Introduction

See History of Kelty Spectra Backpacks for lots of information and pictures about the Kelty spectra packs.

I got the Mistral from a pack collector. It is a Kelty spectra pack. I had never heard of it before. The non-spectra pack was manufactured in 1999. I presume this was a very limited edition, or a prototype of some kind.

Back view

This pack is a simple daypack. I would estimate its size to be 1500ci. There is a single gold daisy chain running up the back of the pack. There is an ice-axe loop at the bottom to secure an ice axe. There is a zipper that wraps around the top and sides of the pack to open and close it. There are two compression straps per side. On the right side, there is a zipper visible, which accesses a large pocket in the rear of the pack.

Side view

This is a picture showing the side pocket opened. Also visible are the two side compression straps. There is a small pocket on the bottom outside of the pack, which might be used to secure the bottoms of skis. It is far too small for a water bottle.

Bottom view

This is the bottom of the pack. There are two plastic reinforcement patches which are used to add straps to the pack, or to add abrasion resistance to the bottom.

Top view

This is a top view of the pack. You can see the main zipper which wraps around the pack. You can see the back zipper which is visible on the left side of the picture. The carrying handle is in the center of the picture.

Inside view

The first picture shows the small inside zippered pocket. I suspect it is designed to hold a wallet and some keys with the strap and clip. The front of the pack has some thin foam sewn into it to act as padding and structure. The next picture shows the large inside zippered pocket which has the back foam padding on one surface. Perhaps is is for storing large, flat objects such as maps, or adding more back padding. There is another large pocket, with an elastic top visible in the picture. The third picture shows a strap which attaches to the elastic lid flap and to the top inside of the pack. It can be used to help compress whatever is inside the elastic inside pocket.

Front view

This shows the shoulder and waist straps. The shoulder straps are removable and adjustable. The top black plastic D rings are sewn to the pack. The yellow strap has velcro as does the top of the shoulder straps. The shoulder straps are lightly padded. There is a sternum strap.

Hip view

The waist strap is made of two layers of spectra fabric and is unpadded. It is pretty wide and distributes the weight well. It ends in a wide nylon belt which is easy to adjust. If you look at the waist strap near the pack, can see some velcro. The waist belt is not removable, but can be folded away in a pocket on the lower front of the pack, as shown in the second picture. The velcro is used to secure the hip belts inside the pocket.

If this pack had a some more internal padding and bigger pockets, it would make a great laptop pack. I might modify the pack to hold a notebook laptop, as it will outlast any other laptop backpack.

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