It all started last week. My wife and daughter were at the community pool, it was a blistering 90 plus outside and the place was packed. We grabbed a patch of grass by the fences, about 30 feet from the water. We had brought our phones and wallets with us and obviously couldn’t take them in the water, so we took turns swimming with our daughter. It was ridiculous. It was after that ordeal that I started looking for a secure option to store our personal belongings when out and about. That’s how I found out about the Loctote Flak Sack II Anti Theft Backpack.
Construction
The Flak Sack is built like a traditional drawstring pack with some very interesting features. The fabric is made from Loctote’s proprietary Flaknit, a highly slash and abrasion resistant material. Loctote states this bag scored an impressive A9 cut level. I believe this is an actual ANSI based guideline, so this rates up there for safety equipment used in industrial applications where contact with dangerously sharp materials is performed frequently. The drawstrings are also made of slash resistant textiles. The bag has a large open compartment with a smaller RFID blocking fleece lined interior. We also see a steel reinforced locking strap to keep prying hands out.
The bag weighs about 2lbs empty (including lock) and measures in at 18”x14”
Function
The Flak Sack II functions much like your standard drawstring bag. The material is a little rigid and less pliable than nylon, which is kind of expected given the security features. The main compartment makes stowing gear pretty easy, but this bag will fill up quick, and you can’t stuff it to the brim. I found out the hard way because you can’t cinch it completely shut and get the lock on if it’s packed. So definitely try to keep the bag about 75% loaded at most.
The drawstrings are also slash resistant. I think it would have been great if they had steel cable running through them to add even more reinforcement. There’s video of guys making multiple attempts at slashing them though with little success though, but you’d have to be at it awhile and cause a scene to get this bag open. The locking function is pretty easy once you see it done on video. Once secured the bag is cinched so tight you can’t even get a finger inside the bag.
The major selling point for me is the ability to lock it to stationary objects like posts or fences. I wish I had this bag in college. You could leave your expensive electronics locked to your bedpost! The RFID blocking feature is a nice bonus, although I pity whomever wasted their time trying to get into my laughable finances in the first place.
Aesthetic
Drawstring bags aren’t typically great looking, usually towing the line between teenager at soccer practice and gym bro man bag. However Loctote did a nice job “adulting” it up a bit. The material is inherently thicker, so the bag has a more quality look and feel to it. The leather accents really do a great job at adding a subtle flair to the bag. It comes in a few other colorways like heather and digital camo if you want something a little more conspicuous.
Conclusion
I want to point out that no anti theft device is fail proof. However, Loctote’s Flak Sack II definitely adds peace of mind when storing your goods. The fact that the Flak Knit material is so resistant to cuts and punctures just adds to the “It” factor. I like the fact that I’m wearing a bag that could quite literally double as a shield against edged weapons. I wish it was a little bigger and cost a little less, but that’s the price of innovation. All in all, it’s definitely worth a look if you travel with a lot of expensive goodies and find yourself away from your pack at times.
