User Review: Kelty Redwing 3100

Kelty Redwing 3100
Above: The current Redwing 3100, which may differ slightly from the version reviewed.

Reviewed January 15, 2007 by Karl Rahder

Rating:
Design: Panel loading, internal frame rucksack
Number of Pockets: lots
Max. Load Carried: 20
Height of Owner: 5' 9"
Price Paid: $50

Not a bad small pack at all. Basically, this is an affordable and unpretentious summit pack. Would you really bring this to a summit or when you're on duty with the Forest Service? Well, you'd probably want something more deluxe like a Dana Bombpack, but this Kelty is much less expensive, a panel loader, and you wouldn't think twice about taking it on an international trip as your day pack - which is why I bought mine (without the adjustable frame, discontinued for $50).

I's perfect for travel. Not too big, not too small. I use it for everything, from cramming pro camera gear into (I put my cameras into a camera bag and the whole thing into the bottom of the Kelty pack, and there's enough space left over to jam in a large jacket, notebooks, and a tape recorder) to packing enough clothes and other items for a two-day trip somewhere to work on a newspaper story. I can usually get away with taking this pack as a carry-on. And it has a very nice hip belt - quite unusual in a pack of this size costing so little.