Wapta 30

Sale price$280.00 USD

Torso Size: Medium
Hipbelt Size: S/M

Due to high interest, the Wapta 30 is currently sold out. We are building more that will be ready in late January/early February 2025. Sign up to notified when they are back:

The Wapta 30 is the premiere frameless backpack for the ultralight hiker. Built with cutting edge ALUULA Graflyte™ material, the Wapta combines innovative features with advanced construction and ergonomic shaping. The result is a pack that weighs as little as 12.8 oz (365 g) while being highly functional, durable, and comfortable. The Wapta 30 is the ideal overnight pack for the ultralight hiker and an excellent day hiking pack for everyone.

MATERIALS & CONSTRUCTION

With the Wapta 30 we are proud to introduce the first ultralight pack built with ALUULA fabrics. ALUULA has a proprietary process that solves the longstanding problem of how to fuse a durable waterproof film to extremely tough UHMWPE fibers. The result is ALUULA Graflyte™ which is the first composite pack fabric with a 100% UHMWPE woven face to achieve lower weights while retaining excellent durability. The version used here weighs just 98 g/m² (2.9 oz/yd) while offering higher tear strength and abrasion than all comparable fabrics - making an ALUULA pack both lighter and stronger.

ALUULA's Graflyte™ also has many other advantages including more durable long term waterproofness because their proprietary fusion process avoids glue (which adds weight and can fatigue). ALUULA Graflyte™ is also stain proof, UV resistant, fully recyclable, low water absorption, edge stable, and heat bondable.

With the Wapta 30 we are taking advantage of these characteristics to build a lighter, simpler, and more functional pack. For example, we heat weld airmesh strips to the backpanel for ventilation and we take advantage of the edge stable nature of this fabric to laser cut drain holes in the pockets and laser cut tougher ALUULA Durlyte™ into daisy chains that are lighter than traditional webbing.

FEATURES

The Wapta's feature set is carefully designed to provide excellent on-the-go access to your gear while improving durability, versatility, and simplicity.

Most uniquely, the Wapta has a bottom pocket that provides quick access to larger items like mitts and hats while solving the common problem with previous bottom pockets: the use of low durability stretch mesh in this high wear area on the pack. Instead of stretch mesh, the Wapta uses pleats (folds) to create the first bottom pocket without the vulnerability of stretch mesh. A similar philosophy applies to the front pocket, which is a generous size and also built from ALUULA to be more durable yet lighter.

ALUULA Graflyte Fabric

Graflyte™ V-98 fabric from ALUULA is an advanced pack fabric with a 100% UHMWPE weave face fabric and tough interior film that is molecularly fused on. It has higher tear strength and abrasion resistance than even other UHMWPE based fabrics while being waterproof, recyclable, UV resistant, edge stable, and heat bondable.

Ergonomic Hipbelt

The Wapta's hipbelt uses an advanced design including a differential cut (so the hipbelt naturally wants to curve) and 3D shaping (to cup your hips) which improve comfort. The belt is removable for those who want to go even lighter.

Airmesh Ventilation

Airmesh strips are heat bonded to the backpanel to provide a more comfortable surface and add ventilation without compromising the waterproofness of the pack.

Durable Pockets

The front pocket, side pockets, bottom pockets, and hipbelt pockets are all made from ALUULA Graflyte which is far more durable than typical stretch mesh pockets. We also use "protected elastics" where the elastics are sewn inside the main fabric to guard them from damage.

Laser Cut Details

The "daisy chains" on the sides of the pack and shoulder straps are laser cut from ALUULA Durlyte™ to provide a highly versatile attachment system at a lower weight than webbing. This system accomodates a wide range of compression and attachment needs including ice axe and trekking pole attachment. We also use laser cutting to create simpler and lighter drain holes on the pockets.

Even though the Wapta is a superlight pack, it still has important features like hipbelt pockets and side water bottle pockets. The hipbelt pockets are large and designed for easy one handed operation, while the side pockets have adjustable tension and are shaped with a low cut front edge for easy access. There are also dual shoulder strap pockets that work great for phones, bear spray, and small water bottles.

The side compression and top strap contribute to making this pack simpler, lighter, and more functional. The side compression uses dual straps which open, close, and cinch at a single buckle. The laser cut ALUULA Durlyte™ daisy chains make this area highly customizable to enable a diverse range of storage and compression possibilities including ice axe and trekking pole attachments. The top strap is a V shape that better secures items on top, while using the same dual adjust buckle so it is quicker to use than traditional V top straps.

COMFORT

Despite being a frameless pack aimed at lighter loads, the Wapta places a major emphasis on comfort including our most advanced shaping yet.

That includes shoulder straps with an S-shape similar to our larger Kakwa packs. This shape has been very well received and fits almost everyone better than straighter straps. The shoulder straps also have a differential cut to naturally curve over your shoulders, and feature laser cut daisy chains that provide a wide range of up/down adjustment for the sternum strap.

Most packs in this niche lack a hipbelt or use a minimalist webbing belt, while the Wapta provides a robust padded hipbelt that is three dimensionally shaped to hug your hips and yet is removable for trips when you want to go even lighter.

