SWD Lunch Box

A waterproof option for food storage

On my last hike I tried out the new Superior Wilderness Designs Lunch Box as my food storage system (I am currently awaiting a custom Long Haul 50 pack). I liked it. A lot.

I, like many hikers, have been using the ZPacks cuben food storage bag for a long time. It’s lightweight, voluminous, and it just works. However, over time the cuben fiber has begun to degrade, and it’s never been truly waterproof. Nor is it completely immune to the teeth of the mouse hordes in AT shelters when I don’t hang it. As a result, I had been keeping my eye out for a better option, and I think I found it.

The SWD Lunch box comes in a 50D DCF option that weighs about 2.5 oz. for the larger 12L size, but I went with the slightly heavier 3.3 oz. X-Pac option. This fabric IS waterproof. And the zipper on the lunch box is a waterproof #5 YKK. Craftsmanship is top notch. Food getting wet is no longer a worry.

Also, instead of having to futz with a roll-top design, now I just open the zipper and “lay back” the top to access my food. On my recent hike, my 12L Lunch Box easily held 7 days worth of breakfasts and lunches/snacks, 3 dinners for 2, several mini bottles of bourbon and wine, and part of my camp kitchen. Its handle is large and makes hand-carrying a breeze, and I’m sure allows for a sturdy bang hang as well.

The 12L Lunch Box sized for SWD packs of 35-50L volume measures 11 x 10 x 7 inches, and is designed to nest perfectly in a SWD pack. There is also a smaller 6L version that measures 10 x 7 x 7 inches, weighing 2.7 oz. Mine fit perfectly in my Elemental Horizons Kalais.

Outside of the first night, when Mule and I were so sleep-deprived that we forgot to put away our food and garbage (not SWD’s fault), the bag performed flawlessly. I also found it to be more user-friendly than any other food storage system. It has a flat bottom, so you can open it up and dig around in it without it trying to tip over, and you can close it up and set it aside without it rolling away. A little thing, but I noticed.

So yeah, it’s a 1.7 oz. weight penalty over the ZPacks, and not everyone is going to be willing to make that trade-off. But as I get older, I’m willing to take back a few ounces for items that make my hike simpler or more comfortable. Besides, a 3.3 oz. food bag really isn’t that heavy. The SWD Lunch Box made my hike simpler, and it has earned a permanent place in my kit.