Bear Canisters

[Brado16]

Headed out Elk hunting in a few weeks and the area I am heading to now has a mandatory use of Bear Canisters for food for all overnight backpackers. I am backpacking into a wilderness area and now it looks like I have to worry about purchasing one more piece of gear and adding more weight & bulk to my pack- does anyone have any experience with Bear Canisters or recommend any inexpensive ones? I am not familiar with them but they basically look like a round bear proof jar to place all of your food.

 

[jtw]

Ive rented them and to be honest I wasnt happy with any of them. I far prefer hanging my food but when the terrain dictates ill just rent again. Cant remember brands or anything. Sorry im not real helpful here.

 

[NEhunter]

Ive been looking into them as well since the area that I will be in this year just implemented this rule. It seems like the bear vault is about the best for price vs weight.
http://www.campsaver.com/bear-canister

 

[Brado16]

Ive been looking into them as well since the area that I will be in this year just implemented this rule. It seems like the bear vault is about the best for price vs weight.
http://www.campsaver.com/bear-canister

This is the one I had looked at last night- pretty bulky and another 2lbs in the pack...great...

Where ya heading?

 

[flyinsquirel]

Bear cans suck. Period. But if you have to have one, the Bear Vault is the lightest I have found.

 

[NEhunter]

This is the one I had looked at last night- pretty bulky and another 2lbs in the pack...great...

Where ya heading?

Ya, my thoughts exactly. Heading to maroon bells area. How about you?

 

[NEhunter]

The bearikade is lighter but you'll pay.
http://www.wild-ideas.net

 

[JFKinYK]

We use an Ursack. It has been approved in certain places, but not all, so you'd need to check your regs closely. It's light and cheap-ish.

I assume you are trying to simply comply with rules and not actually protect your food from bears...but FYI, the Bear Vault is found to not be bear proof, but maybe they have changed design?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/25/nyregion/25bear.html?_r=0

The only actual bear proof food container I have heard of is the Backpacker's Cache. It's likely the heaviest of them all.

I haven't seen any bear tests on the Bearikade so maybe that is "bear proof" too.

 

[Brado16]

Just want to comply with rules- I usually hang my food and have not had any issues in the past.

 

[SoCalHunter]

Some places in the Sierra here in Cali have bears that know how to get to the bags that are hung and it is not the deterrent it used to be. Gear is heavy enough and a can sucks...until you have the wrong sort of encounter.

 

[1hoda]

Headed out Elk hunting in a few weeks and the area I am heading to now has a mandatory use of Bear Canisters for food for all overnight backpackers. I am backpacking into a wilderness area and now it looks like I have to worry about purchasing one more piece of gear and adding more weight & bulk to my pack- does anyone have any experience with Bear Canisters or recommend any inexpensive ones? I am not familiar with them but they basically look like a round bear proof jar to place all of your food.

Buy the BearVault. http://www.bearvault.com/bearvault_details.php
You'll find the clear material is a decided advantage over the black ones you can't see through.
Get the BV500 if you are going for more than a couple of days. I bought both the BV 450 and BV500, kept the 500 and sent the 450 back as it just isn't very big.

Never owned a canister before this summer as I've always hung a bag. Had to use a canister in the Bridger Wilderness and hated the weight and expense. What I found is not having to the hassle of properly hanging a bag and having a nice stool to sit on are decent tradeoffs. Given the length of our trip, it was cheaper to buy than to rent. I expected to never use it again but I've found it in my pack on 3 trips since then in areas they aren't required and I'd just normally hang a bag.

I also bought the Ursak on a recommendation from a friend. I like their concept of light and flexible but man are they tiny. For one bag you are going to spend $72 for about 2-3 day's capacity at most. You'll need 2-3 of them for enough food for a weeklong trip and any other smellables you might have. Plus they also recoomend ALoksak for odor proofing which adds another $20 or so. I kept it and have used it one time since then. They are handy for short trips but not the right gear for more than a couple of days.

 

[njdoxie]

I use the bearicade exclusively, it's lightweight and high volume, work on extended trips