Kelty Pawnee 55 or North Face Alteo 50: help me choose a pack?

[patrickiv]

Kelty Pawnee 55 $70
North Face Alteo 50 $153

I'm trying to decide on a summer pack for weekend hiking/camping trips and to stock with my GHB items when not in use. I've been going on day hikes with a daypack similar to this one, but it's a cheap generic one. I found that I never used the Molle webbing for anything and I just recently noticed the stitching coming undone. There was also no extra room for leisure items such as my camera and hammock. So now I'm looking into getting a pack with a reputable name and I've narrowed it down to the two options listed above. Does anyone have any experience with either of these packs? I'm interested in things like zipper quality, snap durability, and main compartment access. I would actually prefer a pack with only top access, but the product descriptions hint at rear zippered access. I realize that the Kelty is half the price of the North Face, and that's a big factor, but if the North face really is that much better then I'll take the hit and go with it. Assuming I don't get negative reviews for both packs, I'm going to make the trip to REI(it's a long one) in a few days to try these on.

 

[dbott63]

I have a larger Kelty pack and it works great...definitely a quality product. That being said it looks like the suspension system on the North Face pack is pretty nice. If you have the chance to try them both on that will be the deciding factor. Check out the seams and overall construction of both packs...If all things are equal...or close..the Kelty may win on price alone.

Good luck!

 

[Billy2]

My wife and I both have Kelty redwing 50's. They have great reviews and can be had for about 50 bucks on amazon.

They also fit a take down 10/22 perfectly.

I am sorry but I can not comment on the bags you posted.


Amazon.com: Kelty Redwing 50 Internal Frame Pack: Sports & Outdoors

 

[OIFer]

Ive done a lot of hiking (both day and multi-day) and have done most of the 4000' mountains in New Hampshire. If i can give you some advice, spend your money on quality LIGHTWEIGHT gear. Im sure those those packs you mention are well built, but they weigh almost 4 pounds each, and when you add up an extra pound or two on every piece of gear you carry, you'll see that you're lugging a lot of useless weight. After lugging heavy gear up and down mountanins WAY too many times, I finally replaced all my major items with the following lightweight gear:

My pack is a Golite Jam, and weighs less than 2 pounds, www.golite.com

I got a Hennessy Hammock for a tent, and it is awesome. I can sleep anywhere as it is off the ground, and it weighs under 3 pounds Catalogue: Hennessy Hammocks and more

I got a lightweight sleeping bag that is about 2 pounds as well, it is from EMS

You'll find that quality lightweight gear is a little more money, but if you dont waste your money on heavy junk (like i did) you'll only have to buy your gear once, and be very happy with it.

Good luck

 

[OldNorth]

I used at Osprey ATMOS 50 for a while and that was an alright pack. I imagine it is a better pack than the offerings from kelty or TNF, I won't even buy their stuff anymore because I've had so many quality issues with their gear over the last several years.

Sold the atmos and upgraded to mystery ranch and couldn't be happier.

With outdoor gear, "you get what you pay for" definitely applies.

 

[Suz]

I looked at a few Keltys, but chose a Deuter a few years back. Your best bet is to go into REI and have them fit it and fill it with weighted sandbags. You can cruise around the store a while (up and down stairs) and see how you like each. Price and name are good to start, but how it fits you will make the biggest difference.

 

[Hikes]

I have a Kelty Lakota 65 and a Redwing....absolutely love them. Took them (wife had the Redwing) to the bottom of the grand canyon last July (hiking doesn't get much hotter than that) and they performed great, very comfortable.

 

[K-DUB]

My daypack is a Kelty Map 3500 (same design as their Redwing pack) My multi-day pack is an Eberlestock . They're both great for their intended uses. Definitely worth a little bit of extra money for a well designed, quality built pack.

I'm not sure about the specific pack you mentioned, but I like the quality of my Kelty so far.