My 1st 50 Days With The Redwing 50 DayPack | Complete (Hands-On) Review

If anyone read my Ode to my Redwing 32 Backpack, you know that I just got a brand new Redwing 50 to replace the 32 as my primary hunting and hiking pack.

In order to be transparent,  I got a massive discount on this pack for writing an honest review of what I thought. One thing I really like about Kelty is they like to know the honest opinion of their customers so they can adapt and overcome with their next-gen packs. 

I’ve spent a few weekends now with the Redwing 50 and I feel like I have a good understanding of its capabilities, versatility, and limitations. 

What Should I Look For When Buying a Hiking Backpack?

I have 7 questions to ask yourself before you buy a backpack for hiking, hunting, or traveling the world. There are always more considerations when making a big purchase, but my 7 questions will hopefully help you think of anything else that applies to your specific situation.

As you’ll notice throughout the blog, I used my good friend and fellow veteran as my model for my new Redwing 50 backpack. It’s easier to take pictures than it is to ask someone to take them for you.

David Galusha is a lifetime hunter, outdoor advocate, and land management expert in Ohio. I trust his viewpoint and even though being in the limelight isn’t his favorite thing to do, I appreciate him helping me out for the sake of education. 

1. What the pack is made from?

Anytime I choose a pack, I always consider what the pack is made from and my current environmental conditions. Some of my backpacks are great in the summer months with the extreme heat on the east coast, but not great in the Spring months where it’s chilly, windy, and wet. 

Some of the most common fabrics are heavy-duty cotton, 420D polyester, Rip-Stop Nylon, Cordura, ballistic nylon, and leather. Each fabric has its benefits and disadvantages, so you have to decide what kind of stress you’re expecting this pack to take on.

For example, If this pack is to hunt some Eastern Whitetail and take a weekend trip to the woods over the holidays, the 420-Denier outer fabric on the Redwing 50 is more than enough.

However, you’d probably want a pack that is 100% waterproof and rip-proof, such as Cordura in places like the Pacific Northwest (Olympic National Park or Katmai, Alaska) or the American Southwest deserts (Arizona and Nevada).

If hiking or hunting in the deserts of the southern Arizona mountains, your pack needs to handle extreme heat, monsoon rains, and trails that look like a cactus gauntlet. 

In Alaska, the weather can turn from sunny and no wind to 45 mph gusts and torrential rain for hours. Even though my Redwing 32 does great with water, I’m not sure it would hold up to Alaska and Washington level rain. 

2. Is The Pack Compatible With a Water Bladder?

Yes, one of the most important things you could have in your pack is the storage option for a water bladder. I bought the Platypus Big Zip EVO High-Flow Rate Water Reservoir on Amazon because my wife bought a 1.5L model and it never had an aftertaste from the first time we used it. Every bladder we buy gets washed out thoroughly with antibacterial soap and rinsed with cold water. The Platypus was the first water bladder that I used that didn’t have any off-flavor from new plastics. 

With well over a thousand miles (Owned Since 2016) of American parks, forests, and campsites, my Kelty 32 has done everything I’ve asked except I would have liked a better bladder system.

However, the redesigned Redwing 50 comes with a secure position for a 3L bladder in the same pocket a laptop would be protected in. So far I’ve done enough hiking/scouting to tell that it’s securely protected and it doesn’t move or spill through the slide locking mechanism.

I also really appreciate the bigger bite valve and the bigger 5/16" drink tube. The thing you have to be careful of is conserving your water with the Platypus bladder. It’s a good problem to have as far as I’m concerned because it limits the amount of time I need to stop and drink.

However,  I recommend taking it out on a test run or hike before going straight for a Colorado 14er or the AT.   The wider drinking (5/16") tube allows the water comes out faster. Testing your equipment out in controlled environments is always the best choice for safety. You can run through 3L much faster with the Platypus EVO High-Flow Rate tube than any other drinking tube I’ve used so far.

3. Where Do You Hike or Hunt?

When choosing the Redwing 50, I took into account that I would need it to hike overnight (up to 3 nights), hunt any animal in Appalachia, and pack it out with 1 trip. I also needed the pack to fit as a carry-on bag for week-long hiking trips out in the Central and Northern Rockies. 

The versatility of the Redwing 50 was the biggest factor in replacing my Redwing 32 as my main backpack. I live in the Southwestern Virginia Appalachian Mountains within a 10-minute drive to multiple entrances to the Appalachian Trail. 

Each Summer, I take a week and hike the Appalachian Trail and camp where I stop for the night. I can normally get 25 miles a day for 5 (125 miles) or 6 days (150 miles) with a 50 Liter pack if I pack light and smart. Each year, I cross off each section of the AT I complete, and hopefully one day, I’ll have the whole trail complete. 

I see a lot of articles about why 420D poly isn’t as good, but they never seem to discuss the reason it’s still so popular for outdoorsmen/women. The Redwing 50 outer fabric is flexible, but firm, and doesn’t change its shape like many other bags when packed tight (no sagging or bulging).

When hiking in the Rockies and hunting in the Appalachians, I need a flexible material that isn’t too rigid, but not soft enough to be cut open on the first blackberry bush I cross. 

