Packa

[ChinMusic]

I know we have had several threads in the past on the Packa. I have gone back and forth on trying one and am about to pull the trigger on a cuben version.

For those of you that have had a Packa (cuben, sil, or eVent) let me know what the downsides are.

[HeartFire]

I love my packa, but you want the downsides- if it's raining, and you have to take your pack off,(lets say to set up camp) you get wet - then you have the conundrum - do you use it as a pack cover and you get wet (while setting up camp) or do you use it as a jacket and stay dry but your pack gets wet while trying to set up.

[yellowsirocco]

If you use a hammock or a tarp, then the setting up camp issue that HeartFire speaks of goes away mostly. I always have my tarp in a handy place on my pack so I can set it up quickly. I mostly hammock, but actually carry a small tarp when I am tenting for cooking and extra living space.

[Cadenza]

I have the cuben Packa and honestly have not found a downside.

In the scenario you describe above, in a heavy downpour I would use a contractor bag to cover the pack until I could get a tarp strung up.
But realistically, in a light rain I would just lean the pack against a tree.

Once the tarp was up,....I'd sit down in my Slinglight chair and make coffee. While pondering my next move with a clear head it might stop raining.

[kayak karl]

i have found no down sides. hiked 500 mi. trip with a mountain hardware rain and 500 mi trip with a packa. packa won hands down.

down side. you need to be organized. forgot a few times to put snacks and guide in packa pocket.

biggest advantage is on the days when it rains, stops, rains, stops etc..you can slip your arms out of sleeves and just let it hang from pack.

[SouthMark]

I hammock and carry my tarp in an outside pack pocket. If it is raining I retrieve my tarp through a pit zip. I then pitch my tarp before removing my Packa. I love this thing and have found no downsides. It served me quite well in Maine the June that had 26 days of rain.

[stumpknocker]

I didn't know Cedar Tree was making a cuben Packa now. I have one from years ago and bought it for one reason....winter.

I don't care as much in other seasons. If it's cold out when it's raining, I'll wear a rain jacket. If it's warm out I consider the rain a free and much needed shower. I'll either wear the hood of the rain jacket and let the rest flop over my pack or not wear a rain jacket at all. I just tie the sleeves of the rain jacket to the side straps of my pack to secure it if I flop it over the pack.

I ONLY carry a Packa in winter. There is nothing worse to me than having snow dumped down my back all day long when I work my way through the low hanging snow laden rhododendrons. The Packa works great at solving that very unpleasant situation.

[BrianLe]

Weight is the big issue for me ... my eVent packa is too heavy to take on a trip that I'm not sure is going to have pretty wet weather. And of course, one is less inclined to go on such trips ...
Nevertheless, it's a fantastic piece of gear to have when the weather is at least a bit more sketchy.

It's also an issue if you want to strap anything sizeable outside of your pack --- ice axe in particular, but also perhaps a foam pad, anything that stops the pack cover part of it from going nicely and easily over the pack.

I don't tend to bring a windshirt when I have the packa, as it's easy to put the packa on and take it off, or put it sort of "partly on". These are all things that I like, of course, but sometimes I'm not expecting rain but want the wind proofing, and in that scenario it's a bit of a PITA to have the pack cover part on only so I can use the jacket --- or have the pack cover part waded up a bit under the pack if I decline to do that. Bottom line there is that IMO it's just some hassle having a pack cover on in conditions where it's not really needed --- much nicer to have quicker, easier access to pack contents.

It can also be a pain when you have the pack off but want your raingear on. I fiddled with mine and came up with a pretty quick way to cinch up the loose pack cover part so I wasn't sitting on it or having it flop around too much, so this one for me was pretty well mitigated with a little attention.

It's a great piece of gear; not right for every trip for me, but just outstanding when I'm not bringing an ice axe and the long range weather forecast isn't optimistic.

