FunkSacs FunkGuard XL Mylar Foil Bags

The bottom of the bag expands with a 3 inch gusset. The gusset allows the bag to stand upright while filling and dispensing food. <span style=”color: #141414;”>At meal time I open the bag and use my 1 cup mug to dip out 1 cup ingredients and add that to a 1 quart ziploc. I add 2 cups hot water to that and set aside to rehydrate or I pour directly into my pot of boiling water and let sit for 5 min.

The bags are heat welded on 2 sides and the top sliding closure is high tech making it smell proof. The smell proof thing has worth in our world of bears and other critters that have high tech noses :-) They are child proof also due to the closure design thingy.</span>

Why? Litter left in the canyon takes years to decompose.

Packing out all of your trash helps to preserve the natural environment.

Place your trash in resealable plastic bags that you can carry in your pack.

Pack out everything you pack into Grand Canyon.

For those of you that may have used Waste Alleviation and Gelling (WAG) Bags, you may want to consider using the FunkGuard XL bags. You’ve seen how people pick up dog poop, use the same procedure with the Funnk Sacs. Let the pee soak in and disipate with the next rainstorm. Poop and toilet paper in the Funky Sac.

Here is what Brian Green had to say about the Wag Bags in part. Read the full report at the link:

Step 4: When you’re finished you need to close up the large waste collecting bag and put it inside the smaller zip-close bag that is provided as part of the kit. The instructions on the kit do not mention this but I would recommend tying a really tight knot in the larger bag to prevent as much leakage and stink from getting out as possible.

As I mentioned earlier in this post, you are usually only issued with two WAG bags for your entire trip, the reason for this is that you are encouraged to re-use the kit more than once. I didn’t think that was feasible so I asked for a few extra and the ranger was more than happy to provide them – just saying.

Waste Alleviation and Gelling (WAG) Bag

Step 5: Seal up the outer zip-close bag making sure to expel as much of the air as possible so that you keep the whole thing as small as you can for packing it out.

Step 6: You can ONLY dispose of the used WAG bags in the designated human waste dumpsters which are located at the trail head. You will see signs everywhere warning you not to dispose of the WAG bags anywhere other than the human waster dumpsters. Be warned, you’ll want to open the lids to those dumpster at an arm’s length for the obvious reasons. So, that’s how to use a WAG bag to carry out your own poop – pretty fascinating right?

Personal Experience
Having used the WAG bag kits on Mt. Whitney I’d like to pass along some thoughts and a tip or two. Firstly, be sure to carry an extra plastic bag or strong trash compactor bag with you to store the used WAG bags inside when you’re ready to pack them in your backpack. I didn’t do this an although I had no issue with leakage, the stink that wafted behind me was quite noticeable and somewhat unbearable for my fellow hikers – sorry Jason!

I already mentioned this but I’ll repeat it again, you are expected to use a WAG bag more than once. If that doesn’t appeal to you (it didn’t to me) simply make a polite face and ask for one or two more at the Ranger Station, they’ll gladly provide you with extra.

Finally, I’m all for LNT and doing my part to lessen the impact of human waste on the environment, but having used the WAG bags I was less than impressed with their effectiveness. Putting aside the issue of having to physically carry out your own waste, the bags just don’t do the job they were intended for. They certainly don’t neutralize the stink even after they have been carefully sealed and double bagged. This leads to people circumventing the process and reverting back to catholes or worse. I can’t tell you how many abandoned “used” WAG bags we saw along the trail and hidden behind rocks at trail camp. It’s not a part of the experience I like to remember but it is a huge problem and I don’t personally think WAG bags are the solution.

https://www.briangreen.net/bbb/2011/09/carrying-your-poop-wag-bag-waste-kit.html

 (Photo credit: Howard Kern)

Homemade Wag Bag
You easily can create your own Wag Bag using an interior/pickup bag, pre-packed with kitty litter if you wish, which functions similar to Poo Powder, and a larger, sturdy outer bag — think freezer-weight Ziploc. Heavy-duty trash compactor bags work as a Wag Bag trash bag. If bags don’t seem sturdy enough, some people use a coffee can as their outer container. Tupperware with a snug-fitting lid that you’re certain you no longer need in the kitchen would work, too.

Rangers at Mt. Shasta offer a user-friendly homemade kit to all their hikers, which includes an 11 x 17 sheet of paper with a bull’s-eye printed on it for pickup. Just place the bull’s-eye on your poo pile, according to White, and you’ll have plenty of paper to wrap around it, avoiding all hand contact. Their kit also includes a one-gallon Ziploc bag and a sack with kitty litter. There are disposal receptacles at the trailhead, and hikers can pick up kits there or at area outdoor shops.

Users who make their own Wag Bags should note that homemade versions can’t be tossed into landfills, as can EPA-approved commercial ones, like GO Anywhere, Biffy Bags, and ReStop.

