I have an ancient external frame kelty pack.I allready replaced waist belt. It is really light so I'm thinking about adding new shoulder straps. so it will fit better and not pull on my shoulders like it does now. Any one tried this? what should I keep in mind? any tips?

I have a couple old Kelty externals. What is light? Have you weighed it?

To answer your question, you might be able to get replacements/upgrades through Kelty. A16 used to make replacement/upgraded belts and straps.

Amanda,

I too have an old Kelty, the D4, that I purchased when I was in High School...many moons ago.

My zippers were stuck and failing, all padding was hard with age, so I called Kelty to discuss. They said, "Send it in and we will fix it for free, lifetime warranty". So I did and they gave me a new updated set of sholder pads, new updated waist belt, fixed the zipper, added a new Kelty triangle logo, etc...

All in all, a great company and worth contacting them for a possible solution.

Z.

You might also be able to purchase a set of straps on ebay. I bought some lovely Arc'teryx Bora straps last week for very little, brand new. A little sewing and they'd likely fit onto your pack fine.