ok, well...i needed a pack for myself before a 75 mile hike. have hiked hundreds of miles with a crappy jansport external frame(which i loved dearly), but i knew its time was over. this kelty was the first internal frame ive ever owned, and i hated it. it was sooooo uncomfy. the suspension system made the weight ride back, causeing me to be unbalenced...which later in my trip caused me to sprain both ankles, makeing my trip a very short one. and also it had this annoying piece of plastic that dug into my back. i even had the pack fitted to me. the size or fitting were just not the issue...the pack just plain out sucked! but now, i own a gregory reality...i definitly sugest that.

Customer Service

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gregory reality

The Bigfoot 5200 is one of Kelty's line of backpacks that use the Mystery Ranch system suspension, but are a little easier on the wallet then some of their competitors. The Mystery Ranch system was developed so that different packs can be attached to the same suspension, supposedly saving money. The instructions don’t make it look like removing the pack is very easy, but it can be done. (I have yet to try it). The Bigfoot pack is big, and swallows gear. The pack includes front-entry and top-entry, so it is easy to open up the front of the pack to get at gear on the trail (a feature I really like). The front entry includes big zippers, and an internal zippered mesh that helps to contain the gear. You first open the front, and then zip down the mesh to get to the gear. The top is removable and becomes a fanny belt. There appear to be two models of this pack. My pack does not include mesh side pockets. I have seen pictures and descriptions of those that do. Not sure if that is an old model or a new, but the side pockets would be great.

I used the pack for the first time on a trip to the Presidentials of New Hampshire, and a trip up and down Mt. Washington. The suspension system worked well and was very comfortable with one exception. In the back where the hip belt meets the suspension there is a piece of plastic that is not padded very well. It had a tendency to dig into my back. I called Kelty about it, and they said the pack probably needed adjusting. I am not sure this is true, it road very well on my hips, and seemed to be adjusted right for the torso, but I will give adjusting a try. I have seen where other people have mentioned this problem with the mystery ranch system, so time will tell.

The only other problem with the pack had to do with wear. The Presidentials are a very rocky range, and near the top you are bouldering the entire way. Inside the pack there is a rod that is shaped like an upside down “U”. I assume this is to transfer the weight of the pack to the suspension system, and it did a good job. The problem is that the bottom ends of the inverted “U” are not covered at all and stick right into pack material. When coming down the mountain, I spent a lot of time sliding down rocks, and the back of my pack dragged against those rocks. The result was that the ends of the rods wore through the pack material. This was a tough trip, and in most cases I would not be doing that to my pack, but I think that the design should include something over the rod ends to make sure they do not abrade the pack over time. I am afraid that with regular use those rods would still work their way through.

If I can get by the hip belt comfort issues with some adjustment, I will be very satisfied with my investment in this pack.

Customer Service

I called customer service about the hip belt issues and the wear issues. As I said above, they recommended that I adjust the fit to solve the hip belt problem. They gave me an return authorization to get the wear problem taken care of. They were very polite and helpful over the phone, we will see how the return/repair goes. I tried the "Ask Kelty" e-mail from their website, and that was less then helpful. Some other company that Kelty has apparently outsourced their e-mail support to answered the e-mail. Their only answer was "You better call Kelty".

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