Kelty Moraine 3600

I ran in a trail race and got a 30% off coupon at the Sports Basement. After the coupon and my AAA discount, I paid $75, including tax for this backpack. My first few times I used it was for trips to New York and Boston for races. I had plenty of room for clothes, gifts and my laptop for a 5-7 day trip. The weight was probably 50-60 pounds. Still, I managed to get around without tweeking my back.

Lately, I've been using it for shorter backpacking trips and it has been great, very comfortable and well designed with one exception. I don't like having to top load all bigger items. I think there should have been a separate compartment for the sleeping bag. But, that's my only beef.

I will look at other more "techie" backpacks once in awhile and then back off from paying $200-250 bucks because this backpack does the job.

I bought this as an ideally sized and priced pack for weekend excursions in the mountains. It was a disappointing performer. The belt and frame is simply too light for loads exceeding 30 lbs.

It is a durable and well appointed pack with plenty of pockets and good materials. But the suspension and belt were not up to the task, and the pack tugged my shoulders through a rainy cold day (due to the belt yielding below).

If you are an ultralight packer you'll be looking at lighter packs; if you're a full packer you need something sturdier than this (e.g. Osprey Aether 60).

It made a decent though heavy day pack for a one-day hike in the Appalachians. It is okay for bringing gear if you car camp with day hikes, or if you are say guiding cub scouts on day hikes from camp. But I'm not going to use it any more for backpacking.

It really isn't a bad pack. I've took it on Greyhound buses(COAST TO COAST), long trail trips, it can take a beating for starters. Buy it for weekend trips!!! Lots of pockets!!! Better for traveling, but you could thru hike with it. The fabric is strong. OK it's a Kelty, buy it already!

I've used this pack all over in desert mtns, forests and canyons. This is a great all-around pack, very sturdy light and packable for weekend trips or longer if you can pack efficiently. Very comfortable with even 50-60 LBS, I've had trips where packing water has been necessary.

Great pack for the price. I agree; isn't made to handle much over 30-40 pounds. I used it very hard though, taking it up (as my sole pack) to 18,000 feet in the Andes and camping/climbing in Idaho for about three years. I'm upgrading now, but it's a good bargain that will get the job done.