Hi all,
I caught the tail end of “the gadget show” on tv today when I came home from work and they were showing a product called the JakPak.
This is an all-in-one jacket/sleeping bag/tent.
They quoted a price of £182 but looking at the website, they are $199, making this a more realistic price.
This looks a really neat idea for acticvations where you don’t want to carry a tent etc.
73
Liz
Looks very uncomfortable for backpacking!
Tom M1EYP
In reply to M1EYP:
Hi Tom.
Yes. Not sure I would want to use it for walking in with a rucksack but for longer activations as a means of staying out of the wind and rain on a summit it looks interesting and perhaps more convenient than a tent.
Wonder how weatherproof it actually is.
Liz
In reply to M6EPW:
My thoughts Liz as it doesn’t seem to be made from a known fabric (GoreTex, eVent, Paramo). I think your title is most apt, interesting concept. I get the feeling it may be useful but with some disadvantages regarding weight/comfort.
A walking friend treated himself to a uber-lightweight single tent with Titanium tent pegs (ooooooh, shiny, shiny Titanium!), a down sleeping bag and lightweight mat. It only weighs around 3.5kg all in and is serious high-performance kit. It did cost nearly £700 though!
Andy
MM0FMF
In reply to M6EPW:
Interesting indeed, but more interesting that they demonstrated it on a dry lawn. I wonder how would you fair if you’d just spent the day out walking and your boots were plasted with the usual mud, peat and animal droppings?
Peter
G1FOA
This design reminds me of the old German army parker / sleeping bag.
In reply to 2E0PYG:
This design reminds me of the old German army parker / sleeping bag.
As one of the commenter’s on the Youtube link said:
“looks like a body bag” !
Skewing the topic slightly, do any folks take any form of light temporary shelter with them when activating just to escape the worst of the wind and rain? I’m think something like a tarp or beach shelter as opposed to a full blown tent.
I’ve used my one man tent on a couple of occasions when I was knowingly going to be spending time in the darkness on our local hill.
I see survival shelters which look to fit the bill
and weighing less than 500gms look ideal, but I wonder how functional they would actually be.
Pete
In reply to G4ISJ:
“I see survival shelters which look to fit the bill
and weighing less than 500gms look ideal, but I wonder how functional they would actually be.”
Funny you should mention this Pete.
I too have been looking at these on e-bay the past few weeks as weather here in the Lakes has been awful.
Even during my activation of Dalehead last Sunday, despite it being dry and taking plenty of extra clothing and windproof coat, I got really cold by the time I had stopped on the summit for quite a while due to the bitterley cold wind that day.
Liz
In reply to G4ISJ:
Hi Pete
I use a Tesco beach shelter at £9.99!
It weighs about 1kg and has been used as a shelter from both the rain and sun. Easy to erect and put away.
Although it keeps a light wind at bay too, I have never tried to use it in a gale!
Regards
Dave
In reply to M0TUB:
I’ve used one in the usual windy conditions on a GW/NW summit and found it needed stabilization - the occupier! Also ‘interesting’ to pack away in the wind.
Regards, Dave, G6DTN
I use one of those storm shelters occasionally while activating and I think they are a must on a freezing day with a wind blowing.
The two man shelter is a bit snug for two while playing radio but is ideal for one person and their shack. It can get a bit warm inside even with just one person, many times it has been below zero C outside and I have been sitting inside having to take off layers due to it getting too warm.
Most times I just have it as an open shelter with the wind behind me, keeps you snug from the wind but still lets you have plenty of ventilation.
Remembering not to just get out of it without first securing the shelter is a good idea or the activator on the next summit across the glen will inherit a free shelter. As for packing it away is easy just scrunch it up and stuff it back in the bag, you will usually have to dry or air when back at home anyway so neatness is not really needed.
For the 20 odd pounds for a Vango 2 man against an unpleasant activation – there is no comparison, just think 2 or 3 hours on a sub-zero activation against 20 or 30 minutes with frozen snot (am I allowed to say that?) hanging off your nose wishing you were somewhere else.
Neil 2M0NCM
In reply to G4ISJ:
I see survival shelters which look to fit the bill
http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/trekmates-2-3-person-equipment-emergency-shelter-p108828
and weighing less than 500gms look ideal, but I wonder how functional
they would actually be.
Pete, having carried our Terra Nova 2 Bothy bag up many hills since we started SOTA, we decided to try it out in gales and horizontal rain on Skiddaw a couple of weeks ago. It made what would have been a cold wet miserable activation quite fun - I suspect it would have been a very rapid activation using the handhelds without our shelter. A 2006 video by Richard G3CWI gives a pretty good impression of our experience!
A 2-man is a rather tight fit for a 6ft 2in and 5ft 4in couple with kit - however one at a time we did just manage to take off our jackets, add a fleece and put jackets back on (I’m sure this would have made an hilarious video from the outside). It certainly warmed up quickly. The noise inside made it quite difficult for both of us to hear the radio but interestingly it couldn’t be heard at all by our chasers.
We would definitely use a bothy bag again in the future if required. A larger one would have been easier for 2 people in some ways but
a) it would not have been as warm
b) I doubt we’d have been able to keep it down, even using our rucksacks, in the high winds. However, we also have a 4 man so will try that sometime. A 2.5 or 3 man would be ideal for 2! (Checking dimensions for the 2/3 man in different makes, I can’t see any particular one looking significantly larger).
I can certainly think of some past activations when the Bothy bag would have been better over us than inside the rucksack! Well worth carrying weight wise as an emergency item anyway.
Karen
In reply to 2M0NCM:
I borrow our scout group’s 4 man shelter. Dad and I spent our lunch in it on Great Mell Fell. Getting in it is straight out of a parachute game for children and the laughter doesn’t stop there! Being inside an orange bag trying to do a radio activation was funny and noisy as Neil points out but better than being without. Light to carry, easy to put over a casualty and easy for rescuers to spot. It flies away like a parachute too. On Easington Fell Sp-012 I lent it to my sons who wrestled inside it happily for 20 minutes although I had to apologise for the background QRM! An OK piece of kit for a pudding shaped hill where there’s no shelter. A ground sheet against a wire fence held in place by your back in the G4MD mode can be good value .
73
David