View Full Version : Identify old Kelty backpack
I bought a used Kelty backpack several years ago. It has been very good to me, but I am curious about what model it is. The tag that had that info was torn off. If you know what model of backpack it is, please let me know. The customer service staff at Kelty could not identify it over the phone.
Characteristics:
External frame - very large
3 pockets on the right side
2 pockets, one long, one small on the left side
Large top central cargo space
Smaller cargo space below it
Large front pocket
Large covering flap is secured by strings that pass through black plastic cylindrical spring loaded clips that release by pushing a button
The pack is held to the frame by a long wire that passes through aluminum buttons.
Color: Red
If you know the model of this pack, please tell me.
Post a pic of it and i bet someone will be able to
I'm not a Kelty expert though I have owned two Tioga's .My best guess is that it's a BB5 and the fact that it had five pockets and is red led me to that conclusion
Does it have an internal divider? I don't think the BB5 had a main compartment divider.
Does it have an internal divider? I don't think the BB5 had a main compartment divider.
So maybe it's a Serac ?
Thanks everybody! After reading some of the descriptions on the 'net I am sure that it is in fact a BB5 with extension bar. It came without any straps, but I took some from another backpack and it works fine. The waist belt may not be original. It is well padded and I hear that the original model had an unpadded belt. Whoever put the belt on it, I appreciate it.
I was thinking about trying to get a newer model, maybe an internal frame, but on reflection, I think I'll keep it. It's a classic, like a '67 Mustang. I'm just cantankerous enough to enjoy being defiantly backward about my gear.
I may see if I can get a photo up since there is no photo of a BB5 anywhere on the web.
doodah man
08-01-2007, 20:42
Thanks everybody! After reading some of the descriptions on the 'net I am sure that it is in fact a BB5 with extension bar. It came without any straps, but I took some from another backpack and it works fine. The waist belt may not be original. It is well padded and I hear that the original model had an unpadded belt. Whoever put the belt on it, I appreciate it.
I was thinking about trying to get a newer model, maybe an internal frame, but on reflection, I think I'll keep it. It's a classic, like a '67 Mustang. I'm just cantankerous enough to enjoy being defiantly backward about my gear.
I may see if I can get a photo up since there is no photo of a BB5 anywhere on the web.
Tsani,
Sorry to send you back for more research, but your pack is not a BB5. I still have my original red BB5 purchased around 1970 sitting in my garage (red was a very new option around then so all my buddies had the green Kelty packs). It has only a single large main compartment and five external pockets. Four side pockets and a large rear pocket. I have completely replaced all the suspension parts but have the originals in a box somewhere. You are correct, however, the original waist belt was unpadded and the pack was available with an optional aluminum frame extension bar for the top. I only used the extension bar in winter when the loads were much larger. If I remember, when I get home, I will take a photo so I can post it here. P.S. if I had to guess, I would say that your pack is an early version of the Serac. The Tioga/Serac packs morphed thru several versions over the ages. (I am more familiar with the Tioga that had only three side pockets, two on one side and a single large one on the other) Prior to the Tioga/Serac, the models were essentially unchanged during their production. doodah-man
So maybe it's a Serac ?
That's what crossed my mind. Post a pic, we'll ID it!
doodah man
08-02-2007, 11:45
Tsani,
Here are a few photos of my ~37 year old Kelty BB5. The third photo is with the top flap pulled back and shows the external pockets nicely. (None of the suspension shown is original, so I did not bother with that view. It has a much later model replacement Kelty padded hip belt and a Camptrails full length mesh back support instead of the dual back pads. Also removed was the small aluminum hoop that held the top of the pack open. That hoop was pretty heavy for minimal added functionality.) doodah-man
What a beast that BB5 looks like, glad I wasn't backpacking 37 years ago. Heh.
- T
Toolshed
08-02-2007, 13:30
Looks Identical to my '72 CampTrails Lake Cruiser. (Still have it hanging in the basement)
Midway Sam
08-02-2007, 13:51
What a beast that BB5 looks like, glad I wasn't backpacking 37 years ago. Heh.
- T
Hmmm... I'd carry a 50lb pack up Shuckstack if I could get a chance to see the Smokies before the Pine Beetle and Wooly Adelgid and acid rain damage. No question.
Hmmm... I'd carry a 50lb pack up Shuckstack if I could get a chance to see the Smokies before the Pine Beetle and Wooly Adelgid and acid rain damage. No question.
True, but I wasn't even born then. :rolleyes:
- T
Midway Sam
08-02-2007, 14:07
True, but I wasn't even born then. :rolleyes:
- T
If he bought it before the first week in July, neither was I.
doodah man
08-02-2007, 15:45
What a beast that BB5 looks like, glad I wasn't backpacking 37 years ago. Heh.
