Jakpak: Anyone seen one of these

I'd need to carry a rucksack to put it in when I got too warm, which with a sleeping bag folded up in it, would be most of the time. So I might as well have a separate jacket or poncho tarp, and a quilt.

Ouch! $300 and no weights listed. Brand new product. Interesting concept, but no, I don't think so for me.

Sounds to me that it could be good for what it was originally developed for, the homeless people (that happen to have $300 spare dollars) , and for that it may be better than a cardboard box and a wet blanket.
For hiking, even as a "just in case" day hike item, I also think that a poncho tarp or a rain jacket and light tarp is a much more practical solution.
Have a look at the two video clips here:
http://www.pitchengine.com/jakpak/introducing-jakpak-/10628/
Just imagine you are ready to go to sleep and it is raining hard. How much water will you collect inside the "sleeping bag" as you fiddle with the set up ?
Worst still when you need to re-pack in the morning. Great start for the day…But of course your clothing would be already wet from condensation…
When you are wearing it as a jacket you have 2 or 3" of nylon on your back, just imagine how wet you will get hiking with that on and how "comfortable" it would be to just lay down on the ground with a wet back as well as possibly a rain puddle at your feet collected as you were setting it up.
(I could be wrong….)
Too bad if you turn in your sleep…
Franco

Darn, it won't work for me, I'm a side sleeper.:-)
I'm not homeless either. Oh, well….

-Mark

The funny thing is that they patented the idea.

Does the "sleeping bag" even have any insulation in it? It doesn't look like it. It might be better refered to as a "bivy jacket" or something.

Coincidence that this is posted only a few days before the new Transformers movie….hmmmm. I guess survivalists might want to add it to their bug out bag.

My Name is Brian Rose and work for Active Engineering, which is the company that invented and is manufacturing the JakPak that is being discussed in this forum.

I would like to thank each of you for taking the time to look at and comment about our product. We are very excited about the attributes of the JakPak and how they can prove useful in the outdoor environments.

Over the last couple of months we have been busy sending samples out to gear testers and writers around the United States. Those that have seen it and used it have been very impressed by it. We have also heard some great opportunities on how we might be able to improve our product. This is the best information that we can collect so that we can insure future versions meet the ever changing demands of the Outdoor community.

We also appreciate your constructive feedback and comments on this forum as well. While it may not be the right fit in every situation, we are confident that with the proper input from each of you we can make future versions that will meet your needs.

If you have any further questions please feel free to email me at brian@jakpak.com

I'd wear it on an overnighter.

Oh come on, it would be fun!

Actually, I can see this being of some interest to big wall climbers.

Cheers

If it was completely self storing it would make a killer bivy. Hmmmm……

Brian,

How do you avoid getting wet if it is raining whilst you are setting up or packing up the JakPak? You have to unzip the jacket to take the sleeping bag out, and when you pack it up you have to take the entire thing off…

Hi Alli:

Your question is a great one. You are correct in that you may get a little bit wet while getting into it. Hopefully you are near something that can provide a little bit of cover while you are getting into it though. The nice part is that it is very easy to get into and can be done so in about a minute or so.

For the people that have seen it at the trade shows that we have done, they have told us how much easier it would be than trying to put up a tent or get into a bivy as well.

Hope this helps, but if not please do not hesitate to email me.

Brian,

Let me first applaud your company for trying to help the homeless, create an innovative multi-use product, and most of all for offering camoflauge as a color choice. I'm tired of burnt orange and puke green dominating the outdoor gear color pallette (i.e. my Montrail Namches).

A couple humble recommendations:
Most of the members of this forum track one spec above all, product weight. This is missing from your website. If you could provide this info that would be great. Also, adding a video to your website showing a user going through the process of converting the product from jacket to shelter and back would be immensely helpful. Lastly, you might want to consider rewording your product description. Most outdoor enthusiates consider a "sleeping bag" as a primary source of insulation, not waterproof shelter. I think a more appropriate descriptor of your product would be "bivy sack".

Thanks for responding to our questions and comments,

Nathan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SN_YaalOq8

Nathan:

As well, thank you for your comments and suggestions. They are much appreciated and will definitely be points of discussion for us. Your comments about the colors is great also, it was not easy choosing three colors to go with at first. We will look to add others as we grow.

Your question about the weight is a very good one. The weight of a medium woodland camo or the blue JakPak is 2 lbs. 6 oz. The weight will vary as you go up or down in size by a couple of ounces. We will get weights posted on all of the JakPaks on our site as soon as possible. It may also be helpful to know that the sleeping bag or bivy portion that you put your legs into can accommodate a sleeping bag and is 56" long (measured from the waist).

As for videos, we are working to get these up as well. There are three up on you tube right now. If you type in JakPak you will see one being deployed, one being put away and an interview done on the local ABC affiliate in Seattle.

Thank you again.

WOW – that is a dang heavy jacket (even for me who is not even close to a hard core UL guy like most of the folks on BPL).

The thing that gets me, and I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned it, is that the bivy bag gets stuffed in the back. How can you wear a backpack with a huge bugle on your back????? I can't see how that would be comfortable at all. Also how hot would that be on your back, the most breathable fabric out there won't breath well doubled over 2 or 3 times.

It is an interesting concept – but at 1st glance (without ever seeing in person or trying one it looks like a gimmicky Ronco product to me. I don't mean to belittle the product, the makers have much more entrepreneurial gumption than I do and I commend them for that. I just feel that this misses the mark for any serious outdoor use.