Review on Kelty Redwing 44 Liter Backpack Port by Jessica Holmes

I have just returned home from 26 days in Europe with this backpack. It was a world champion! It held up so well and seemed to have room for everything. Outside pockets are ideal for keeping things tidy. High quality material, strong zippers. Looking at these bags in store, I was more drawn to the fabric of the 2013 version than the newer fabric of the updated Keltys. It just felt more solid and durable, and I liked that the entire bag was black to blend in with it a little better. As a 5ft 8in female, I was able to easily carry this bag through airports and train stations, weighing around 26-30lbs. On trains, others have had trouble finding a place to stash their large suitcases, but this bag easily fits in the overhead compartments. (It's also great to have a bag like this for Europe as there are steps and cobblestones everywhere!) The handle at the top and right at the front of the bag made lifting the bag a lot easier. My husband is 6ft and used a 50 liter bag. version of this bag. Throughout the trip he talked about what a great bag it is and how handy it is to carry around. The spacing between the straps was just right for my shoulders, but it would have been a bit cramped. The 50L is designed exactly the same, but better for taller/larger people. It's important to note that I didn't carry this bag all day, every day - just back and forth from wherever we stayed and to the train station. On days when we were only in town for a few hours, my husband and I both left our bags in the luggage room or in the train station storage room. When we had to carry these bags long distances, we were thankful for the comfortable shoulder straps and waist belt. The shoulder straps on this bag are spot on - they adjust very easily and pack away easily. I also love how this bag opens almost to the bottom for quick and efficient packing. There's an inner pocket that I used to keep a vertical binder in with all of our travel information, and the front pocket has plenty of room to stash small items. There are roomy zippered side pockets that also have a gap between themselves and the bag itself, allowing you to store longer items (e.g. an umbrella) on the side. There are also mesh/stretch water bottle pockets on each side. We each used two ShackePacs (1 small/1 medium) which made packing clothes easier, as well as a few other small organizer bags. Condor). We followed the advice of others regarding this bag, making sure ours wasn't too full for the plane and split some of the volume/weight between our second "carry-on" day bags. Nobody asked us about weight or dimensions. The only complaint/change we made to these bags was replacing all the rope zippers with cables and clips (see image below). This allowed us to securely lock our bags with a regular TSA lock. I came across an online guide for this and it was pretty easy to make and I would definitely recommend this simple improvement to others looking to use this bag for travel. It wouldn't stop me from giving this bag 5 stars either because it exceeded my expectations in so many other ways. We packed the clothes for 7 days and washed them twice. There was more than enough space for everything you need for the trip and souvenirs! I will be using this bag on future trips and am sure it will last for many years.