How to Reassemble a Kelty Backpack

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If you find your Kelty backpack has been taken apart and left in a mound of straps, bars, pieces and fabric, don't despair. Reassembling a Kelty backpack is accomplished through a chronological system of placing the parts back into the main fabric sack of the backpack.

If you are traveling overseas and find yourself victim to an overzealous customs guard, or if you have taken your Kelty backpack apart to repair the sack, you can reassemble the backpacks.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Step 1

Locate the internal backpack frame bars. These bars are flat metal and long. On the backpack, turn it so the back is in front of you and look for the slits at the shoulders where the bars fit. Slide one bar into each slit, pushing it all the way down until it cannot be seen and the fabric folds over the top of the bars.

Step 2

Pick up the lumbar Aero Beam suspension pad. Look at the bottom of the rear of the backpack and find the attachment slider where the Aero Beam fits. Slide it onto the attachment, making sure to slide it from the bottom of the backpack up to the top. Stop when the Aero Beam slider is attached. It should rest in the small of the back section on the Kelty backpack.

Step 3

Push the middle support pad onto the Velcro connection. This pad is a gray, square-shaped pad that fits over the Aero Beam suspension, but between the waist pads on the waist belt.

Step 4

If the straps have been unthreaded on the backpack, go around the pack. Start with the left-hand shoulder strap and rethread all the nylon webbing straps. Turn the Kelty backpack around as you do this, ending back at the left hand shoulder strap. This ensures you do not miss any straps, and keeps you moving in a cohesive direction.

Step 5

Thread any quick clips that were removed. Quick clips have a male and female end. Look at the waist belt and sternum strap for the quick clip nylon straps and thread them accordingly. Kelty waist straps are 2 inches and use a 2-inch quick clip. The sternum strap is between 3/4 inch and 1 inch, depending if it is a woman's or man's backpack.

Article Written By Eric Cedric

A former Alaskan of 20 years, Eric Cedric now resides in California. He's published in "Outside" and "Backpacker" and has written a book on life in small-town Alaska, "North by Southeast." Cedric was a professional mountain guide and backcountry expedition leader for 18 years. He worked in Russia, Iceland, Greece, Turkey and Belize. Cedric attended Syracuse University and is a private pilot.

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