By: The Grit Staff
Every season we have a handful of out-the-door bird hunts when we just grab the dog, go for a quick rip, then return in time for dinner. But more often than not, even our day trips are dark-to-dark adventures as we push out to explore new covers an hour or two from home. Combine these with a handful of wild-hair road trips, and we almost always need a reliable way to feed and water our dogs in the field.
Enter the Gunner Food and Water Kit. This setup first caught our attention when shopping for a good food bin to keep expensive dog food fresh on the road. We’ve tried ziplocks, dry bags, and department store plastic totes in the past- none of which kept dog food fresh and free of nasty leached chemicals.
The Gunner Food Crate is available in two sizes: 30-pound and 50-pound. We tested the smaller of these. We love the big easy-access lid which quickly swings open to dip out food without getting your hands greasy. The lid latches with a nice cam buckle, secured for travel with a PTO pin. The edge of the lid is lined with a cushy waterproof seal. It’s not just ‘waterproof’ on paper either. We tested it in the back of the truck in rainy weather, and put it under the shower for a while for good measure. In either case, it kept food cozy and dry.
The body of the Food Crate is incredibly tough roto-molded plastic that is BPA-free and withstands a toss from the truck bed onto concrete. It is outfitted with a single handle for easy transport. An obvious partner for the Food Crate is the also roto-molded food scoop. It is far tougher than our usual old yogurt container. We didn’t drive over it in the van a la Uncle Rico, but we were tempted.
Not to sound like a broken record, but we were very impressed with the durability of Gunner’s roto-molded dog bowls as well. They are thick-walled and rounded enough that it would be hard for a puppy to chew them if you happen to leave one in their crate. The base is outfitted with an array of low-profile non-slip ‘feet’ that keep your dog from hockey-pucking the bowl across a slick floor.
We love the Punchseal rubber bowl cover that securely contains both food and water. We often found ourselves filling the Gunner Dog Bowl, putting the lid on it, then taking it into our lodge or tent for the evening.
So what’s wrong with this stuff? We only have two complaints, both focused on the Food Crate. First, the screws come out too easily. We had to glue in the allen screws that hold the webbing handle and rubber feet to the crate. Before that, every bump in the truck slowly loosened the screws until they fell out.
More importantly, we think even the smaller 30-pound crate is overkill for most bird-doggers. Of course, big variables in this equation include dog breeds, appetites, number of dogs, and duration of travel. Even for our biggest dog, a half-full 30-lb crate was more than necessary for a five day trip.
We would love to see a 10 or 15-pound Food Crate size to cover medium dogs for several nights- and take up less space in the truck bed. We also think it could be a nice touch if there was a small shelf in the top of the 30-pound crate to hold cans of wet food, dog treats, or the Dog Bowl.
While we think any one piece of this kit is worth buying a la carte, it probably makes the most sense to just buy the Food and Water Bundle. You get the Food Crate, two Dog Bowls, and a Food Scoop while saving 50 bucks off retail. At 325 dollars this kit is still an investment, but given the bombproof build quality, we fully expect this kit to outlast your truck, your shotgun, and maybe even you.
The kit comes in a nice array of colors, so you can pick whatever matches your dog’s collar (or is least likely to be left in a ditch in North Dakota), and you can even add your dog’s name to both bowls and the Food Crate.
Overall, this kit might not be the cheapest way to outfit your dog, but it will far outlast most anything else on the market- and look badass doing it.
* The Grit was provided with testing samples but was not otherwise compensated for this review.
