Kelty Redtail 1600 Daypack Review

This is the review that has been years in the making.  I bought my rugged and reliable Kelty Redtail Daypack because I needed a hydration capable daypack for a summer camp that I worked at in 2005.  The same year I left on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and I took my trusty bag with me.  That bag went from Ft. Lauderdale to the Florida Keys, and all over Miami with me.  It survived rain, sun, sweat and all sorts of conditions, including some great mountain biking. (Yes, it does exist in Florida).  Coming back to my wonderful mountains, it went with me for three more summers of Boy Scout Camp, a year as my school bag, mountain biking in Utah and Colorado, and is still my go to daypack for local day hikes.  Many of my adventures, it has been there with me.

It has a decent sternum strap that does the job without any bells and whistles, and just enough pockets to hold what you need.  It is hydration capable and has two water bottle pockets that are handy for your bottle or any sort of quick stash of small parts.  Two straps on the side aid in compressing the pack to a nice small size when needed, or for lashing a jacket, or other things, to the outside of your pack.  A handy daisy chain is sturdy sewn on, as are two lash points on the bottom.  I havn't had a problem with the stitching anywhere on the pack.

After almost eight years of use, you can expect some wear and tear in a pack, and my pack is showing some, but is still good to go.  One of the shoulder straps was beginning to frey, but a quick hit with a lighter fixed that.  The elastic on the water bottle pockets gave up the ghost about two years ago, but are still very sturdy, just stuff won't stay in them.

Overall, I love this tough little pack and recommend it to anyone needing a good daypack for school, work, a get home bag for your car or any sort of adventure needs.

Pictures to follow.

Getting Ready- Some Tips on Gearing Up

One of the most important things about getting ready to go into the outdoors is having the right gear.  Many friends of mine have worked on or with Search and Rescue teams, and when they see people heading out without the right preparations, it makes them wince.  They have had to pull people off a mountain or from a canyon, (or insert any particular land formation from your area here) because they did not go with the right gear.

Now, all things cost money, but there are lots for ways you can save money when finding outdoor gear.  My first search is always the thrift store.  Be it an old school mom and pop store, to the Salvation Army, Goodwill, or one run by any number of local churches, these can be a great stop.  Now you may not be wearing the latest and greatest, but most of the time you are not heading out to pick up hotties.  Things to look for here: Water bottles, clothing, backpacks, and sometimes sleeping pads and bags, boots or tents.

Online is a good location as well.  Google Shopping is your friend.  You type in the product, and it will bring up a variety of online vendors and allows you to compare product price, shipping, and total price.  Another good online source are w00t style sites like steepandcheep.com and its affiliates.  They are clearance sites put on by bigger gear sites that put out a cheep but good product every hour.  Downside is that it's only one product, that is changing frequently, but will work well for you if you get the smartphone app.

Another site that I like to use to get a huge discount on gear is theclymb.com.  It is an invite only site, like gmail and google+ in their early days.  I have to admit, it is partly selfish, because every person that you invite who joins gives you a $10 credit.  So click here! http://www.theclymb.com  The site changes its selection every few days, and drops you an email so you can check it out.  Downside: Not a full section, so they may not be selling gear you want and choices go fast.

The next site I like is REI.com and it's clearance site REI-outlet.com.  With REI, and most outdoor sites that also have a storefront, you can get free shipping to your local store.  Even if the store is a bit of a drive, if you are heading in that direction for another purpose, add a few minutes to your route, swing by and grab your gear.  I also recommend becoming an REI member.  REI is a CO-OP, so it's like investing, but you get a portion of the money you spend every year back.  You can also get 20% coupons 5-6 times a year, as well as the REI Garage Sale.  The Garage Sale is a members only event that allows you to buy returned gear at a good deal.  Some of the stuff is worn out or damaged, but most of the time it is a simple patch fix or you can send it back to the manufacturer and pay a small fee to have them repair it.  Still, pay $50 for a $200 jacket, plus another $10 to send it back and pay for repairs and you still saved $140.

If any readers have other good gear tips, please share them in the comments.  I look forward to seeing what you all do to save money.

-Ranger

Gear Review- Keen Voyageurs

So, here it goes, my first review here.  I bought the Keen Voyageurs last summer when teaching rock climbing classes at a summer camp.  Hiking a few miles a day and being on my feet all day, as well as taking a few climbs now and then took their toll on my previous pair of shoes and my feet. 

So I was off to the store one payday, the one day during the week that I was free to do what I wanted, and that day it was to find the best pair of shoes I could in my budget.  After trying on a few different pairs, and remembering the opinion of some of my friends, I settled on the titled pair of Keen Voyageurs. 

For the next month of so, they survived sand, rock, scouts, and some random bouldering.  Six months later they are still going strong.  They are still quite comfortable, and lace up well.  I still take them on hikes and wear them as my everyday shoes. 

The pros for this pair of shoes for me in no particular order are:

Light weight but strong

Good looking.  Leather uppers can pass it off for a casual shoe under a passing glance.

Good treads for most hiking purposes.

Comfortable enough for all day walking or standing.

Ridged laces lock in shoe tightness.

Cons:

Edges of the soles separating and need re gluing.

Some threads stick out and needed trimming.

Overall, the pros out weigh the cons, as some shoe goo and a pair of scissors fixed them.  The threads that are separating were not structural and this pair is still rolling strong.  This semester in school, discussing footwear with one of my Recreation classmates, we were asked if there was a particular brand that we liked, and about half the class dropped the name Keen, and on a recent trip to Capitol Reef Nat'l Park, about a quarter of the group had Keens, which was more than any other brand.

Granted, this is all personal to me and I cannot tell you every story out there, but I hope this helps some of you out there.  MSRP for the shoes is right at $100, but shop around and you can probably get some for at least $15 or $20 off.  Good luck.