Question for someone smarter than I am...

[SugarLand]

...okay, forgive the naive question (first time backpacking). I read about protecting your food each night by hanging a bear bag - easy enough, BUT...

1) What kind of bag is best to use?
2) Do I still need to have everything inside in an air-tight (i.e. non-smellable) container, and
3) Does that also take care of the rodents?

Thanks in advance for any info. BTW - I'll be camping each night as I will be solo.

[flemdawg1]

I use a regular old stuff sack, if hung properly it should prevent rodents from getting to it also.

[Kerosene]

With bear cables, hang the stuffsack upside-down to keep rainwater from entering. Ideally the stuffsack has a pull-loop where you could use a lightweight caribiner.

[Toolshed]

1, Any Nylon stuffsack will work fine. If i need to hang, I either use sylnylon or, depending on what I have with me, a cheap nylon stuffsack inside a Wegmans plastic grocery bag.
2, Canisters are overkill unless you are in an area with heavy bear traffic that has figured out ropes.
3, Yes except for high traffic campsites that have known rodent, pine marten & raccoon problems

Not sure what being solo has to do with camping........

[10-K]

I carry a mesh bag so I can see what I've got without dumping out the bag. If it's raining I just stick it in a trash bag.

Only problem with mesh bags is that they tend to get holes in them after a few months.

[Blissful]

I use a sea to summit ultralight dry bag and roping from wally world. Personally I don't like having my food wet.

[garlic08]

I always hang my silnylon stuff sack food bag carefully. I don't worry about odors, but I do repackage everything in a ziplock so I don't worry about rain. I've never had a problem with any mammal, bird, reptile, or insect getting into my food when hung.

But some advice--never leave it unattended on the ground even for just a minute. I've had a couple of food bags chewed into behind my back or when I walked a few feet away to get water.

[Bear Cables]

i use a waterproof stuff sack by sealine. Also have my food packed in ziplocks

[Rain Man]

1) What kind of bag is best to use?
2) Do I still need to have everything inside in an air-tight (i.e. non-smellable) container, and
3) Does that also take care of the rodents?

I learned to use a water proof stuff sack. Your food will hang in some torrential downpours. And yes, inside the stuff sack, I use zip-locks to keep things doubly dry and sorted.

One word of caution. If you use established bear cables, especially if yours is the only bag that night, it is likely to be the subject of attacks by critters, including flying squirrels, that have learned that place is a source of food. Might be better to hang it from a distant tree. That's my opinion and experience.

And I will "ditto" the prior comment about your food being "attacked" within minutes or even seconds of setting it on a shelter floor, even if you are right there. It happens.

RainMan

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[Spot In The Sky]

Any details you can offer on the type of rope i should be using? are some ropes considerably heavier than others but just as strong?

[Mountain Wildman]

Mountain Laurel Designs sells a Bear Bag Hanging Rope that they claim is less harmful to trees.

Link: http://www.mountainlaureldesigns.com...products_id=90

They also sell a Bear Bag setup.

[Disney]

I use 550 cord from an Army Navy surplus store. It's light weight, and easily strong enough to hang. It also is a bit slick, so it never catches on bark or trees, just slips right on through.

You should really consider a metal disk or something similar about a foot or two above where are tying the food bag, it will help keep out rodents and whatnot. I consider mine to be invaluable.

[Pickleodeon]

there are a lot of threads on this subject if you use the search feature at the top of the forum main page. I don't like to throw a bear line, (fortunately, I hiked with some awesome guys that fequently threw it) so I carried an ursack. It's made of kevlar, so critters can't chew through it. It's a little heavier than a regular stuff sack, but I didn't have an issue with critters in 2000 miles, and that gave me a lot of peace of mind. www.ursack.com. it really depends on what you prefer to carry/spend $$ and if you're even remotely skilled at the art of bear bag hanging (which I am definitely not).

[fredmugs]

I put my food in a sack. Take that sack and place it in a doubled up plastic grocery bag from Kroger. Haven't had a problem yet. The Kroger bags are also great for trash and dirty clothes.