Kelty Coyote 4500

Three friends and I bought this pack on sale at REI. We were doing the 10-mile hike into Havasupai and were all in need of a new pack.

The pack was great in the respect that it had so many pockets and lots of zippers for easy access into and out of the bag. We all really liked the detachable lumbar/hydration pack, and the size, but if the pack isn't comfortable, no number of pockets or special features will make the pack right.

There were more negatives than positives to this pack. We all ended up returning the pack after the trip. We were all different shapes and sizes, but no matter what we did to adjust the straps, the suspension and the waist belt, the pack just didn't fit any of us. It constantly left the weight on our shoulders. It fell in the middle of our butts rather than above or on our waist. The shoulder straps were too short for any of us.

It was less than a mile into the trip that we just realized we all had the wrong pack. None of us were comfortable.

I've had this backpack for over 6 years and have used it EXTENSIVELY.  It has been treated me fairly well and I would recommend the pack only for people doing shorter trips. 

A few things that bother me about the pack are

1) it's not free standing, and the frame doesn't shape it at all, you have to pack VERY WELL inorder for it not to be loopsided or fall over everytime you set it down. 

2) there are no outside straps AT ALL, this is the #1 reason i am getting a new pack. 

3) the water bottle holders on the side are very silly and it is very difficult to get a nalgene in the pockets. 

Finally it gets very uncomfortable at heavy loads I'd recommend it for a weekend pack not a full week pack. 

The pack is slowly falling apart and like I said treated me very well through many backpacking and traveling trips.  I also got the pack in 2005 and it is has hopefully been upgraded to fix these problems. 

This is my first internal frame pack, and I certainly love it for the comfort. It feels like a dream. I could tell when I tried it on at the store that it belonged on my back. The lumbar pack is very comfortable. Zippers and material are high quality. Buckles seem a little chinsy, but have held up fine so far. As others have said, the suspension is great.

BUT, the water bottle pockets are ABSURD. They are super tiny, anything smaller than a deck of cards is guaranteed to fall out of them. (very slight exaggeration) I am going to modify them so they work, but it is definitely a design flaw. Didn't anyone else notice this?

In general, love it. big enough for week long trips. I do wish it had better straps to tie stuff on the outside. Once again though, that's an easy mod to make.

I read another review that said three people all bought this pack and it didn't fit any of them. I have to say it's the only pack I've been able to find that does fit!!

I'm only 5'3", yet weigh 190 pounds. I'm an avid backpacker and very strong, yet every woman's pack is too narrow and every men's pack is too long. I have very broad shoulders and very narrow hips. I went to REI and they sized this one for me and even exchanged the hip belt with a larger one.

I must say that it worked. My husband still has his very old external frame Kelty (about 30 years old) and it's about 1/2 the weight and more accessible. I do wish things were more accessible in this pack, and a bit lighter, but at least I can still backpack.

The Coyote was a great first pack for me. I used it on multiple week-long hikes and have taken it all over the world. It has held up well and was large enough for my needs. My only qualms are that the zippers were hard to open and close and it has no front pockets so I had to take everything out everytime I wanted something at the bottom. But a great pack for the price.