Reader Reviews

Rating: 5 / 5

First off, let me say that there is NOTHING light about either one of these packs. They are not super heavy for what they are (A large daypack and an expedition/extended trip pack) but they do not fall under the "light" category either in my opinion.

That being said, Kelty continues to be my favorite backpack company. I bought the redwing 3100 about two years ago to use as a 3-4 day pack. It is practically indestructable. I have put that backpack through the ringer and it barely has any signs of wear on it. While hiking in castle craigs, CA last year, I lost my footing and slid down the side of a craggy/rocky hill for about 20 feet on my back. I ripped my *ahem* ripstop pants but to my amazement, my pack didn't have a scratch on it! Ever since, Kelty has been my favorite pack company.

The red cloud is a monster! It's not very lightweight (about 6.1 lbs) but considering how much it can hold, it's not bad. I'm 6'3 and 320 lbs myself, so I require a little larger of a pack to both fit my frame and hold my larger clothing. Weight of the pack doesn't concern me as much as the load I'm hauling. My wife bought me this pack for our anniversary. So far, I've only used it once for a trip to furnace creek, CA. The suspension system does a suprisingly good job balancing the load so it doesn't feel as heavy. I havn't had alot of experience with this pack yet, but I can tell it has the same trademark craftsmanship that turned me on to kelty packs in the first place. It's a real quality pack.

I've never had to use kelty's customer service but from what I've heard, they have so much confidence in their products, if you were to break/ruin a kelty product, they will refund/exchange it no-questions-asked.

Rating: 5 / 5

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Edited by zhiedeman on 08/11/2010 10:06:41 MDT.

Rating: 5 / 5

I have the 2009 Redwing 3100. It's definitely not a light pack (3+ pounds). But it is very comfortable and I don't even notice the pack when it's loaded with 30 lbs. I love panel loaders and all the pockets for organization. The molle straps on the bottom of it are great for lashing on additional items.

It's a great 3-4 day pack...

http://www.kelty.com/kelty/products.php?type=4&cat=32&id=498

Rating: 4 / 5

I have two packs; a lightweight pack and a big, indestructible monster. It's good to have something reliable to fall back on for deep winter, or trips where you're carrying extra gear for someone else.

My big pack is a Kelty Red Cloud 90. I have been mostly pleased with this pack. The high weight is worth it for a very comfortable suspension system, and the durability has been great. The pack is well-designed, although it is a little bit difficult to load the side pockets when the pack is full. The velcro attachment at the base of the side pocket means putting a full Nalgene in there when the main pack body is not quite full leaves the opportunity for the bottle to sneak out the bottom. I use a strap on the bag through the Nalgene's cap loop as a safety.

Over longer hikes, the shoulder straps slip, but the hip belt does not. I tied knots in the shoulder strap to prevent slippage.

I placed a leatherman in the hipbelt pocket, and it tore through the mesh. Possibly my error, but the mesh is not very strong.

Overall, it's heavy but not unwieldy. When you need sumo size, this is a good pack.