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Rough It for Real With a Jacket That Morphs Into a Tent

March 17, 2010 at 4:05 PM | by | Comments (0)

Less is more when it comes to camping, with every additional pound of gear costing hikers potential miles of trekking. The JakPak, a new all-in-one waterproof jacket, sleeping bag and tent, hopes to appeal to particularly dedicated campers by trading a little bit of comfort for a whole lot of weight.

The basic idea involves wearing the travel gear that will become your sleeping bag and tent. You don the waterproof shirt and walk in it all day while it protects you from the elements. When it's time for sleep, the breathable hard shell fabric opens up to provide some literal breathing room over the head, neck, and shoulders. The rest of the JakPak becomes a sleeping bag that covers the lower half of the body. The tent part is detachable from the sleeping bag part so it's also usable as a pack cover, and the space between can be bridged by see-through insect netting. Done and done.

Except we're not totally sold on the "sleeping bag" part of the combination. It's not just that the nylon bag looks thin and uncomfortable. It's that by all accounts it is thin and uncomfortable. If you flip through the JakPak Flickr gallery, you'll see that campers often stuff additional sleeping bags into the JakPak for warmth and comfort. We're also a little leery of the "tent" part, if only because it seems awful claustrophobic in there. And if neither of those are selling points, then wearing a nylon "jacket" all day seems kind of unnecessary. Surely there are cozier options.

On the other hand, we understand that the Jaunted staff—proud members a blog family dedicated to hotel and Vegas decadence—might not be the target demographic for something like this. What do you think? Does the JakPak take roughing it a little too far?

The personal shelter solution retails for $250, with purchasing details available on the webpage.

Related Stories:
· JakPak [Official Site]
· Camping [Jaunted]
· Travel Gear [Jaunted]

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