The Jakpak is a jacket that converts into a tent and a sleeping bag. I reviewed the first Jakpak about a year and a half ago. The makers of the Jakpak have improved many of the issues that the first design had, making this design much better.
The Jakpak is a waterproof jacket that has been fully seamed taped. The jacket has a hood that has a visor to keep water off the face. One of the major improvements of the jacket is the use of waterproof / breathable material. The jacket was always made with waterproof material but not breathable. This version breathes much better than the last. It also has pit-zips for more ventilation.
Another one of the big improvements that has been made is that the tent and sleeping bag parts of the jacket can now be removed. This makes it easy to either leave these parts at home, camp or just stuff them in a bag.
The sleeping bag folds out of a pocket on the back-inside of the jacket and has suspenders to hold the bag up and on while you sleep. The tent pulls out of a pocket on the back-outside of the jacket. It has some poles to keep the material off the head and to give some space to breathe. There is netting to keep the bugs out as well.
I have used this jacket multiple times and it works great. The jacket has kept me dry every time. I had been waiting for an opportunity to use the bag and tent part of the jacket in the rain but wasn’t having much success. Every time we went camping it was good weather. One night it was really coming down outside. I told my wife that I needed to give the Jakpak a try, so I took it outside and slept there for the night. It was raining pretty hard but the Jakpak worked great. The rain never came in and I was dry all night. (Sometimes while testing gear you have to sacrifice.)
I am able to fit a sleeping pad and bag inside the Jakpak. It has been cold each time I have used the Jakpak as a tent, so on cold nights I would recommend using an additional sleeping bag for warm. I also think unless you are super tuff, bringing a sleeping pad along is a good idea.
One thing that I did notice on the new Jakpak was the sizing. I would recommend getting a size smaller than you usually would wear. I am almost always a large, but a large was just too big and a medium fit great.
All in all the Jakpak has come a long way from the first one I tried and I was impressed back then. Check out their site and see if you can get your hands on one. I also feel these would be great to have in an emergency preparedness kit.
Pros:
- All in one Jacket, tent and sleeping bag.
- Easy to use
- Detachable tent and sleep bag.
Cons:
- Size issue
- Poles
- Still could breathe a little better.
Features:
- MSRP: $249.99
- Website: http://jakpak.com
Waterproof/Breathable and Waterproof combination
- All-in-one patent pending revolutionary design featuring a waterproof breathable rain jacket with integrated tent (shelter), mosquito netting and sleeping bag
- 3 season design (spring, summer and fall)
- 3.1 oz urethane coated ripstop nylon (112t*95t/70d*70d) polyester (54T*52T/250D*250D) body fabric
- Breathable/Waterproof construction, fully seam taped
- Entire product meets CPAI-84 flame retardant standards for tents
- DWR finish (Durable Water Resistant)
- 2 Layer W/P non-breathable Clear, Milky or 2.5 layer printed
- 2 Layer W/P Hydrophilic Clear, Milky, or 2.5 layer printed 10000mm, MVT 5000g
- Weight: Small 2lbs/13oz, Medium 2lbs/15 oz, Large 3lbs/1oz, X-Large3lbs/3oz
Jacket
- 3 total pockets (2 exterior, 1 interior)
- 12” 5 coil Pit zips
- 26.5” 5 coil Reversible center front zipper
- Integrated hood and collar with drawcord and visor
- 1” Elastic Integrated suspenders help distribute shelter and sleeping bag weight evenly
- Storm flaps over pockets and zippers keep water out of garment
- iPod loop
Tent/Shelter
- Integrated tent provides shelter over the head, neck and shoulders
- Curved shaped back tent pouch with mesh along bottom of pocket, allows debris or water from storing tent to fall out without having to clean out the pocket
- .0625 x .129 Rust resistant metal tent rods
- Attached no see-um netting deters small no-see-um size insects, while maintaining good visibility
- Quick and easy setup with no hassle, added 22L silver/non-nickel grommets can be used for staking
- Detachable tent can be removed and stored separately
- Detachable tent can also be use as a pack cover
Sleeping Bag
- Integrated sleeping bag folds in/out of jacket for quick and easy access
- 5 coil zipper removes sleeping bag
- Elastic at top of bag for snug fit
- Waterproof and Waterproof/Breathable fabrics used, Waterproof on bottom for laying on wet ground and breathable on top for comfort
- 5 coil angled full length Two-way zipper allows for ease of entry/ exit, also allows you the choice to zip your feet free for easy access for walking around, hook and loop to help from dragging on ground
- Roomy fit and capacity allows winter clothes inside the bag and jacket