What to pack in a bear canister?

[Berserker]

Disadvantages of bearicade.....top doesnt seal well. Yes, theres an o ring. No, it doesnt work. In rain you need to put it upside down, above ground (on rocks,etc), to avoid water intrusion.

Top lid is flimsy alumunum and easily bent or flexed Hence why it leaks. To seal againt oring requires totally flat, as try to squeeze stuff in first time.even very gently....you bend lid and will never ever be same. Even without, sealing pressure from latches is applied in 3 spots on a flexible lid. Bend it enough and theres a lip a bearclaw could catch on to rip it apart.

Price...a bit ridiculous to save 8 oz honestly, but so what.

I agree that the top will leak, but it usually results in an insignificant amount of water in the can. I either set it upside down like you suggested (if expecting heavy rain), or I put anything that will get ruined if it gets wet into Ziploc bags. Most of the food I carry is in its factory sealed packaging so this usually is a non-issue.

Not sure about the "flexible lid" thing. I have put a decent amount of pressure on my lid, and it's never flexed that I have noticed. I agree that it could be bent, but one would have to really crank down on it while it was in an awkward position to make that happen.

[George]

what I put in mine is gummy bears and my teddy bear - I tried once to put a real bear inside but he did not care for the idea

[HooKooDooKu]

The difficulties in opening bear vault are often induced by pressure and temperature changes.

Yea, this...
Opening a BV is all about bending plastic, and there is a big difference in what it takes to accomplish this between room temperature in a store on a brand new canister v a cold morning in the woods.
(First morning on the JMT, a fellow camper came over to our campsite to request aid getting into their BV. It took two of us AN the credit card trick to get it open, and temperatures we not all that cold).

[HooKooDooKu]

The bearikade was grandfathered because it passed previous testing protocol. Which involved dropping 100 lb wt onto it.

What exactly do you mean by 'grandfathered' here?

The basis for my comments were the simple fact that Bearikade is NOT IGBC certified, that some places like Yosemite list specific bear canisters that are allowed (and this is one of them), other places simple say something like 'hard-sided commercially sold bear canister', and a few others such as Yellow Stone, require IGBC certified canisters.

[Venchka]

What exactly do you mean by 'grandfathered' here?

The basis for my comments were the simple fact that Bearikade is NOT IGBC certified, that some places like Yosemite list specific bear canisters that are allowed (and this is one of them), other places simple say something like 'hard-sided commercially sold bear canister', and a few others such as Yellow Stone, require IGBC certified canisters.

Competing approval standards.
The Rockies standard: IGBC. The Bearikades failed. The Ursack passed.
The West Coast standard, I don’t remember the official title.
The Bearikade passed. The Ursack passed. The West Coast folks said that the bears could get a taste of human food through the fabric. Therefore the Ursack was banned.
Meanwhile the folks at Big Bend NP took a more enlightened approach: They accept containers from both testing protocols. How refreshing!
As for the East Coast...Whatever floats your boat.
Wayne

[Time Zone]

As for the East Coast...Whatever floats your boat.
Wayne

I don't think this is entirely true. In some parts of western NC there's a bear canister requirement and it specifies,

"Bear canisters are still required in the Shining Rock Wilderness, Black Balsam, Sam’s Knob and Flat Laurel Creek Areas of the Pisgah Ranger District, Pisgah National Forest. ...


All bear canisters must be commercially made; constructed of solid, non-pliable material manufactured for the specific purpose of resisting entry by bears."


[emphasis mine]

See:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/nfsnc...stelprd3832543

[Venchka]

The Canister Plague spreads.
Just exactly how bad is the bear problem in those areas?
Is Linville Gorge canister free? I’m pondering a quick trip to the Gorge in October.
Wayne

[DownYonder]

The Canister Plague spreads.
Just exactly how bad is the bear problem in those areas?
Is Linville Gorge canister free? I’m pondering a quick trip to the Gorge in October.
Wayne

I do not think that a canister is required in Linville Gorge but it would be worth a call......
Pisgah Ranger District at (828) 877-3265

[MuddyWaters]

The Canister Plague spreads.
Just exactly how bad is the bear problem in those areas?
Is Linville Gorge canister free? I’m pondering a quick trip to the Gorge in October.
Wayne

Cannisters are the solution

People, are the plague.

[Logistical Jedi]

I used the BV500 on the JMT last year and was able to pack about 10 days of food with some forethought and a lot of pushing. For shorter days between resupply I would think the smaller one would work fine. All depends on what you want to take and the days between resupply. Other option is what my brother thought of last year on the JMT, just fill the thing with Peanut Butter One word of caution though the lid can be tricky, especially if it is cold. A knife or other flat object that you can use to push the tabs around the locking mechanism is worth it. I've hear of people using the edge of a credit card as well. As for scented items I have gone both ways. I've kept scented items like chap stick with me in Grizzly country and hung everything in Black Bear country. I would keep meds with me though, especially if they are important or may need to take quickly for the onset of symptoms.

