Adotec Ultralight Food Locker Review
Food storage while backpacking is one of the essentials that needs to be figured out as soon as possible. Inadequate food storage has been known to cause unwanted visitors, damaged and unrepairable gear, and leaving hikers stranded deep in the wild with no food. Any of these situations can result in abandoning an otherwise well planned adventure and may cause some trepidation about coming back out to enjoy nature again.
There are several options for food storage. But the first bit of advice is to check regulations for your area as part of planning your trip. This will inform you on what type of food storage may be required.
An old standard is to hang a bear bag. But sometimes we hike in places that don’t have great trees for hanging food. This method is the least expensive but does require some skill.
Another more sturdy solution is to carry a bear canister. Some national parks and other more regulated places require the use of bear canisters. Bear canisters provide the greatest level of certainty that your food will be protected. However, this is a more costly solution; it’s the heaviest consideration; and it requires a backpack large enough to accommodate the canister.
Another alternative is a “bear proof” bag. Some of these have been tested with actual bears and are certified to deter bears from getting at your food. Also, they are often an allowable substitute for a bear canister. A list of certified bear-resistant products can be found on the IGBC website.
Today, I’m reviewing one of those certified bear bags. It’s the 14-liter Adotec Ultralight Food Locker.
A close cousin to this bag is the UR Sack, which had no like-competitor until Adotec developed their Food Locker.
The Foot Locker features
- a very strong rope cinch closure
- Waterproof material (6.0 oz PFAS-Free Dyneema Composite Fabric)
- Rodent resistant
- push-in corners that instantly create a flat-bottom shape for stability and structure
- Weight: 7.0oz | 199g
- Dimensions: 17.5" x 14" | 44.5cm x 35.6cm
A few notes
“Waterproof material” means the material won’t retain water. But it does not mean water can’t get into the bag. The draw string at the top may (will) leave space for rain water to come into the bag and have no way of leaking back out. So, I advise putting everything in zip-lock (maybe smell-proof) bags.
14 liters will hold up to 6 days of food for me. If you eat more or have more bulky food than I do, it may hold less than 6 days. They advertise 4-5 days of food for one person.
When I first received mine, the material was quite stiff and it took several tries to get the top to (kinda) close tight enough. My recommendation is to exercise this fabric to soften it up; scrunch it up, seal and unseal it; do this as many times as it takes for it to break in a bit.
Do I like it?
Sure. In some respects it’s better than my Ursack, because it’s a tad lighter than my Ursack and much lighter than my bear canister. And it doesn’t retain water (read: it’s not heavier after a rain, it doesn’t get other things in my pack wet, and it’s easier to clean). It also is more rodent resistant than my Ursack, far more than my bear bag, but not nearly as much as a bear canister.
However, it’s not cheap. As of this writing, it’s $132; about the same price as a Ursack of the same size. Worth it? For quality gear I’m a buy once, cry once kind of guy. So, yes - $132 for peace of mind about keeping critters and monsters out of my food, and high confidence that I’ll have food in the morning seems like a good trade off.
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