Trad Gang
Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: dragonheart on August 11, 2014, 04:23:00 PM
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Does anyone use a fleece Kathy Kelly design daypack? Any experience with them?
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Anyone?
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I've had two for abut 25 years. Still going strong. If I ever need another, I'll get one of hers.
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I have one, for about a dozen years now. It's a rather simple design, compared to a lot of what's out there now –pretty much a soft fleece bag with a few pockets and shoulder straps. The pack looks like something someone –that knows what they’re doing– might make on their sewing machine at home. For me, it conjures up the image of a woman named Kathy –from a die-hard hunting family– on her home sewing machine, going out hunting some, then tweaking the design back at home. If these packs were designed and made in a high tech factory in China I’d say they need to do a bit more R&D -not to make them more functional mind you, but to compete in the high tech market. But if my original homespun image is anywhere near correct, I say more power to her and EVERYONE should own one. (If the factory in China turns out to be the facts, just don’t tell me about it).
Mine has a single wide outer pocket, and a single wide inner pocket within the main compartment. It also has two elastic-rimmed "water bottle” pockets outside that I use for gear, and they close up enough that nothing falls out. (I use a skin for water bc they don’t make “sloshing” sounds like bottles do.) I organize my smaller gear in cloth or plastic bags so the lack of lotsa little pockets is not a problem.
I’m primarily a stillhunter /stalker so I take the sound-proofing of my gear pretty seriously. I chose my pack starting with the same simple test I use for buying hunting outerwear: I walk down the rack dragging a fingernail over the fabrics listening for the ones I cannot hear. The majority of the fabrics I've seen hiss and zip –very few are actually silent. A couple years ago I tried the same thing at a Bass Pro Shop. All the gear was quite fancy looking, but despite the loud music and poor acoustics in that cavernous store, I could still hear most of the fabrics, and the one’s I couldn’t –I felt like shouting, “Will you guys shut that blasted noise off! (What kind of place is this?? I was thinking.)”
Anyway, my KK pack, being fleece, is silent. It has the habit of collecting burrs and seed-ticks, but that just gives me something to do during down-time :) . It’s held together in use in all respects: all seams, zippers, and elastic. No complaints, although sometimes I wish it were a little bigger; It’s a day pack, not a weekender. I carry maps, compass, calls, archery (and human) repair kits, snacks, extra layers, fingerless gloves, camo face scarf, stalking socks, a micro-fleece rain jacket that stuffs down pretty small, and sometimes, if there’s still room, I put in my boots when I’m sock-stalking -otherwise I have to stash them somewhere and remember to come back around and pick them up. Would love to have a solar microwave for lasagna but I guess we should be roughing it some, eh?
Hmmmm…guess that’s all I can think of.
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Where can you buy Kathy Kelly stuff? I've been looking for a case for a bow case for awhile now and havent found any Kathy Kelly.
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Google is your friend. http://www.kathykellydesign.com/traditionalaccessories.html
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Jon, I have the recurve strung and the long bow case and really like them.
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I've owned one of the deluxe day packs for 25+ years and used it practically everyday I went in the woods, it was abused! Although the zippers finally gave up there wasnt ever a stitch that did. I was so happy with it that I bought a new one about 2 years ago to replace the old one. I have an order placed with Kathy Kelly in 25 years for another one ;)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v239/yohon/IMG_0023-1.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/yohon/media/IMG_0023-1.jpg.html)
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sorry
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sorry again
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Paul: Kathy has been making daypacks and bow cases for a long time. She was a neighbor and friend of Jim Brackenbury, and sold her packs mostly through him initially. She makes good stuff, and reasonably priced.
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I have a one that I've been using for 28 years. Trebark camo if that gives any indication to the age of the pack.
Doesn't have all the bells and whistles that the new packs have, but it's well built and has stood the test of time!
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Originally posted by Orion:
Paul: Kathy has been making daypacks and bow cases for a long time. She was a neighbor and friend of Jim Brackenbury, and sold her packs mostly through him initially. She makes good stuff, and reasonably priced.
That's great to hear. Thanks Orion. :thumbsup:
And for the website, Pete. Says there that:
"All products are manufactured in our Newberg, Oregon facility..."
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Great products
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I have a day pack and two bowcases. I've used the pack for about 25 years. I finally wore out the zipper so I sent it back and for a small fee she replaced that part. She used to build some custom features into them; I'm guessing she still does. Very quiet packs; excellent quality.
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I ordered a custom pack with a waist belt and in grey fleece. Looks to be just the right size. :thumbsup:
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I just ordered two with customized camo. The best thing about them is that you can throw them in the washer and dryer to descent them like you do your hunting clothes. IMO most of today's packs waste a ton of space with pockets and dividers that rarely get used. Most have noisy exteriors and don't serve well in a tree or when stalking as mentioned above. Hard to beat wool or fleece packs.