I hiked up to emerald lake in the Trinity Alps, CA over 4 days. Great views and saw some really awesome wildlife. The Kakwa is my first real ‘Ultralight’ pack and it weighed in at ~20lbs fully packed with food and water. I felt like it carried great, and was super comfortable for the whole trip. I have a few gripes with the pack though: the front pocket could be longer, and stretchier IMO, the right water bottle pocket didn’t securely hold my nalgene, and the pack isn’t seam sealed at all. It seems like a bummer to have a pack made out of waterproof material and have no seam sealing at all. I used a pack liner and all my down gear stayed dry through the rain but water definitely came through the seams. I’m thinking of trying to seam seal the pack myself but I’m not sure how to go about it. Does anyone have tips on products and application?
I know about the smart water bottles but I guess I was hesitant to give up my trusty nalgene 😅. Another commenter posted a link to a BPL discussion on seam sealing ultra and many people came to the same conclusion - external sealing being the most feasible. I might give that a shot.
I feel ya on the nalgene hesitancy. It took me quite a while to ditch mine, but the weight saving is considerable. FWIW, I’ve never had a Smartwater/Lifewtr bottle break in the field, have used them for hot water bottles at night without leaks, and reused dozens of times. Just don’t let them sit wet between trips.