Bear Cannister
- Thread starter atavuss
- Start date
mountainpete
Spamicus Eliminatus
I have used them before. They are only of value if there are no trees around - stuff sack and a rope works the best. If you do use one, just make sure it's far from your campsite.
Pete
Pete
goodtimes
Expedition Poseur
I use one every time I go backpacking...in fact I just loaded it a couple hours ago. Even if there are no bears around, it keeps all the other critters out of your food as well.
Personally, I would take a bear can over hanging my food any day. Regardless of the method (hanging, bear can, bear bag), you want the food away from camp, so none of them have an advantage there. Accessability is greatly reduced if you hang the food, not to mention the PIA factor of actually hanging it...the bear can you simply pull from your pack and leave on the ground. The downside of the cans is that:
A: They aren't cheap (I paid ~$50, 8 years ago).
B: They are bulky (travelling solo, I can fit 4 - 5 days worth of food in the smallest one I could find).
Personally, I would take a bear can over hanging my food any day. Regardless of the method (hanging, bear can, bear bag), you want the food away from camp, so none of them have an advantage there. Accessability is greatly reduced if you hang the food, not to mention the PIA factor of actually hanging it...the bear can you simply pull from your pack and leave on the ground. The downside of the cans is that:
A: They aren't cheap (I paid ~$50, 8 years ago).
B: They are bulky (travelling solo, I can fit 4 - 5 days worth of food in the smallest one I could find).
Tucson T4R
Expedition Leader
Yep, every since I was required to use them going up Whitney I have continued to use them on all my backpacking trips in bear country. Even around the little whimpy black bears here in So AZ. They work great for protecting your food from all sorts of scavengers. They are pricey but It's a good investment if you do much back country backpacking.
They also make a great camp stool!
They are nice for backpacking the more popular trails in the Yosemite area where the bears are wise to human ways. I camped at the popular Ten Lakes one night with 30 or so others, bears were going through the area all night raiding food bags. One knocked a tree over to access the bear bag hanging from it. Another waited until some campers opened their cannister and forgot to close it before walking away, they returned to the bruin helping himself to the cannister sitting in his lap. My bear cannister sat on the ground where I could see it from my tent. I saw a bear amble by, give the cannister a sniff without even stopping for further investigation, then move on to easier pickins. They know there is food inside, they have already tried to get in one and know it is not worth their trouble.
Think of a bear cannister as cheap insurance for a good night's sleep. Put your food in it and forget about it. The next morning it will be right where you left it. No need to get out of bed to attempt to chase a hungry bear away. I was able to squeeze 12 days worth of food in one on the longest leg of the John Muir trail. My pack weighed 56lbs though! Bear cannisters are definately not for the ultralight hiker.
I do also bring it along when jeeping in places where bears may be, especially if I am cooking in camp. The really smelly food goes in the cannister and on the ground a safe distance away from camp at night or when we are hiking away from camp.
The best way to keep bears out of your camp is to cook, eat and clean up dinner somewhere else before you set up camp and don't have a campfire at night.
They are nice for backpacking the more popular trails in the Yosemite area where the bears are wise to human ways. I camped at the popular Ten Lakes one night with 30 or so others, bears were going through the area all night raiding food bags. One knocked a tree over to access the bear bag hanging from it. Another waited until some campers opened their cannister and forgot to close it before walking away, they returned to the bruin helping himself to the cannister sitting in his lap. My bear cannister sat on the ground where I could see it from my tent. I saw a bear amble by, give the cannister a sniff without even stopping for further investigation, then move on to easier pickins. They know there is food inside, they have already tried to get in one and know it is not worth their trouble.
Think of a bear cannister as cheap insurance for a good night's sleep. Put your food in it and forget about it. The next morning it will be right where you left it. No need to get out of bed to attempt to chase a hungry bear away. I was able to squeeze 12 days worth of food in one on the longest leg of the John Muir trail. My pack weighed 56lbs though! Bear cannisters are definately not for the ultralight hiker.
I do also bring it along when jeeping in places where bears may be, especially if I am cooking in camp. The really smelly food goes in the cannister and on the ground a safe distance away from camp at night or when we are hiking away from camp.
The best way to keep bears out of your camp is to cook, eat and clean up dinner somewhere else before you set up camp and don't have a campfire at night.
spressomon
Expedition Leader
Yep...use them when we are in bear cannister mandatory areas like Muir Wilderness and/or where bears are prevalent. As mentioned above they also keep smaller critters out of your food...like Martins for instance!
Hanging food stuffs (don't forget anything with a scent like toothpaste, lip balm, etc.) is a crap shoot. You need just the right tree with a long enough branch...and typically we are at or above tree line...and most bears will climb a tree shimmy out on a branch until it either breaks or it is able to grab your sack...
Hanging food stuffs (don't forget anything with a scent like toothpaste, lip balm, etc.) is a crap shoot. You need just the right tree with a long enough branch...and typically we are at or above tree line...and most bears will climb a tree shimmy out on a branch until it either breaks or it is able to grab your sack...
ntsqd
Heretic Car Camper
Oww!
Being's I'm usuually in the Mojave desert the whole bear idea was foreign to me when I attended a wedding in Yosemite. That was an eye opening experience.
I noted how those NP food lockers were built. How do the backpackable lockers function? Are they simply too tough for a bear to be able to open, or are they so tightly sealed that there is no food odor - even to a bear?
spressomon
Expedition Leader
They're too slippery for a bear to really get a claw/tooth hold onto...plus they have a flat lid that is securely latched with a surface mount clasp (backpackers cache...http://www.backpackerscache.com/). There are a couple other bear cannisters out there but they have not proved 100% effective/rated due to either their materials or lid design.
Tucson T4R
Expedition Leader
adriatikfan
Observer
Hi - living in the UK I'm intrigued by these canisters. Doesn't it just drive the bears mad being able to see the food on the inside and not being able to get at it?
Best Wishes
David
Best Wishes
David
Tucson T4R
Expedition Leader
In some of the testing they gave the canister packed with food to Bears in a Zoo. They just batted them around for awhile until they got bored and then left them alone. Some field testimonials said the camper woke up to find their canister moved 20-30 yards but unharmed.
ujoint
Supporting Sponsor
these are the canisters we used:
http://www.rei.com/online/store/Pro...olor=NONE&img=/media/624081Lrg.jpg&view=large
http://www.rei.com/online/store/Pro...olor=NONE&img=/media/624081Lrg.jpg&view=large
atavuss
Adventurer
Tucson T4R said:
I ordered a Bear Vault BV400 model. no tools required to open, clear so you can see what you are digging around for, ridges to tie it to a backpack. pricey though.
we four wheeled into a high Sierra lake last weekend and had a opened package of 8 Reese's peanut butter cups on the ground next to a tackle box. a chipmunk came up and was nosing around the package while I was only 3' away, it grabbed a individual wrapped peanut butter cup and ran off with it! I tried to chase it down but it easily outran me with the peanut butter cup in its mouth.
Tucson T4R
Expedition Leader
Yep, you could have caught that little sucker if he was draging your new bear vault! :wings: