The Pack That Killed the Pack Mule (carryology.com)

I still have the Kelty I got in the 70's and used on 15 trips into the Sierra Nevada over about 10 years. It's stained, smells like smoke, and has a number of patched rips including a hole chewed into the bottom by some rodent. Its only fault was it's capacity was too small for longer hikes. One of the best outdoor products I've ever had.

I also had a Kelty pack. It was great for the time.

I enjoyed this article. I always find it interesting how things came to be and how individual contributions made things happen.

hey OP what's with all the carryology submissions in the past two days

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48266950 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48279030 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48266757 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48279413

I have a Kelty BB5 that I purchased in 1972, and I used it as recently as 2025. On family trips where you end up carrying odd loads like two sleeping bags or outsized tents, it beats the internal frame packs I use for fast and light trips.