Most notably, back ventilation is unprecedented in the 1-lbs pack niche and yet the Wapta has dual air mesh strips heat bonded onto the backpanel to provide padding, a nicer feel, and ventilation.

Overall, the Wapta 30 advances what is possible in an ultralight backpack. No other pack near the 1 lbs mark (450g) has this much functionality, durability, ease of use, and comfort. The Wapta is the ideal pack for adventures from a dayhike up Yosemite's Half Dome, to an FKT of the Colorado Trail, or a superlight thruhike of the Continental Divide Trail.

Specifications

SPECIFICATIONS

WEIGHT

Complete Pack (ounces)

16.9 oz (M), 17.9 oz (L)

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Complete Pack (grams)

480 g (M), 505 g (L)

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Minimum Weight

12.8 / 365 g (M), 13.3 oz / 380 g (L)

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Removable Items

Sternum strap (0.5oz / 15 g) and hipbelt (3.7oz / 105 g (S/M) or 4.0oz / 115 g (M/L)) are included but removable.

Features

FEATURES

ALUULA Graflyte™

The only composite fabric with 100% UHMWPE fibers (known by the brand name Dyneema®) for the face fabric. This pack fabric gives greater durability for the weight than all others, while also having a tougher interior waterproof film and enabling advanced construction with heat bonding and laser cutting.

Waterproof

The Wapta is waterproof for hiking with waterproof ALUULA fabric along with seam taping and heat bonded for the main compartment seams.

Durable Bottom Pocket

The Wapta has the first bottom pocket that avoids low durability stretch mesh and instead uses much more durable ALUULA Graflyte™.

Compare

COMPARE

The Wapta 30 stands out by offering a fully featured and durable frameless pack for the lowest weight, greatest comfort, and highest build quality.

While you can find lighter packs, any such pack will be lacking worthwhile features (e.g. shoulder strap pockets, hipbelt pockets, padded hipbelt) and using less durable materials. Any pack with a comparable feature set will be heavier, more expensive, and still lacking the high end construction and materials of the Wapta along with comfort features like air mesh on the backpanel.

To demonstrate this, the table below compares the Wapta 30 to what is typically found in competing packs:

COMFORT

Wapta 30

Main Competitors

Backpanel

Dual air mesh strips provide venting and padding.

Fabric only. Lacks venting & padding.

Shoulder straps

Ergonomic S shape with differential cut

Relatively straight shape, no differential cut.

FAQ

FAQ

Browse the FAQ to learn more or get in touch if you have further questions.

Contact Support

Customer Reviews

Based on 75 reviews
88%
(66)
9%
(7)
1%
(1)
0%
(0)
1%
(1)
S
Sandy
Everything fit!

I took this to the UK for an outdoor hiking/painting trip and was fretting over all the random stuff I had to take with me including multiple layers of clothing, a tripod, easel, stool, wet painting carrier, paints, solvents, brushes, meals, etc. I chose well with the Wapta 30! It could not have been more perfect and with it being so light weight I could walk long distances with my gear effortlessly. It’s a spectacular and multifunctional bag and I wish I found something like this years ago.

Glad the Wapta is working well. Thanks for using Durston gear.
- Dan Durston

M
Mark Garay

Just love this pack, just what i needed

S
S.G.
Went hiking 9 days in Alaska...

and it rained most of the first 5 days. I did line my pack with a garbage bag, but the inside of my pack was bone dry at the end of every day, so I can safely say my pack is waterproof. Outside and pockets were dry by morning. Cleaned it up when I got home and it looks like new again and I'm pretty hard on my packs. Very comfortable pack and fits me better than any other pack (except Kakwa 55) I've owned. I'm 65 years old, so it doesn't take much for me to develop aches and pains from uncomfortable packs! I also took the Iceline Trekking poles and wasn't sure they weren't going to end up in someone else's pack before I got home! #1 Question....where'd you get those??? Thank you for making such great products!

Glad to hear the Wapta is working well. That sounds like a great trip. For your question, do you mean where did we get the poles? We will have our next production run in mid-December for those.

- Dan Durston

M
MARK JACOBSON

Fantastic product, I’m very happy with it.

R
Ruth Larkin
Most Comfortable Pack

I've used this pack for about 20 days of backpacking and another 14 days of front country travel so far this year. I think I can safely say that it is the most comfortable pack that I've ever worn. I'm a 5' 4" 135 pound female, and even when I push (or exceed) the upper weight limits of the pack by carrying 7 days worth of food plus water and gear, it is still comfortable.

I'm impressed with how waterproof it is. And, I like the shoulder pockets for carrying soft flasks for easy access to water. Although, every so often, I wish that the hip belt pockets were a little larger, but that might be because I'm trying to stuff too much into them. I like the bottom pocket for carrying a warm hat, pair of thin gloves, and a wind shirt.

And, with the size, if it isn't stuffed full, it works as carry-on luggage for air travel.

I do find that with the smaller pack I need to be careful about volume and I had to practice packing techniques, especially when carrying a weeks worth of food. But it all fits in the end and it's probably good for me to think more about what I'm choosing to take. I'd probably want a larger volume pack for cold weather trips.

Currently my favorite pack.

Thanks Ruth! Glad you're liking the Wapta! It's a pretty neat pack.
- Dan Durston