Gear Box

**BER** · 09-22-2010, 17:00

Repost of PM I sent to Mac. Copied here by mutual consent.
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Mac,

Just a little thank you letter. Just got back from a week in the Boundary Waters. Brought the gear box along and it worked superbly. Had rain for one and a half days, and woke to cold dew covered mornings the rest of the trip. Everything stayed perfectly dry inside the gear box. The GB swallowed the entire contents of my food pack (food for 2 for 7 days, adult beverage, cook kit and other sundry items). It was much easier to find things in the GB than rummaging through the pack, much easier to clean up the area at night ("Just throw it in the GB!"), and I really like that everything was up off the ground.

The forest service warns of bear in the the BWCA, and officially recommend hanging food, but in 17 years of trips to the BWCA/Quetico, we've never had an issue with bear (but I'm also pretty religious about a clean campsite). What they don't mention are the pesky mice and chipmunks that frequent campsites and like to chew into packs. And it was great to have things off the ground and less accessible to these little critters.

Anyway, the GB worked great. Very satisfied. And it will be going along on each trip henceforth!

Brian
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Molly Mac Pack Gear Box

**MacEntyre** · 09-22-2010, 17:21

Great report! I am glad it worked well for you.

Thing1 & I took Gear Boxes to Dolly Sods, and hung them back to back outside the tarp on the first night. The next night we hung them underneath our hammocks. I was able to pack my Molly Mac Pack while it was inside the Gear Box. Nothing but the soles of my shoes ever touched the ground!

Thanks, Brian!

**jloden** · 09-22-2010, 17:31

Neat... the Gear Box looks cool. I'll have to get a few trips under my belt before I can figure out if it's worth it to me to carry an extra gear hammock or not, but I definitely like the idea of having everything off the ground, doubly so when it's raining!

Mac, I assume the 4.5oz weight given on your website is without suspension? What's a "haversack strap"?

**Dutch** · 09-22-2010, 17:32

What I like about it is you just put everything in there as you set up like your stuff sacks and such. That way you won't lose anything.

**MacEntyre** · 09-22-2010, 17:39

Originally Posted by jloden

Mac, I assume the 4.5oz weight given on your website is without suspension?

No, it is 4.5 oz with suspension!

Originally Posted by jloden

What's a "haversack strap"?

That is a short piece of 2" webbing with grosgrain ties on each end so you can carry the Gear Box as a Haversack.

**BER** · 09-22-2010, 17:44

4.5 oz is a small weight to carry for a whole lotta convenience. This was, by far, the best of the 5 new gear items we brought on the trip.

And a note on the haversack strap--it's not required for normal hanging of the gear box, only if you want to carry your gear box around with you in that way.

**jloden** · 09-22-2010, 18:19

Originally Posted by MacEntyre

No, it is 4.5 oz with suspension!

Nice work Mac!

**SoundWitness** · 09-22-2010, 20:36

I gotta concur with BER. Tried out my new GB two weeks ago on an overnight jaunt. Loved it! Not only made storage of items so easy and convenient, but my gear stayed dry and clean.

This is now going to be a must bring piece of gear on my AT section hike in a couple of weeks, as well as my Gorge trip. Worth carrying every gram!!

**jloden** · 09-26-2010, 17:42

Can the Gear Box be used as a pack cover, or maybe a pack liner? That'd be a real bonus if I could multi-purpose the GB and save carrying a separate pack cover.

Seriously considering adding this to my gear list. Just had a quick overnighter for the first time with the hammock, and I could definitely see the merits while I was rolling all my stuff into a contractor bag on the ground