KeltyTrekker 65 Backpack, Garnet Red

Call me old school but nothing beats a good external frame pack for comfortable load carrying. The Kelty Trekker is no exception. It easily holds enough gear for me to do a 3 night trip. The waist strap is well padded and takes the weight onto your hips. The suspension keeps the frame away from your back so on hot days you don't get so sweaty. Plenty of places to strap on more gear if required. I bought one, my wife was so impressed I had to get her one as well! If only I had more time to enjoy the outdoors. :-)

I use this pack to go backpacking with my son and his troop on their trips. I have an internal pack and never felt it fit that great and would always dread peeling it off my sweaty body at the end of a hike to then jump into my tent and sleeping bag. I did some research and found these external frames like I had when I was a scout and was happy to see that the materials and harness are just as modern as any of the newest internals. I was impossible to find any external frame packs at all the usual outdoor shops so I ended up ordering all of the models Kelty makes and had them shipped to my house to try them out. Since my son is just starting scouts we had the whole lineup here so we could both find one that was right. So we had the Sanitas, Yukon, Trekker, Tioga shipped here.I'm about 5'8" and about 230 with a 40" waist with a 21.5" torso. This pack is super adjustable. It could fit someone a bit smaller and much larger then myself. I measured my torso and then measured from the top bar on the pack to the upper middle of the belt and ended going about 2 adjustment holes higher than that. At this point the shoulder strap was high enough to be off my shoulder and then with pulling the load lifter straps have about an inch of clearance above my shoulders so I wasn't putting weight on them. I ended up sticking with the Trekker out of all of the packs that fit my torso (excluding the Sanitas since its for kids.). The Tioga is super nice and I wish the Trekker had a long pocket and an adjustable main pocket divider but it is much to big for my needs even though it has the same frame as the Trekker. The Yukon has a little bit smaller bag than I wanted and the top bar isn't adjustable like the Tioga and the Trekker. The Trekker is a nice balance between payload size and adjust-ability.Pros: Not super heavy. Its around 5 pounds and at 65L I can carry enough for several days. Most of the large internals weigh as much. I can put my water bag in the top and route the drink tube through an access hole on the left or right and then over my shoulder. It has load lifters that keep the weight off my shoulders as well as side, belt, and shoulder adjustments. I have a big waist but there's plenty of room on the belt which is pretty thick. Overall it rides on my body well and the mesh vent panel against my back provides a lot of great ventilation.Cons: Not a fault of the pack but comparing it (the Trekker) to the Tioga. I wish that there was a long pocket on one side like the Tioga and that the main compartment divider was adjustable.Happy with the pack and its priced well. Feels good on me. Is very adjustable and is a quality build. On our scout trip today all the leaders peppered me with questions and kept saying throughout the hike they really liked its looks and wanted me to tell them about the other pack's in the lineup. I think Kelty owes me some back pay!

Good quality. Would like if it was possible to lower the height of the pack

This is my new favourite backpack for Algonquin and Tobermory hike-ins.Lots spacious pockets, plenty of space for gear in the main bag, room below the main bag for rolled gear like the tent and sleeping bag, you'll need your own straps.I've never been a fan of integrated backpacks, so this full frame pack just makes me happy.

This is an upgrade to an older, smaller Kelty external frame backpack (~20 year old Long Trail) that I foolishly ruined by putting it in the washer and drier. I was pleasantly surprised how every aspect of the Trekker 65 is an improvement: from the lighter weight to the comfort I couldn't be happier. When the box arrived I thought it couldn't be the backpack as it seemed too light. I don't know what they changed but they significantly improved the weight. The only downside so far is I think my older pack may have had bigger, smoother zippers. But the fabric, pockets, straps, adjustability, back mesh, hold open bar, even down to the split rings are of higher quality. I'm happy that I upgraded. Great job Kelty! Too bad external frames are out of fashion. Internal frames feel better in the store without weight on them as they hug your back. Put any significant weight and I predict more people would prefer the external frames. Three things I prefer external frames to internal are 1) Your back is kept cooler and 2) you can carry significant loads much more comfortably and easily and 3) You can attach things that wouldn't fit in the pack to the frame using straps. Do yourself a favor and try an external frame backpack out, if you can find one.