Bear bag verses canister
What do you use a bear canister or bear bags for storing food overnight ?
or do you use both ?
what is the advantages of one over the other ?
Almost no one uses cannisters on AT, because heavy and not required except 5 mile section in spring.Originally Posted by penny b
That said, i met a woman last week carrying TWO cannisters with 8 days food. Loosely packed. This is pretty rare.
The advantages of cannister is simple, and they work. I love mine, but only use it where required due to wt and bulky shape. I wish was required everywhere. Best for wildlife, and would keep a lot of people out of woods.
Ouse a canister as required mainly the West Coast (Sierras, JMT) and some sections on the AT as required.
Rest of the time I hang my food.
Unless the bear rolls my canister off the side of the mountain I know my food will always be there.
I periodically have midnight doubts when I hang.
But I'm a novice hiker with only 1000 miles under my belt.
I haven't lost any food to bears either way so far.
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Food bag makes a great pillow......
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I always found mine too lumpy to actually be used as a pillow, mostly because of the peanutbutter jar and other hard plastic containers...
Back to the original question, probably less than 2% of A.T. Hikers use a bear canister, they just aren't needed. Properly hanging or keeping your food attended is sufficient and many established campsites in problem areas already have bear boxes/poles/cables installed.
Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
thank you everyone ..... I will look into a bear bag over the canisters .
thank you everyone ..... I will look into a bear bag over the canisters .
If you search youtube for "PCT Method" you will get several good tutorials for how to hang a bag correctly. Definitely Worth watching.
Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
These days I use a canister where it is required and in grizzly country. I hang a food bag everywhere else.
Life Member: ATC, ALDHA, Superior Hiking Trail Association
I would think that bear bagging would work better for grizzly's than for black bears since grizzlies don't climb . . . unless of course, your grizzly country is tundra and there aren't any trees over 8' tall.
I'm not lost. I'm exploring.
Always bear bag instead of canister unless you are required to use canister. On the AT you can hike through most of the bear can areas so it's not an issue.
Sierra through Yosemite is definite bear can country. A canister is a pain. Avoid whenever possible. Just learn how to hang a bag properly.
I am one of the 2% that uses a bearcan on the AT. I suck at throwing rocks at the best of times and especially when tired. I also like to stealth camp just before dark and not having to seek the perfect tree is a bonus. I sleep with my food, but it is inside an odor blocking bag, inside a bearcan, and just outside my tent. I do not feed wildlife even by accident.
Hanging a bear bag is a pain, especially after dark. Hanging a bear bag is impossible in some alpine areas where there aren't any places to do it.
Just learn how to carry a bear canister properly and quit wining about the little extra weight and enjoy the ease of evening food storage, the comfy seat the canister provides along with the convenient rodent protection.
Full disclosure: I generally sleep with my food, hang it if I have any concern about bears and there is a place to do so, use a bear canister when required and dream about experimenting with an Ursack which I haven't broken down and purchased yet, and maybe never will.
Have fun. Stay mostly safe, but not too safe, because then you'd never get out of bed in the morning.
I'm not lost. I'm exploring.
I have both but prefer the bear bag. I did a trip out West last year and the canister was required. Makes a great camp chair though. Some bear canisters have a Fry Pan for a lid. Bonus!!
The only times that I haven't hung my food on the AT, I slept with it. Never once was I harassed by even the smallest creature. If you cant find a place to hang your bag, you may have picked a bad spot... otherwise, just sleep with the food. Talking about the AT here.
In the Sierras, especially around Yosemite, or in WY near Yellowstone, I would always say bear can. Otherwise... bear bag it... and if you're worried about odors, wrap the stinky stuff in an OP sack.
Great bear bag PCT hang instructions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgBLDMuPuvE
Great bear bag kit:
http://www.zpacks.com/accessories/bear_bag.shtml
"Your comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there."
While the PCT Method has its merits, I prefer a 2 rope system. The first rope has a carabineer on one end which is thrown over a branch. The second rope is looped through the carabineer. Then the first rope is hoisted and tied off. The second rope is attached to the food bag and then hoisted up.
The advantage of this method is NO DAMAGE TO THE TREE from rope friction. While saving the tree, it also makes hoisting the food bag easier as the paracord is sliding over a smooth carabineer not the rough tree bark. I have even seen this method using a small light weight pulley verse a carabineer to hoist the food bad.
Some might complain that this requires two the amount of rope. While that is true, I am not an ultralight hiker and the additional 3.6 oz of weight it worth it for such an easy method. Next time you are in the wood, start looking at the the damage to the trees near shelters from all of the food bags getting pulled over the branches. I think you will be surprised.
I have not used a bear can, but may try it one day for the ease of use.
One rope, leverage advantage, tree safe. . . check it out . . .
If the above link doesn't work, just find my profile and look at started thread titled "New safer & easier bear-bag hanging method".
Last edited by nsherry61; 10-26-2016 at 20:42.
I'm not lost. I'm exploring.
I use both. Normally I carry a bear bag and hang, or sometimes just use it as a pillow...I actually don't really use it as a pillow...I usually pack everything up in a trash bag, put that in the sil bag and then put that in my pack inside my tent. Yeah, I know that's not kosher by some people's standards, but I honestly just get lazy sometimes. Most areas that actually have bear problems either have cables, poles or boxes and then I just use those rather than hanging or putting it in my tent.
As for the canister, I originally bought it for a hike I did in the Sierras, and now I just like to carry it on some trips. It is heavier, but it's a lot less hassle (place food inside, close and set somewhere) and makes a great camp chair.
AT: 2007-2019 (45 sections)
JMT: 2013
[QUOTE=penny b;2100258
what is the advantages of one over the other ?[/QUOTE]
A fed bear is a dead bear, and the advantage of a bear can over a bag is that when a bear tries to chew the canister the bear gets no food reward. When a bear chews on a bear bag it can get a food reward by having odor and flavor pass through the porous bag. I believe this is why the parks with high bear density prefer bear canisters over bags. A backcountry ranger or permit officer could verify. I would love the weight savings of a bear bag instead of my canister in required areas but my conscience won't allow it.
Is it necessary to use an odor blocking bag with a canister? If so, what is an appropriate bag and are bears more attracted to the smell when not using such a bag?
I'm starting to think that a bear canister that can double up as a camp chair compared to my tripod stool that can't be used for anything else might not be such a bad idea. And the canister only weighs a few ounces more than my stool. I know a lot of people find them bulky and awkward in their packs but I don't see that as a big deal.
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