Review: Ratsack Food Storage Bag

The Ratsack Food Storage Bag is a rat-proof, lightweight, flexible, stainless steel bag that protects your food and smelly items during camping and backpacking trips. They are not bear proof, but they are rodent and small mammal proof, making them ideal for use in old houses, shelters, and lean-tos, and for storing food in bear camp boxes, which are constantly attacked by rats, chipmunks, squirrels, raccoons and mice. If bears are around, you can hang the Ratsack like a bear bag with a carabiner, but its main purpose is to protect your food from small mammals (sometimes called mini-bears), even when it’s not hanging out of their reach, like in a bear box.

Details at a Glance

• Materials: Stainless steel mesh
• Sizes
  • XS: 427 cubic inches (7L), weighing 4 oz
  • S: 1,200 cubic inches (19.5L) weighing 8 oz (actual weight 8.9 oz, measured)
  • M: 1,800 cubic inches (29.5L), weighing 10 oz
  • L: 2,500 cubic inches weight (41L) weight 12 oz

The Ratsack is a rustproof stainless steel food bag that closes with a wide strip of heavy-duty velcro and has a hole in the end large enough for a carabiner to hang. Most people only need 100 cubic inches of capacity to store their food for the day, so the XS size is perfect for one person on a weekend trip if you also use it to pack your toiletries and other smelly items. Not knowing any better, I ordered the Small size, which turned out to be a lot bigger than I expected or needed for the 2-3 night backpacking trips I usually take.

If you fill the Ratsack with food and your other scented items (like toothpaste, skin lotion/balm, etc), you’ll want to put it in a plastic bag to keep the inside clean and prevent anything from getting out..or in, if you’re putting the Ratsack in a public area like a shared campsite bear box. The outside of the bag is also scratchy and I would recommend keeping it in a duffel bag or plastic bag when packing it in a backpack so it doesn’t tear your clothes or other soft gear.

I bought my Ratsack for use in bear box camps after an incident in western Maine, along the Appalachian Trail. I had a bear-proof Ursack to store my food at night and instead of tying it to a tree, I put it in the bear box at camp because I thought it would be safer there. It wasn’t like that. Mice got into the bear box, crawled on top of my Ursack, and ate mashed potato chips. I’ve been relying on those chips as a salt substitute in hot and humid weather. If I had kept my food in the Ratsack instead of the Ursack, they wouldn’t have been able to get to my food.

Recommendation

The Ratsack Food Storage Bag is a rat-proof metal bag to store your food and other smelly items. Although not bear proof, it can be hung as a bear bag when conditions allow. The Ratsack’s stainless steel mesh also prevents rust and is waterproof in the rain.

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