[Shaker]

I used the BV500 on the JMT last year and was able to pack about 10 days of food with some forethought and a lot of pushing. For shorter days between resupply I would think the smaller one would work fine. All depends on what you want to take and the days between resupply. Other option is what my brother thought of last year on the JMT, just fill the thing with Peanut Butter One word of caution though the lid can be tricky, especially if it is cold. A knife or other flat object that you can use to push the tabs around the locking mechanism is worth it. I've hear of people using the edge of a credit card as well. As for scented items I have gone both ways. I've kept scented items like chap stick with me in Grizzly country and hung everything in Black Bear country. I would keep meds with me though, especially if they are important or may need to take quickly for the onset of symptoms.

Thanks for the response. I have studied the issue with the lid and will have a pocketknife and credit card with me. One guy even taped a small section of a hacksaw blade to his to use like a credit card. I will definitely keep a certain amount of the meds with me so if the canister disappears overnight I won't be up the creek without a paddle.

Shaker

[JohnThe Snail]

I use 500 from time to time while hiking (I like having the seat option among other things). One thing I've done is tie a length of para cord to it. One you have the cord if needed, plus you can then tie the canister to a tree at night to help prevent it from disappearing if something decides to play with it.

[Time Zone]

I use 500 from time to time while hiking (I like having the seat option among other things). One thing I've done is tie a length of para cord to it. One you have the cord if needed, plus you can then tie the canister to a tree at night to help prevent it from disappearing if something decides to play with it.

I'm not so sure that's advisable; I vaguely recall reading something about not doing that, for it gives the bear some leverage against the container. Maybe that was something else. Hard to remember for sure, but consider it.

[Berserker]

I use 500 from time to time while hiking (I like having the seat option among other things). One thing I've done is tie a length of para cord to it. One you have the cord if needed, plus you can then tie the canister to a tree at night to help prevent it from disappearing if something decides to play with it.

A bear canister keeps bears (and other critters) out via 2 design features as follows:

1. The can is made of materials so it can't be easily breached, and 99.9% of bears don't know how to breach the lid.
2. When sitting out loose the bear cannot easily get leverage on it to breach it.

So, based on #2 I think tying it down, wedging it between trees or rocks, or any other method of "securing" it so it doesn't get rolled away defeats one of the main design features of the can. It's best to leave it sitting somewhere loose, and just make sure it's in a location where it can't be rolled down a hill or into a stream or creek if it gets messed with. On the East coast there are not many places where a bear is likely to even do much with a canister yet since it is fairly uncommon to see them used in this region. I picture a bear sniffing it, maybe pushing it around a little, and then moving on. So far my can has always been sitting in the same spot I left it in the night before.

[JohnThe Snail]

Thanks for the info, hadn't thought of that. Will definitely take it under advisement. Always just figured at worst the bear would just kind of be playing tether-ball with it.

[Deadeye]

I"m not sure if a cord would help a bear open the container, but it may help it drag the thing so far away you can't find it! Agree with the previous advice - just put the canister someplace where it won't roll away if disturbed and you'll be fine.

FWIW, I've been using canisters for a decade both on the trail and for food caches, and they have always been right where I left them.

[Tipi Walter]

The Canister Plague spreads.

Wayne

Yes, totally agree.

I do not think that a canister is required in Linville Gorge but it would be worth a call......
Pisgah Ranger District at (828) 877-3265

The Gorge does not require a canister, thankfully. Nor does the adjacent Pisgah NF---Steels Creek, Upper Creek, Harper/North Harper, Wilson Creek, Lost Cove Creek etc.

I used a couple Bearvaults once and it must be remembered that a bear can slap these babies down a mountain side and worry them to death. They roll. One found my vaults and I had to walk a couple hundred feet down the hill to find them. Unopened!!

BEAR DAMAGE 006-L.jpg

[Venchka]

Studying how people behave in Real Bear Country: Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks for future trips.
Everything said in this thread is 180 degrees opposite to what is practiced in those parks.
The Park Service campsites have a kitchen area with fire grate, seating and a bear pole. Food stays in the kitchen area. Period.
Shelters and sleeping gear are carried to the designated sleeping area some distance from the kitchen area where the food is kept.
People hang their packs with all food, smellables and trash from the bear poles in the kitchen area. These practices are shown in several videos online. It’s not heresay.
That makes a 110% more sense than this East & West Coast centered discussion.
It makes sense to me.
Wayne

[BowGal]

I undersrand about the 100’ away from your tent. How easy is it to maintain that distance on the AT when you have a dozen or more other hikers at the same site? Obviously not everyone would have a canister, but hate for someone to trip over it.

[Berserker]

I undersrand about the 100’ away from your tent. How easy is it to maintain that distance on the AT when you have a dozen or more other hikers at the same site? Obviously not everyone would have a canister, but hate for someone to trip over it.

Depends on where you are on the AT, but in most cases if you really wanted to get 100' away from your tent at a minimum you could walk 100' North or South on the AT and set it off to the side somewhere making sure you are not near some one else's camp. If on a blue blaze trail (i.e. like at a shelter) you could do the same thing. In some areas where the understory isn't super thick you can walk off in whatever direction you want and set it off in the woods.