Kelty Tioga 5500 Classic External Frame Backpack 

I recently used this pack on the ATAT & AT from the falls to Neels Gap with winter gear in it (temp ranged from the high 30s to the low 50’s at night) and a bear canister for my food strapped underneath. All I heard people say was “wow, how much does your pack weigh?” and “sure are carrying a lot” which got annoying after a while. I guess my being a 5’6.5” female made the pack look gigantic on me? I had a down sleeping bag, synthetic underquilt, reflectix, hammock & tree straps, sil nylon tarp, a few socks and underwear, sleep clothes, camp shoes, a hat, gloves, puffy jacket, rain poncho, emergency bivvy, potty stuff, water filter, a Nalgene (yes, I know, but I like them, and my cook gear. Due to the barely compressible underquilt, my pack was stuffed to the brim. The pack carried it well. Once I got the pack on I felt great. I do admit to struggling to get the pack on, esp because the shoulder strap would often get caught behind me or flip over. I’m still working on how to keep that from happening because when I’m alone it’s a big pain to take the pack on and off until I get it on correctly. Should have seen me trying to shimmy under a fallen tree with the pack on, lol. The tree was too high to climb over and was on a hill so couldn’t go around it. I do wish they had a few spots on either side of the zippered front packet so I could lash the Reflectix and other stuff on the sides of the pocket. I didn’t want to put that stuff on the pocket daisy chains and have them stick out so far. Incidentally, my emergency bivvy wound up being used by one person in the group whose sleeping bag got wet and the Reflectix was used by another for the same reason. My stuff was slightly damp due to the torrential rain we had for 2 nights (the air was full of mist wildly churning around) but was safely dry enough to use without anything extra. After a windy night all my stuff was dry.

Best backpack left on the market. Have smoked every single thru hiker I have encountered. Weeks later. Hundreds of miles away.

Your beard is a work of art IT BELONGS IN A MUSEUM!

Getting back into backpacking at 55! Just bought this Tioga from Enwild. Great price, good communication, and fast delivery. I have other Kelty packs (that i got used) that are 20 -30 years old and still going strong. I'm looking forward to getting out on the trail with this bad boy!

We moved into our new home and as I was cleaning out the attic, I discovered a Kelty Tioga. I inspected it and determined that it had barely ever been used. I found a paper in one of the pockets from Kelty stating simply that it was a "Kelty Tioga," along with care and packing instructions. It seems remarkably similar in many ways to the 5500, but the paper doesn't state specifically what the cubic inches are. It seems to be an older model, but is nearly identical to the 5500. Going to take it out in a couple weeks and see what she can do.

Finally you guys review some external frames. Please review more in the future. Like tatonkas lastenkraxe kelty yukons or other good external frame packs.

Great packs - at less then 1/2 the price of my wife's internal frame Gregory, it's both lighter & holds more. Comfortable durable and well made

Almost didn’t consider getting this bag because of another review video. Realized that guy didn’t know what he was talking about. You have me sold I’m buying this pack and gonna piece together my kit for it. Thanks, for the video.

Have one and I love it . This backpack is a must .

The beard is beyond epic and much respect to a bearded brother. Also, very nice pack there.

I remember in 1984ish when internal frame ones came out. I always wanted to stick with the old, "air breathers."

I just bought this pack from you guys I am very impressed with the quality of shipping. I will be running it though some paces before rating it on your amazon.

Thanks for the review! I have a vintage Kelty and looking to upgrade. Good job.

Was talking with someone at work who hiked a part of the AT in the 80s and he mentioned that he used a Kelty Tioga. I got curious to see how an old design compared to my modern Granite Gear Nimbus Trace 60 and so looked it up. I was surprised that Kelty put it back in production a few years and it was being discontinued again. Anyways, the more i looked at the pack, the better i liked it as on my last AT thru hike attempt i had a number of things strapped to the Granite Gear that were a bit of a hassle to deal with. On the Tioga virtually everything would have easily fit inside the pack and the pockets. After a day or so of thinking about it, i went for it and ordered one from Enwild for my next AT thru hike. With all my current gear, only the sleeping pad and tent poles will go outside the Tioga, everything else will easily fit inside. At 30-35lbs max weight it should make for a comfortable hike, loadwise.

LOVE this video. Thank You. I have the original Tioga from earlier than 1984ish.

As a bonus- he’s carrying an entire first aide kit in that beard!

I'm only 5'9" 160lbs...that bag is huge

Excellent presentation...

Nice backpack. I have an Eastern Mountain Sports EXT 4000. It's very similar.

my external is about 3500cu i initially wanted to change to a larger one but one thing to keep in mind is with a 3500 like a Trekker you can strap ALOT of stuff on the bottom, i strap 2 pads, a tent and a huge sleeping bag, and that leaves alot of room inside the actual pack

I purchased one a few weeks ago and was trying to get a second but wasn't fast enough. Since its discontinued I had to get the Trekker 65L

I had a similar Tioga for many years. Can't really do technical or hand over hand climbing with it, but other than that, I think it beats internal frames in every way.

Awesome beard too! ⛺️

i like the layout of the jansport carson a little better, access from the top and the front is a major plus, however the build quality and hip and shoulder padding of the kelty is a thousand times better.

I'm basically looking for the largest Kelty external pack ever made. Seems like 5500 cubes/90L is the entry point fpr supersize packs. I notice this one is for sale online but not on the Kelty website. That suggests it's the largest new Kelty external available on the market now. *But what are the true hall-of-fame Kelty superpacks that I might look for used?*

I'm seriously tempted to order a second Tioga so I have a backup if needed. Not that this isn't a very durable pack but stuff happens. Plus I don't know how long these will be available.

Ordered Me one supposed to be here tomorrow...

I plan to purchase this pack in the next week or two, I was just wondering what the waist strap extends out too. Just wondering if I will need to buy an extender belt as well. -Keith

Also do you have dry compression sacks that will hold an MSS sleeping bag system ?

What is the purpose of the metal internal piece that seems to be for keeping the large area open? I wish I could post a pic, but this metal piece seems unnecessary and I would like to remove it. Any issues doing that as far as keeping the integrity of the pack good.

Hello - Nice video. I'm thinking of purchasing one of these. Could you describe this model's hydration features? I have a 2L Camalbak Antidote reservoir that I'd like to use with the pack I eventually purchase. One problem I've noticed with other external frame models is that they hold hydration bladders on their sides and can make them more difficult to use. -Thanks

I just ordered mine from campmor I'm glad Kelty decided to bring this pack back bc not all of us were in love with the very- finicky - to - load and very expensive high-quality internal frame packs One negative about this pack is it's total absence of external 2x2 lash patches One of the many great things about all big external frame packs is that when you're sleeping w/o walls you can prop the pack up against a boulder or a tree and sleep against it sitting up

Dat Beard !

What a nice beard

looks like if i should buy this one, i never use external backpack before... still afraid using this one, (mostly i use internal backpack), but i got curiuos in external frame backpack, did you recommended if i using external frame backpack for tropical jungle?.. cuz mostly i hike in tropical jungle, which i live in southeast asia. - Dungokunyet

Will this pack carry 80 pounds ?

Woah that beard though

Great Beard...

The stuff in the corner is distracting.