I’m considering making a purchase, but before I plunk down $110 for a glorified poncho, I wanted to hear from those who may have used, or have known others who used the Packa.
Is it worth it?
Nomad
Opinions wanted on The Packa
system
#2
I do not have any experience directly with “The Packa” but these are my thoughts. Since the material is silnylon it will not breathe at all. Normal panchos do not have actual arm holes, they just drape over the body and would allow for much more ventilation. The packa is more of a jacket. I know it has the pit holes but it still does not seem like it would ventilate ehough. (unless you walk with your arms above your head all day) Also, a normal shaped pancho has many extra uses such as a tent vestibule, cooking tarp in the rain, shade in the desert, or an emergency bivy.
I personally would look closely at the Integral Designs SilPAncho… or something equivalent. It is cheaper, lighter, performs the same functions as The Packa plus more. Check it out here…
http://www.integraldesigns.com/product_detail.cfm?id=728
pct05
system
#4
I didn’t have a packa on my hike last year but hiked for over 1500 miles with someone who did. Now, I’m not much of a gear head, I mean I carried an external frame all the way and never cared much for getting my pack lighter so take my advice with a grain of salt. One of the big disadvantages is that to take off your pack for a snack break or lunch or whatever, you have to decide what is going to be wet, you or the pack. That’s a hard decision esp. in the cold weather. I also remember him being very hot in it during the warmer months. I don’t think he was all that pleased with it, but luckily we didn’t have that many rain days and we always followed the “never leave town in the rain” rule which helped us immensely. And wearing only the pack cover in the case of very hot weather was a bit annoying with the extra poncho material always getting in the way. It’s lightweight no doubt but I’m not sure I’d get one after watching him for 5 months. But his pack was lighter than mine and that may have been one of the reasons. However, I’m eternally grateful for one other thing he taught me about – the garbage bag skirt. It works wonders and it’s very cheap.
Poky