[10-K]

I need to borrow one of these things and see what the fuss is about. I can't quite grasp why it's better than a pack liner and cover and rain gear. A Packa seems like an all or nothing proposition to me... Sometimes (most of the time) when it's just drizzling I have on my pack cover and enjoy hiking in the mist.....

I have always assumed that if it rains enough to really matter stuff is just going to get wet .. Does a Packa change that?

[Red Hat]

I need to borrow one of these things and see what the fuss is about. I can't quite grasp why it's better than a pack liner and cover and rain gear. A Packa seems like an all or nothing proposition to me... Sometimes (most of the time) when it's just drizzling I have on my pack cover and enjoy hiking in the mist.....

I have always assumed that if it rains enough to really matter stuff is just going to get wet .. Does a Packa change that?

yes, it does keep your stuff dry! my only downside is, gasp, fashion.... I feel kind of silly wearing it in town without a pack underneath. Oh, and you can't use it as a coverup when you do your laundry...

[yellowsirocco]

I need to borrow one of these things and see what the fuss is about. I can't quite grasp why it's better than a pack liner and cover and rain gear. A Packa seems like an all or nothing proposition to me... Sometimes (most of the time) when it's just drizzling I have on my pack cover and enjoy hiking in the mist.....

I have always assumed that if it rains enough to really matter stuff is just going to get wet .. Does a Packa change that?

It is very much not all or nothing. When it looks like it is going to rain I slip the packa on as a pack cover and tuck the jacket part back. Then when it really starts raining all I have to do is reach behind me and pull the jacket part out while I am still walking. You don't even have to stop to put your raincoat on. Then when it slacks off but you are not for sure that the storm is really over you just slip out of the jacket and let it hang behind your arms where it is ready at a moment's notice for the next downpour. Sometimes I also use it as sort of a cape as well.

In fact Cedar Tree lays it all out on his website:
http://www.thepacka.com/index_files/Page346.html

[SouthMark]

One thing that has not been mentioned is that with the Packa on; shoulder straps, hip belt, any hip belt pockets, shoulder strap pockets, etc. stay dry.

[SouthMark]

Cedar Tree has been offering a cuben version for over a year now. Medicine Man and I contacted Joe at Zpacks about making us a cuben Packa. We put him in touch with Eddie and Joe made a prototype (which I have now). It actually came out a little too small but I was able to modify it. Meantime Eddie decided to start offering it in cuben The cuben version is listed on his Custom Packas page.

[ChinMusic]

I appreciate all the comments. This is what I as hoping for.

I already have a cuben pack cover that weighs next to nothing. Would it be worth taking it with me as well to put over the pack if I have to set up camp in the rain? Or for pack-off breaks?

[10-K]

I appreciate all the comments. This is what I as hoping for.

I already have a cuben pack cover that weighs next to nothing. Would it be worth taking it with me as well to put over the pack if I have to set up camp in the rain? Or for pack-off breaks?

Sure.. pack it with the crampons and defibulator..

[ChinMusic]

Sure.. pack it with the crampons and defibulator..

Well, I did mention that the cuben pack cover weighs next to nothing. Others have mentioned using a trash bag, which is heavier.


Still looking for that perfect UL defibrillator....

[Rocket Jones]

Still looking for that perfect UL defibrillator....

Mine's not UL, but it uses the same batteries as my headlamp, so I got that going for me.

[Tipi Walter]

How is it with jabs and punctures? Plus, do they make a Packa to cover a 7,000 cubic inch pack?? If it can't totally cover my pack it's useless to me.

[bamboo bob]

i used a Packa this summer on the AT for 1000 miles. It did not work for me. If it rained I got soaked. I still have no idea why. I think it needed a better seam sealing although it was taped. I suggested sea sealer but he said he couldn't take it back if I did that. I sent it back to him and he gave me my money back. I really wanted it to work so I kept it way longer than I should have. It was fine in cold snowy weather in March.

[garlic08]

Sure.. pack it with the crampons and defibulator..

I think 10K is talking about a piece of gear to remove the smaller bone in the lower leg. Maybe something to do with shin splints.