Kakwa 40

Description

Availability: The Kakwa 4o is exclusively sold by our partners on Kaviso.com. 
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The Kakwa^TM 40 is our premium ultralight, multi-day pack design. Its design is informed by Dan’s thousands of miles of backpacking experience to give the Kakwa 40 best-in-class load carrying, materials, pocket design, and quality – all while weighing a mere 27 oz / 775 g.

Load Carrying and Comfort
The load carrying ability of the Kakwa 40 is unprecedented for a pack weighing under 2 lbs. Other packs in this niche commonly sacrifice comfort and load transfer by omitting load lifters, possessing only vertical frame components (no horizontal structure), and relying on rudimentary shoulder strap and hipbelt designs. The Kakwa 40 is a stark contrast to this. It uses an inverted U shaped frame built of hollow aluminum that is a more efficient use of structural weight and provides a rigid core with both vertical and horizontal structure. This frame connects directly to the hipbelt for optimal load transfer and directly to the load lifters, which are rare on packs this light yet essential for shifting more of the weight off your shoulders. A robust structure is nothing without an ergonomic connection to your body, which is why the shoulder straps have a carefully developed S shape to contour around your upper body, while the hipbelt uses a dual strap design to cup your hips and with reverse pull leverage for easy tightening. The result is a pack that comfortably and effectively manages loads up to 45 lbs.

Effective Pockets
With an ultralight pack, efficient access to your gear while on the move is a hallmark of good pack design. For this the Kakwa 40 has four types of pockets to optimize on-the-go access to a wide range of your gear so you can keep covering miles instead of digging through your pack. That starts with the hipbelt pockets, where a large shape easily accommodates numerous medium sided items such as snacks, sunscreen, and headlamps. That storage is augmented by dual top opening shoulder strap pockets which provide an optimized place for your phone for quick photos and navigation. These shoulder strap pockets also work excellently for bear spray and provide a safe place for fragile items like sunglasses. Additionally there is the innovative QuickPocket which consists of an easily reached hidden compartment in the side pocket where you can stow items that are too large to be quickly accessed on other packs, such as hats, mitts, large cameras and plus sized phones. Finally, a mesh style front pocket quickly swallows the largest items like jackets and cookwear so you can hike all day without opening your pack. Collectively, the Kakwa’s suite of pockets is carefully thought out and refined to enable rapid and efficient access to everything you need on the move.

Materials and Quality
In our background in the Canadian Rockies we often spend more time off trail than on, so durability in the materials and construction is a top design priority. With the Kakwa 40 we are using the innovative Ultra 200 fabric from Challenge Outdoor, where the face fabric is dominantly woven UHMWPE fibers (more commonly known by the brand name Dyneema®) which is several times stronger and more abrasion resistant than traditional nylon pack fabrics. This material is laminated with an eco-friendly adhesive to their revolutionary Challenge RUV™ film to give a textile that is incredibly strong, lightweight, and waterproof to 200 psi.

Simply using a tough fabric is not enough if the pack has weak points in the stitching or supporting materials. That why the Kakwa 40 is fully double stitched with heavyweight thread by the same factory that builds packs for Arcteryx. We’ve also used the same tough Ultra 200 material for the shoulder straps, hipbelt pockets, and side pockets so these exposed areas also have maximum durability. The front pocket is generally less exposed to the brush, but still we’ve sourced a very durable knit mesh for this pocket that won’t stretch out.

The Kakwa 40 genuinely offers the highest performance in a 40L multiday pack to enhance your adventures. When similarly optioned, comparable packs are heavier, less durable, and more expensive while still lacking the quality, best-in-class load carrying, and refined feature set of the Kakwa 40. It’s everything you need in a pack for just 1.7 lbs /775 g.