Kelty Tornado 4900

This bag has been everywhere with me! It was given to me as a gift in 2004, 5 years on and is almost as good as new. It's been backpacking across Europe, North America, parts of Asia, and is headed to Africa in 7 days.

I'm really rough on gear and it's only now starting to show a tiny sign of wear on the lid. The size is great (if not a touch too big) for long treks. Once you get the fitting right, you're golden. Side mesh pouches are perfect for 1L bottles. Most bags are designed so that the bottles are either easy to grab (but also easy to slip out) or difficult to grab. The 'J' zip is great and the lid is easy to access while still wearing the bag!

It's a brilliant bag! I only hope that when this one finally kicks the bucket I'll be able to find one just like it!

I purchased this pack for a 3-week backpack trip through Europe near the end of 2006. This is one of the most comfortable packs I have ever used. It has great weight distribution and enough pockets to keep items that you need frequently easily accessible. It is durable enough to be thrown around on buses, trains, airplane luggage compartments, etc.

Even though it is not a current Kelty model, you can still find it on-line usually at close-out prices. I highly recommend Kelty for their high quality products.

www.kelty.com/Kelty/products.php?type=4&id=20

Like the mesh backed shovel pocket and the way the cinch straps allowed me to secure items that didn't quite fit in the pack. It came with the 3 liter hydration system which is new to me, but has already changed the way I pack. The j zipper access is nice. It took a while to fine tune the fit.