I ended up winning a Facebook contest before Christmas 2011 on the 782 Gear Facebook page. The contest was for a 40% off card and allowed me to pick up some pretty cool kit. As you may have guessed from my previous review on the Snugpak Sleeka Elite I am a big fan of insulated layers. I don’t believe in wearing just one layer when out in the field because you can’t regulate for temperature, physical activity or weather conditions. The Smokin’ Sweater is a lighter insulated layer meant for higher activity in cold weather. This is also the first set of photographs where I tried using the display mannequin. Its the same height as me but model skinny so if it looks like there is a bit to much slack in the clothes that’s why.

It’s a tent, it’s a jacket, it’s a sleeping bag? It’s actually all three and it’s called a JAKPAK. After first reading about this jacket on Soldier Systems I was instantly intrigued. Not being a stranger to small tents (I packed a Snugpak Stratosphere until it was stolen) the idea of this multipurpose item had my interest. With a lot of people getting interested in light weight hiking a design like this was bound to happen someday.

The Sleeka Elite jacket is a mid-layer insulated shell made of a sleeping bag style material. Snugpak designed the Elite to be worn under your gear or as a stand alone jacket. The ability to have the jacket reverse and change to black makes it useful as a civilian side jacket.