14ers, and I am very pleased with it! I highly recommend it to climbers, skiers, backpackers, and even those who will use it onl;y to carry books to a class.

This daypack packs a wallop of a tradition behind it: the Kelty name. Keltys are the time-honored benchmark of external frame backpacks, and have been for a long, long time. A lot of folks have built some very slick internal frame daypacks, but Kelty still rules when it comes to external frame backpacks. It is out of that tradition of excellence that I reflect on this grandchild of the Kelty pack "family", the Redwing.

The first thing I noticed about the Redwing when I tried it on is that it fits your back like a hand in a glove. I am a tall person, and they have one (large) for people like me with a tall frame-which actually fits! Not so with many other daypacks I have tried on. There is an internal padded back pad with a frame to keep the pack firm and straight and that adds to the comfort. The waistbelt is nice, with pads at the hipbone area and a quick-release for when you are tired and need to unsnap in a hurry or in an emergency. I especially like the chest, or sternum strap on these babies.

If you've ever been climbing vertical rock or even a steep grassy slope, and having to move around a lot, say to dodge a hazard or step over rocks, it is wonderful to have the stabilization of a chest strap holding your load in place. I've used daypacks which didn't have it, and that can be an all-day pain.

The material and construction is pure Kelty, which means: made for a lifetime of service. The cloth is called Kodra, similar to Cordura, and it is tough. The pockets are all well located and the zippers are good old YKK brand and therefore reliable as the sun coming up on a cold morning.

I have used this pack in several climbs and the ONLY time I have had anything give me a problem with it was when, while descending a cliff in a rainstorm in the Crestones of Colorado, I found it necessary to pull off the pack and throw it 200 feet down to the rocks below. That was a fairly survival-opriented situation and I do not recommend doing it under normal circumstances. When I got down and retrieved the pack, which, by the way, was full of clothing and food and climbing gear, I found that only the external plastic belt buckle was broken. The pack itself did not burst and everything in it...including my Olympus camera, was all unharmed. Thank you Redwing!

The pack can be opened as a top-loader or fully back-opened. You can carry skis in the ski slots and there is a loop for an ice-axe. In a pinch you could fasten a sleeping bag below it but it is mainly made to serve as a daypack.

What else could you want in a daypack? I know what I want. Excellent construction, good materoals, and logical layout of the pockets, zippers, and support straps. You get it all in the Kelty Redwing. It's been a lifesaver for me.

 

Recommended:
Yes

Ease Of Use: Excellent