- T
Looks Identical to my '72 CampTrails Lake Cruiser. (Still have it hanging in the basement)
Tobias,
Well I guess in one aspect it was a beast. With the extension bar, the volume it could haul was amazing. However, I don't recall ever going much over 45 pounds total. My winter loads were bulky but not super heavy. Typical summer load was more like 35 pounds. As currently configured, it is also extremely comfortable. Because it is so sparsely featured, it is also not all that heavy empty. I am now curious, so I will weigh it tonight, but my guess is that it is around 4 pounds.
Toolshead,
Exactly... over the years, I have often used Camptrails parts to replace worn-out or inferior Kelty parts. Right after purchase, I swapped out the bogus unpadded stock hip-belt with a very nice Camptrails padded one. That one finally wore out 5 or 6 years ago so I picked up a trashed Tioga at a garage sale to scavenge some of the current suspension parts.
Midway Sam,
To the best of my recollection, I purchased the pack in the fall of 1970. My first use was a week long December winter hike in the Rockies. Snowshoeing by a full moon is a wonderful thing.
doodah-man
You're right. It's not a BB5. Mine has a lower compartment below the main compartment. My pocket on the left side is long. It will accomodate a tent if it packs tight enough. I think that the divider between the upper main compartment and the lower compartment zips out, but I have always kept it closed. I will check the Serac.
Definitely not a Serac either. The Serac seems to be an internal frame pack. The BB5 comes the closest to looking like it, but mine is bigger. It does have that aluminum hoop that holds the mouth of the main pocket open. The string closures are the same also.
Your BB5 has 5 exterior pockets if you count the front pocket below the flap. If you count the front pocket mine has 6. 3 pockets on the right. 2 pockets on the left, one long - one short, 1 center front pocket below the flap.
Definitely not a Serac either. The Serac seems to be an internal frame pack. The BB5 comes the closest to looking like it, but mine is bigger. It does have that aluminum hoop that holds the mouth of the main pocket open. The string closures are the same also.
Around about 1980, Kelty produced an external-framed pack I believe was called a Serac. They may have used that same name for another product at some other time.
The Serac or at least the pack I'm picturing, did not have the frame exposed at the bottom. It had a large compartment accessed by an upside-down u-shaped zipper instead.
doodah man
08-03-2007, 19:30
Around about 1980, Kelty produced an external-framed pack I believe was called a Serac. They may have used that same name for anther product at some other time.
The Serac or at least the pack I'm picturing, did not have the frame exposed at the bottom. It had a large compartment accessed by an upside-down u-shaped zipper instead.
My recollection of the early Serac is in concert with Shades of Gray, here. Very similar to the BB5, but instead of an empty space at the bottom for lashing the sleeping bag in a stuff sack, there was a compartment that you could just stuff the sleeping bag into. Later versions of the Serac were different just as a current Corvette has no resemblance to the first issue. The Tioga was far more popular, so I hardly recall seeing the Serac. Tsani, posting a picture of your pack should really help clear it all up. doodah-man
Although there are no photos, this page (http://www.kelty.com/kelty/articles.php?cat=4) on the Kelty site shows a timeline of the company's heritage. It might provide clues to this mystery.
Programbo
08-03-2007, 20:15
I don`t know what the model is called but that is the exact pack Ed Garvey was using on his 1990 hike I believe
Thanks, Shades. I think you may have nailed it. I have that lower compartment with the upside down U zipper.
Sorry I have been slow to post a photo, but life has been pretty crazy recently. I hope to get the photo up sometime this week.
My thanks to everybody who responded.
I still use a 1968 model Kelty trekker, red. still in good shape. weighs in at about 6 lbs. Survived many a trial from Grand Canyon, the Sierras, Philmont, Great Smoky, Lone Star.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h38/johananhyatt/Pack1.jpg
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h38/johananhyatt/Pack3.jpg
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h38/johananhyatt/Pack2.jpg
Let me know what you think. Is it a Serac?
I believe it is a Serac. I've seen packs like yours in olive green too.
My Tioga II I carried in 1980 from Amicalola Falls to Roaring Brook was olive.
I have an original Serac: it is my main pack and I would not trade it. By original, I mean 1973, before the sleeping bag section had the u-shaped zipper. It is definitely not an internal frame: it just has the cordura lower compartment going all the way to the bottom of the frame, so from some angles it looks like an i-frame. The frame is the same as the tioga, same suspension etc. Tsani's pack is definitely not the Serac