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?
Looks like a great spot to hike to whatever the pack!
As far as the water bottle…most ultralight hikers I know have abandoned nalgenes in favor of lightweight disposable water bottles - looks like the Durston web site shows a pair of 750ml Smartwater bottles in that pocket. Might be worth a try, and cheap to find out if you prefer that to a nalgene.
I usually figure if it’s raining hard enough for seams to leak stuff is going to get wet when I pack/unpack at camp anyhow, so I just go for keeping clothes & sleep gear in a plastic bag and don’t worry about the rest. But if I were to seam seal a pack, I’d definitely go for the outside - trying to do the inside would have problems with the seam binding being in the way of the actual seam I think. Probably stuff the pack with something first too, though not something I cared too much about in case some of the sealant gets through. Old blankets maybe.
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.
Our of curiosity what other packs have you used in the past? Hopefully Dan joins lemmy.
Like I said, this is my first real ultralight pack. I’ve used an ancient 80’s Gregory that must have been like 70L, and an Osprey Aether 65 more recently. My partner recently ordered the GG Mariposa and the zpacks Arc Haul but returned both, so I only have cursory experience with those.
Which pack is your partner going to get then? GG Mariposa is on my list (so is the Kakwa 55, but delivery times are probably too late for this year).
Well the kakwa is originally hers but after taking it out for a spin I am claiming it 😅 realistically we can share it this year but I’ll probably buy another one if she decides she likes the kakwa and wants one.
Wow that is gorgeous!!!
Try silicone tent sealant on the seams? Brush it on in a thin layer maybe?
Yeah I was thinking of using seamgrip or something, but I dont know if I should try to remove the frame and turn the pack inside out to apply to the seams from the inside or just wing it and go for the outside seams…
Couple thoughts.
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contact the company to ask for advice. This will both possibly get you advice and inform them their customers care about this issue.
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if they don’t get back to you, what’s the thing you can do that will not damage the pack? Ripping fabric or cutting threads will mess with the structural integrity. Sealing seams inside looks nicer than outside, but you don’t want to damage anything in the process.
Good idea on contacting the company. I hear Durston has good customer service. The frame is removable through a Velcro flap so I doubt it would be too hard to remove and replace, but I’m thinking of sealing from the outside now instead.
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Check out this post https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/seam-sealing-a-backpack/ before you decide that you want to actually give it a try.
If you want to seal the seams check out https://www.trailspace.com/gear/seam-sealers/ or https://ripstopbytheroll.com/pages/search-results-page?q=ultra
Can’t remember what fabric the Kakwa uses so make sure you double check that whatever you use is compatible.
I use a trash compactor bag to keep dry items in. It’s simpler.
Try using smart water bottles or similar instead of Nalgene as they should fit better and weigh less.
Either way have fun out there.
BPL discussed it a little bit here. Your mileage may vary, I didn’t see any long term reports and Ultra is a very weird fabric when it comes to adhesives.
It’s not really critical though. You should still use a pack liner with fully sealed packs. High stress seams, such as shoulder straps, will still allow water in. Pack liners allow you to access the interior of the pack during active precipitation. Eventual Ultra delamination will kill the waterproofness regardless.
Signed an MYOG enthusiast!
Thanks for the link! After reading there a bit I’m thinking of going with aquaseal around the outside seams. I’m not really trying to 100% waterproof it, just make it more water resistant. Not like I’m taking it pack rafting or anything!