Outsak UL any good?

I bought one a few weeks ago but only recently have started to put it to use on the trails, and given that it's technically winter here in texas the critters are pretty lethargic. That said, there's some local raccoons that frequent the dumpsters by my apartment and I've contemplated leaving the bag full of stuff overnight to see how they handle it.

Overall my impression is that, assuming it lives up to the claims to defeat small to medium sized critters, it's a nice product. I can easily get 5 days worth of backpacker pantry meals and snacks into the larger size with a bit of effort. Ease of loading food is dependent on the container, and the thick mylar bags of dehydrated foods cope well (stiff enough to push past the mesh's tendency to slightly snag things). The trick is basically to slide two packages into place as, essentially, outer supports, and then keep wedging food bags between them instead of fighting the mesh each time.

I've also noticed that the bag itself slides easily into a Sea to Summit ultra-mesh sack (15L XL I believe). Doing this keeps the wire from snagging your pack, possibly (though I have no proof of it's tendency to) poking your pack's hydration bladder, when you're taking it in and out.

So basically with an Outsak condom of some sort, it's really pretty convenient! Desert critters like ravens worry me, so I'm likely to always use it and leave the food tethered to a tree or staked out somewhere so it doesn't get dragged away.

Would recommend!

Yes it is.

One of my faves this year. I got the Small not the UL series. I love that thing, man. Throw all you food in it and hang it chest high on a tree trunk. Its like a cabinet for all your food- see through so its easy to find stuff. Worry free

There are a variety of these wire mesh mouseproof bags on the market. I found at least three when I was searching for one. All seem to be pretty much the same. There is the Grubpack, Ratsack and Outsack. I have seen all three on the AT and Grand Canyon at one time or another. They all have wire mesh to keep the rodents out and they all have a velcro across the top. I personally have a Grubpack UL size and the larger B size for more people and longer outings. I've had it since about 2009. I've used it on at least 12-15 trips. It works great. All of these brands are light weight and rugged enough. I have a friend with an Outsack. He likes it too. I bought the Grubpack based on price and free shipping. I also liked the grommet it has for hanging the bag.

Mine has worked fine so far.

You must live in the desert portion to not have to worry about bears in OR.

I don't know if there are bear issues in Mt.Hood/Gorge areas, at least none of the backpackers/Hikers I have talked to have mentioned it to me. Most concerns are with critters, ravens etc.

Just looked at grubpack website, they sure put car manufacturers to a shame with so many options to customize a simple sack. :)

Like another poster mentioned, there are a few different vedors out there offering a similar product.

I have one of the Grubpacks. It works well for what I use it for (which is food protection from small critters and birds when camping out at Channel Islands National Park). It's a clean, simple product, appears to be well made and so far, has kept any critters from getting into my food. Some of the larger bags are suprisingly big… I believe I got a medium sized bag and it turned out to be plenty big enough for 3 people's food for a 4-day trip. I'd stake it to the ground and pile a few cobbles on top of it while we would be away from our remote beach camp off on a day hike and never have had any problems.

It's certainly lighter than a bear can, but still, I only carry it when required as all that stainless steel mesh adds up.

For 95% of my trips, my food bag/security system is an odor proof bag (currently from litetrail.com although I've also used OP sacks in the past) in a cuben stuff sack hung from an overhead tree branch using the PCT method. No problems yet (knock on wood). If I were regularly hiking in places where small critters routinely breached food bags, I'd probably carry something like my grubpack or one of the ursacks more often.