If you’re looking for a pack that can handle a week backcountry camping trip or trying to complete a Through-Hike of the AT or Pacific Rim Trail, I’d go with an external frame daypack with double the capacity or high-capacity internal frame packs, such as the Kelty Eagle or the smaller Kelty Falcon 4000 USA.

4. Is The Pack Waterproof or Water-Resistant?

Whether your pack is waterproof or water-resistant goes along with where you’re using the pack because we have almost every known climate across our great country. Some places like Tacoma, WA get rain almost every day of the year, while some places in Nevada get less than a few sprinkles per year. 

The Redwing 50 isn’t waterproof, but it’s water-resistant, meaning it can repel water really well, but eventually it will allow water in if it’s saturated enough. Waterproof means that regardless of the density of rain or saturation level, rain or snow won’t get through the pack.

In my 6 years with the little brother of the Redwing 50, I’ve never had a water issue with my Kelty Redwing 32. I use a specialized Scotch Guard on all my packs, rain gear, and boots which has undoubtedly saved me from having any water leaks in my backpack. 

5. How Heavy is The Pack (unloaded, loaded)?

The overall weight of the pack matters more the longer you’ll be hiking or the more weight you’ll be carrying into the woods on a hunt. For my purposes, I was looking for an internal frame backpack with at least 50L of capacity and weighed less than 5 lbs unloaded.

The Redwing 50 weighs 3.94 lbs unloaded and can easily fit 60-80 lbs of gear inside the bag before you start to feel the straps pulling down a little. One of the many reasons I’ve been such a fan of Kelty packs is the internal frames from Kelty are incredibly comfortable and well-balanced on my shoulders and hips.

6. What’s the capacity of the pack?

The Redwing 50 is named after its capacity and wing-style pockets that flare out to give its namesake. a 50L pack is my perfect capacity for most of the activities I do including, hiking, hunting, camping, and traveling across the world on planes.

As you can see from the picture below, 50L is a lot of space with room to spare, even after my 3-person Timber Creek Tellico tent is loaded inside. 

7. Does the Pack Have a Hip & Chest Strap?

I think it’s essential that every pack I use for anything such as hiking or hunting needs to have a hip strap and a chest strap for stability and safety. The Redwing 50 has both a hip strap with wing-style flaps that lock together with a simple buckle.

I use this strap anytime I know I’m going uphill or downhill with rugged terrain and loose footing. The hip strap helps take the weight of the pack off of my shoulders and onto my hips for a much more comfortable ride.

Having a chest strap also helps your back and neck when you’re trying to carry heavier loads in your pack. For example, if you’re packing out a whitetail (easily done with the Redwing 50), using the chest strap along with the hip straps will balance the weight throughout your upper body so your shoulders, back, and neck stay in a comfortable position. 

Specs

Pros

• Capacity is much greater than a standard day pack I’d typically use for Whitetail hunting
• could pack an entire deer-sized animal in one trip
• though it has increased storage like my external frame packs, this pack is much less bulky and more streamlined, allowing me to move through thick brush more quietly
• large side pouches and extra storage compartments make organizing my gear easy
• when packed light for tree stand sits or day hunts its compact enough and not too bulky to carry up a tree and allows you to pack more gear (i.e. a camera, extra water, food, binos, tripod, spotting scope) than a standard frameless backpack
• Affordable at less than $150 a pack
• The Famous wing pockets on the sides of the bag are twice the size of the Redwing 32 and can fit medical kits, ammo, CCW pistols, and a day’s worth of nutrient bars or my Canon T6 Rebel 
• The top pocket is perfect for my keys, wallet, and phone
• The Hybrid U-zipper allows the bag to be opened wider to fit your gear without forcing your bag open
• I really like the vented back panel on the lower back so I don’t sweat so much my skin gets irritated from the friction of 20+ miles/day
• The pocket for a laptop fits my Macbook Pro 16" screen without stretching the pocket sleeve

Cons

• Though it has way more storage than my frameless day packs, it would still take 3 trips at least to pack a larger animal like an elk
• The internal frame is great until I reach about 60-80 pounds, then it begins to feel like a frameless backpack, pulling down on the shoulders
• You could shoot off the pack in a pinch but, an external frame is more versatile when trying to get a quick shooting position
• The main compartment is large but with no load shelf, which makes packing heavy loads harder
• The pack can be loud when opening it in the woods so it’s important to keep that in mind if you’re hunting and trying to set up on a turkey or deer

Where Can I Buy The Kelty Redwing 50?

• Amazon- $149.95
• Kelty- $149.95
• Sportsman’s Warehouse- $129.99

The Best Hiking Backpack For Women

The Kelty Redwing 50 comes in a specialized woman’s size with a shorter range for the torso fit and less overall weight than the men’s model. You’ll also notice the bag is a little bit smaller to sit more proportional for most women.

The shoulder straps are meant to apply less pressure to the shoulders with the hip buckle taking most of the weight and using the shoulders for stability.

I’m considering buying the Redwing 50 for my wife once she needs a new pack because I feel so confident in the one that I have. 

Women’s Kelty Redwing 50

$149.95

at Kelty

VIEW DETAILS

Prices accurate at time of writing