In 1952, a Glendale, California machinist named Dick Kelty welded aluminum pack frames in his garage and did something nobody had bothered to do: he put the frame outside the bag and strapped it to a hip belt, transferring the load from shoulders to hips. Backpacking as a comfortable pursuit, rather than an ordeal, essentially begins with Dick Kelty’s garage. He sold his first packs for around $24 to fellow Sierra Club hikers.
The short version: Kelty, founded 1952 and part of Exxel Outdoors, is the affordable heritage brand that helped invent modern backpacking and now makes dependable, value-priced tents, sleeping bags, and packs, especially for families and beginners. Buy it to get outside without spending a fortune. It is not premium ultralight gear, and does not pretend to be; it is the on-ramp, with real history behind it.
Where Kelty came from
The external-frame pack and the padded hip belt were genuine revolutions; Kelty gear went on early Everest and Himalayan expeditions. Over decades the brand moved from cutting edge to value leader, now under Exxel Outdoors, where it anchors the accessible end of the market with camp furniture, car-camping tents, and kid carriers that get families out the door.
What they actually make well
Value tents and sleeping bags, family and car-camping gear, and beginner backpacks: the stuff that gets people outside for the first time without a premium price. The Cosmic down bag is a perennial best-value pick. Where Gregory and Osprey serve the serious end, Kelty owns the welcoming entry point.
Built to last?
Value gear makes real trade-offs, and Kelty’s are honest ones: heavier fabrics, simpler features, prices that reflect it. Warranty support is solid. This is not the place to look for cutting-edge sustainable materials or repair programs; it is the place to look for a first tent that works.
The causes they actually fund
Kelty has run programs like Kelty for the People supporting outdoor access and mental health through time outside, fitting for the brand that made backpacking approachable. The giving is modest but on-theme: getting more people outdoors.
Where this gear comes from, and where it earns its place
Born in a Glendale garage that changed how everyone carries a load, at home at the family campground and the first-timer’s trailhead: the accessible corners of every region on the Trail Atlas, including the family-friendly routes in our Colorado Plateau guide.
The honest take
Kelty gear is heavier and less refined than premium brands, and serious ultralight backpackers will outgrow it. But as the gear that gets a family or a beginner outside affordably, with genuine backpacking history in its DNA, it earns its place. Start here; upgrade later if the trail calls.
The garage where comfortable backpacking was invented. More makers in Brands We Love. Last verified July 2026.