Dispose of waste in approved containers or toilets only. (Photo credit: Howard Kern)

Pack-Out Musts
Some waste items you always pack out, no matter where you are, what the climate, is or how small an item it is. Those items include tampons, pads, and other feminine hygiene products, and diapers.

https://www.trailspace.com/articles/backcountry-waste-disposal.html

Stink removal: Bunch of RV products for this, mostly liquid and too heavy. For many years we used Clorox 2 Dry Bleach on whitewater raft trips and that worked pretty well. Generic dry bleach, like what you might find in a laundromat vending machine, should work too. Sprinkle a couple of TB directly on each deposit before wrapping or sealing.

Disposal in proper containers only: Yeah, right. Let’s not contaminate regular dumpsters and landfills with a little more poo when they are already overflowing with disposable diapers.

— Rex

Thank you Rex, good tip on powdered bleach. Campfire/wood stove ash might work also. I like the photo

Two products worth trying for smell reduction………

Crush the tabs and sprinkle on wastes when needed.

$2.79….Strong smelling so use sparingly.

All orders have been shipped. Thank you!

This will give you an idea what these bags sold for when they were available on Amazon(the smaller ones) :

I think these durable mylar bags would be an excellent choice for scouts to keep their “smellables” in as they are generated and then put that in their dity bag. What say you Philmont Ranger?

By now you’ve seen what these bags were originally designed for. To prevent sniffin dogs from detecting someones stash. So the odor containment is to the max. Keeping moisture out is at it’s max.  That’s what we want when the bag is filled with freeze dried goodies. Folks are taking advantage of this awesome deal. Hoping for some feed back from those that have purchased some. I’ve only offered these bags here on BPL.

Still have some left….order now!

http://www.woodgaz-stove.com/FuncSac-FunkGuard-XL.php

.

Time to start making plans for your scouts next outting. I’ve got 6 boxes left.

All most gone….. when they are gone, they’re gone for good.

Glad to have been able to share them with you :)

Quote:

page 44,
“It would be useful for each member of the crew to have their own ditty bag with their personal smellables in it to put in the bear bag.”

I don’t feel your personal smellables ditty bag needs to be waterproof as most items are either not effected by being wet or are in plastic bags. Just a nylon or sil-nylon stuff sack about 2 or 3 liters.

Everyone’s ditty bag needs to be identifiable from everyone else’s, different color, size, name on it or something so each morning campers can easily retrieve theirs from the pile or find it in the middle of the night.

The mylar funk sacs would be nice for the “ditty bag”

I just got a bunch and so far they seem terrific… Preliminary experiments with (very pungent) homegrown and dog poo have been successful so far. I plan to use them for food waste and dog-poo and will report back on durability when I have something to report. In the meantime I’d say two thumbs up.

Thank you Richard for the feedback.

I shipped the last box of six out today. :)

Thank you to all that have purchased them. :)

Found another box full of these bags in the garage. Let me know if anyone is still interested, I’ll make the sale page visible again.

New Link:

http://www.woodgaz-stove.com/FuncSac-FunkGuard-XL.php

How’s this for scientific method?

I left a bag foll of puppy poo in my truck overnight and sitting in the hot sun all day and it didn’t stink.

Impressed, I left a bag filled with cereal where I know black bears and other scary wild animals “hunt” (right under our bird feeder) and they didn’t touch it.

Works for me. I think I’l try the same test (not the one with the puppy poo!) for comparison.

Thanks for that interesting feedback on how the sacks keep odors in. You inspired me to do an experiment. I’ll open some cans of Fancey Feast cat food, place in a funk sack and put it in my back yard where ferral cats, skunks, racoon and ground hogs hang out.

Test package is in place.

No animal marks on it at all as of this evening. Was a sunny day, contents surely heated up and will become more odiferous/funky as time goes by.

I’m so excited that I was able to snag some of these Funk saks! My intended use is for hiking food. Planning to hike the PCT in 2020 wanted some sent free bags for for that hike. Also last year when we went car camping with my granddaughter something small got in the closed car and would eat all the trail mix except the raisins. Not a fan of this! Our dog, a labradoodle, sniffs out any snacks we forget in our backpacks during the night. We call her bear dog when this happens!
I’ll be trying these out this season for hiking in the Pacific Northwest and my granddaughter’s snack pack for her school backpack. Will report back how these work out.

I really like the odor proof part of these, and I am assuming they are waterproof. They fit well in my ursak, but I am beginning to think they are not designed for long term use. After 1 weekend trip and a day hike, the zipper no longer closes. They aren’t terribly expensive, but I’m not sure I would trust them for a longer trip. I do have extras, so I will be trying them again to see if the first one was defective.

SOLD OUT…………..SOLD OUT

ALL GONE :-(……….Thank you!

I’m wondering if these might be good for lining a food bag/bear canister.  Very simple and no zipper to fail.