Ultralite Bear canister option

[happypad]

I just bought a Bear Vault BV450. It's a bit heavy but I was able to get it inside my pack. I'll lose weight somewhere else.

[KDogg]

Ok, back up....we're really pretending that our food sacks don't smell like food? To bears?

[Venchka]

Ok, back up....we're really pretending that our food sacks don't smell like food? To bears?

Right on. Along with your pack. Tent. Sleeping gear. Clothes.
You're in constant contact with your food. Obviously 99.99% of bears don't want to eat you or your gear.
Glacier, Yellowstone, and the Canadian Parks have done a great job keeping bears and people safe with common sense.
Wayne


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[Venchka]

for those using an Ursack - would you recommend the traditional Ursack s29.3 or the Ursack Major - the traditional said it could hold roughly 5 days worth of food while the other holds more - was curious which one other AT hikers were using

After reading online that many folks had trouble getting 5-6 days worth of food in the standard Ursack and after loading an old stuff sack with what I guesstimated was 7 days food, I bought the Ursack Major. It's big. Slightly larger than the stuff sack I used last summer.
Wayne


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[Hosh]

Right on. Along with your pack. Tent. Sleeping gear. Clothes.
You're in constant contact with your food. Obviously 99.99% of bears don't want to eat you or your gear.
Glacier, Yellowstone, and the Canadian Parks have done a great job keeping bears and people safe with common sense.
Wayne


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You got the cart in front of the horse, here. Bears smell humans. When they find easy food and associate it with humans, they then smell human food and investigate. If it's easily stolen, they will come back, back and back until they are removed or euthanized. IMO, the best reason to not sleep with your food.

My buddy did a cross country trip through YNP. One night a grizzly walked thru their tent site without bothering anyone or any of the gear. The bear didn't associate humans with food and went on down the trail searching for something to eat.

[Venchka]

Thanks. I know nothing.
Except that folks waste money on odor proof bags and then handle the bags with food all over their hands.
I've read numerous trip reports from the Thorofare and beyond by folks who listened to Grizz shuffling around the food prep area all night. Under the food bags hanging above Grizz.
They lived long enough to write the report.
Wayne


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[JamesHenryTrotter]

Ursack is _supposed_ to foil _some_ 4 legged critters but works better with a lining to seal in odors as well.

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OP SAK
https://www.rei.com/product/884265/l...0-package-of-2

[ChuckT]

Yep, that's the one I have.

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[AllDownhillFromHere]

Depends where you're going, some places (upstate NY) mandate other types, as the BVs fail. Bears know that if they chew off the human-sweat-and-peanut-butter-scented plastic tabs on the lid, that it can be unscrewed. The Garcia ones can take more of a beating.

[ChuckT]

Around here, east central Florida, we have alligators as prevalent as bears on the AT. I very much doubt a year will pass by without a report of at least one 'gator encounter.
Looked at closely these are creatures that have become immune to the presence of humans (and their pets!) due to a continual interaction of nitwits feeding and harassing "cute" animals.
How anyone could view an alligator as cute is beyond my ken!

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[MtDoraDave]

One other thing to consider about the Ursack is ants. A thruhiker on my last section hike had an ant infestation of her Ursack bag that wasn't hung. After dumping out her food and inspecting it, it was a cherry pie that they had gotten into.

[Venchka]

One other thing to consider about the Ursack is ants. A thruhiker on my last section hike had an ant infestation of her Ursack bag that wasn't hung. After dumping out her food and inspecting it, it was a cherry pie that they had gotten into.

Obvious case of operator error.
But something to be aware of.
Wayne


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[JPritch]

Other than the areas that have dedicated bear bag systems you will struggle to see anyone with a proper bear bag set up (10' up and 4' away).

That unfortunately is true. In a week on the AT I saw people hanging their food on trees right next to their tent, over empty tent pads, 2' out, and some I could reach up and grab. I used the PCT method and took pride in my hangs. It was fun at camp to seek out the ideal tree where I could get a 12/6 hang. Humble brag. ;-)

[AllDownhillFromHere]

That unfortunately is true. In a week on the AT I saw people hanging their food on trees right next to their tent, over empty tent pads, 2' out, and some I could reach up and grab. I used the PCT method and took pride in my hangs. It was fun at camp to seek out the ideal tree where I could get a 12/6 hang. Humble brag. ;-)

I only ever hung in the Shenandoah, because they had those awesome metal poles. Nowhere else did it even seem necessary. Has the AT gotten more bear-y ?

[HooKooDooKu]

I must say, that's one of the things I now appreciate about camping in GSMNP... every back country campsite has bear cables, and it's a no brainer to hang your food on the cables.

...of course I say that... and I many times see people using the cables wrong.
1. The self closing hook connects to the eyebolt on the tree and you hang your food from the open hooks (frequently see people have swapped the hooks making it much easier for bears to unhook it).
2. Bears have learned that food bags can be shaken off the hooks (so you need to backup your hang with a carribeaner)
3. Mice can still climb the cables and get to your food bags.


While it added extra weight and expense, in hind site, using a bearikade bear canister was actually a very simple solution. It protected the food from bears and smaller critters, and the only thing you had to do was make sure you didn't leave the canister somewhere it could be pushed off a cliff or off into water.

[theory]

Are you talking about the Bear Canister rule for camping at Blood Mountain Shelter?

Most people stop and camp at Lance Creek night before and then get an early start and go straight past Blood Mountain Shelter into Neel Gap. At least that's what a lot of us did so we didn't have to worry about carrying a bear canister. Keep in mind I did this completely barefoot and I was last to leave camp and got there in about 2 hours. It's completely not hard to skip this section and keep going. Remember it's downhill for anybody going South I would say it may be much harder.

Theory!


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[MtDoraDave]

On my last section hike, some of the bear cables didn't have hooks. Fortunately, I had a spare D ring or carabiner clipped on my backpack which saved me from having to fiddle with tying my food back to the cable and untying it in the morning without having any coffee in me (coordination is off until I've had my coffee in the morning )

[HelloNeiman!]

I used an Ursack instead of a bear can while backpacking in Alaska's Denali National Park. I paired it with a Loksak Opsak odorless bag, and it was perfect. And to avoid concern of a bear running off with it, you simply tie it to a tree/branch. It's as good as they say, and much lighter and ieasier to pack. Combined, they weigh 8.3 ounces.

[BuckeyeBill]

I also use a Ursack for my food bag. I had the All White bag for a couple of years then bought an All Mitey when they came out. I switched because the All Mitey has the Ursack Minor laminated to the inside to the inside of an All White. The outer bag stops the bears and the Inside Minor stops the little furry critters with sharp teeth.