Rodent Proof Bear Bags - Ultralight Stainless Steel Mesh Bag for Camping Food Storage - Sturdy and Rust-Resistant Sack with Lock and Grommet For Easy Hanging

Great size, very strong velcro closure. Did amazing job, protecting our food and trash bags.

I ordered the Medium sized rat sack and it was perfectly sturdy, the velcro was very rugged and durable and the Medium size was perfect for everything I had to store in it! It was really lightweight and the weight was not an issue for backpacking. I also rolled the sack around a towel so as in case the sack did not rip or tear anything else inside my backpack. We just had a great time in Havasupai Falls and overnight I slept well knowing my food was going to be safe!

This is my second RatSack. I bought my first ten years ago and it is still going strong, but I wanted the bigger size. The bag really keeps your food safe from rodents and other critters, but it is not bear proof. It is pretty light and can fit a lot. You have to be a little careful, because the tough meshing can damage food packages if they rub against the walls of the bag, especially as you are loading it. I have found it most convenient to carry the bag empty or with only a few sturdy items in it, and leave the rest of my food in my backpack during my hikes. And when I set up camp for the night I transfer the food to the bag, which would then be outside my pack and easier to handle. It sounds cumbersome, but it is actually quite easy. I also bought a thin, steel, plastic-coated cable at the hardware store, plus some crimp-on ties to create loops on both ends of the cable. With that and a light-weight aluminum carabiner I can tie the sack to a tree at night, to prevent curious animals from dragging it away, even if they cannot open the sack.

Its very small I prob should have gotten the small size. Construction is solid. May just go for a bear proof sack but then it more $$$

This is larger than I visualized and does add backpacking weight. But it is as described. So I certain hold nothing against the seller. That is one of the negatives of buying sight unseen. I believe I could easily have used the small or medium size now that I see it. The benefit is my backpacking partner will benefit being able to add his stuff during the night as well. So it saves on buying two smaller ones. It will certainly hold all my food, soaps, and smelly items for my 3 day trip. The velcro at the top acts as the closing mechanism. The Velcro is super heavy duty, very thick. Before I saw the actual product I was concerned a critter might be able to get it open. Not so. Its almost adult proof. So no worries there. A planned backpacking trip to Havasu Falls/Grand Canyon area is coming up in a week. The squirrels are terrible in the area so this will be put to the test for sure. Follow-up after the Havasu Falls Backpacking trip May 2017. This Ratsack worked great. Not issues. Highly recommended after using it.

Took this to our amazing backpacking trip to Havasupai. Yes, it’s super large, but it’s big enough to put your whole backpacking backpack in so you don’t have to worry about unpacking/forgetting that you have sunscreen or lip balm inside. We put all of the food and body products for 4 adults inside this bag and had plenty of room. All of the other rat sacks would’ve been too small to accommodate everything in one, so it was cheaper to bring this large one anyway! This is the only photo I have of it, but we ended up moving it to a much higher branch. This was right after we hiked down, so we were too tired to put it up higher.

This rat sack made me the coolest kid in our campground. Despite having told my hiking companions that the rodents down in Havasupai were ruthless little ninja squirrels with a singular focus of nabbing all the camper food they could eat, I was the only one to bring this awesome sack. I love my food, and have no interest in sharing with those little four legged fluffy tailed tree rats so in addition to this I rigged up a lovely fishing line to hang it from a tree. Not only did it keep all those little critters out of my food but it also sent them to easier sites where folks left their packs open like a 24 hour denny's. Did I mention I love this sack? It was lightweight for my 12 miles (each way), it was easy to roll up in my back pack and very sturdy. The velcro was so strong it even thwarted me one morning. But then I had some coffee and we were good.

I have done a couple of multi-day hikes into the Grand Canyon. On the first hike, I saw a squirrel tear through the brain pocket of a pack and steal trail mix and black birds pull nuts out of a side pocket of another pack. With that knowledge, and knowing that the camping locations for our second hike would not provide metal ammo cans for food storage, we purchased this mesh sack to store our food at night. On our second hike, we came across a couple who had left their food, double bagged, and in "odor-proof" ziplock style bags, for about 10 minutes. they came back to find 12-15 black birds tearing through the bags and flying off with their food. We ended up giving them some of our "extra" rations because their supplies were completely destroyed or stolen. We camped a couple of hundred meters down from this couple and everyone in our group used the ratsacks (placing them off the ground in bushes) to store our food. None of us had any issues with birds, squirrels, or any other animals getting into our food. The next night, we did not have the options to have the food up off the ground, and could hear rodents of some sort, but no one experienced any issues with food being stolen or destroyed. These sacks are TOTALLY worth it and serve their purpose effectively.

Recently had a good test for this bag at a Tasmanian campsite with a problem possum population known for ripping into bags and tents to get to food. I hung my food and toiletries in the Ratsack inside a thin nylon dry bag. In the morning it was clear the possums had tried hard to access the food as the dry bag had multiple holes bitten/clawed through it. The Ratsack however held firm and all the contents were untouched. Recommend.

Before buying this product, I have had my food eaten by rodents (likely squirrels since I hang my pack) at least 5 times. Once I had to end a trip a day early because a rodent chewed into everything I had. I started losing sleep on trips because I was worrying about things eating my food while I slept. I bought this for a 7 day trek with no road access in Northern Ontario and have taken it on ever trip since and never had any more rodent issues. Carrying a 1 pound metal sack around feels stupid when hiking but I sleep so much better knowing my food is rodent-proof and it is so worth it for me. Eating less food because a squirrel got into your bag slows you down more than a little bag does. Yes, they are very expensive for what they are but they are so worth it. I even bought another after I misplaced mine on my last trip and both of my brothers bought one as well after one of them lost some food to a squirrel while mine stayed safe

I probably should have got a smaller sized sack, but this has worked great for me. Very noisy when opening, so you'll annoy your campsite neighbours at night if you need to get into it too many times. I got it for bike touring, and I was able to stuff a few dry sacks or even my bike cooler bag into it with more than enough room. As long as you hang this right your food will be safe - it won't stop a bear but raccoons and squirrels won't get in.

Haven't used it yet, but seems strong, I will be pairing this with odor proof bags. The Velcro is actually hard to open so it seems very good for the price. I will have or update this review once has been used.