Bear bags vs bear canisters

[Hiking for vets]

I would be interested in opinions regarding bear bags versus canisters. It seems to me it is tree off between weight and conformance. I would like the convenience of the canister but a bit concerned about the weight I am accumulating.

[Hiking for vets]

Sorry, meant trade off not tree off!

[aaronthebugbuffet]

Is this for the AT?

[mountain squid]

A bear canister is overkill for the AT. A sil-nylon stuff sack is sufficient for food.

See you on the trail,
mt squid

[daddytwosticks]

I wouldn't worry about the bears on the AT...just the mice and thie cousins. Get yourself one of those rodent-proof food bags and be done with it.

[Odd Man Out]

I seem to recall having read somewhere that cuben fiber food bags are somewhat rodent resistant, in addition to being very lightweight. Any truth to that?

[SouthMark]

I had a cuben fiber food bag on Roan High Knob back in January. I left it in the old Warden's cabin. Now I have a big mouse hole patched with duct tape. I think Joe from ZPacks said they were rodent resistant. I think he was referring to western rodents, not eastern rodents. Bear canister on the AT is useless weight.

[Thatguy]

The times I've been on the AT I've used the Ursack. It's a bit pricey. The only time it came in handy was when I was setting up my tent in the dark. When I looked over to one side with my headlight I saw a racoon trying to get into my food bag. I scared it away and there was nothing where it had chewed. So far never had to test it with a bear but it was designed to prevent a bear getting to your food. Only 7.3 oz unpacked.

[Hiking for vets]

This would be for the AT. So I am assuming that hanging a bear bag is not a problem if not staying in shelters? I plan on tenting as much as possible.

[Hiking for vets]

I just thought a bear canister would be very convienant since you didn't have to bother with hanging the bag.

[aaronthebugbuffet]

I just thought a bear canister would be very convienant since you didn't have to bother with hanging the bag.

It would be convenient but the space it takes up and the limited space inside the canister for food would seem to be more of an inconvenience to me than the 5 minutes it takes to hang a bag.
Unless there's a problem bear in the area that has figured out how to get hanging food you won't have to get too fancy with it and there are no shortage of trees on the AT.

[Fredt4]

A bear bag/canister is unnecessary on the AT, as far as it concerns bears. I carried the ursack for mice. I wanted the one they make for mice but just stuck with the heavier bag. It is totally unnecessary to hang your food if you're worried about bears as long as you never leave your food unattended, as going sight seeing, latrine, etc. Over 70 hikers had their hanging food bags taken in and around Blood Mointain, making it necessary for that section of the trail to be closed to camping. On the trail almost no one was hanging their food towards the end, even though they all hanged their food in the beginning. In NH a chipmunk was a problem, at a shelter in Maine garbage cans were provided to store your food because of a crazy aggressive squirrel.

[map man]

It's never good for the long-term welfare of a wild animal, whether it's as big as a bear or small as a mouse, to have it get at your food. Sleeping with my food is not an option though clearly it is for others. I consistently hung my food in a bear bag no matter where I was the first few years I hiked and that is not always easy. If you are in dense forest almost all growth is up and decent-sized branches growing out sideways (the kind you need for hanging) can be really rare. I've spent a long time in camp looking for the right tree where I could hang my food well away from the trunk, and then once found even after a lot of practice it can take time to get your line over the branch, hoist the food bag, tie down the end of the line, etc. And this takes place at the end of the day when you are tired. This is why a lot of folks quit hanging their food.

This all changed for me in the first area I hiked where regulations required a bear canister. I bought and used a 2.5 pound bear canister and have now used it on all hiking trips since, whether it is required or not. It's worth lugging around the extra weight to me to avoid the hassle of hanging and knowing no critter is going to get at my food. I've never tried an ursack and can't speak to that option.

[yappy]

We have something up here calld theopsak ..not sure if it is in the stattes or not but it is an plastic bag ..like ziplocks..tht r an odor barrier thy block any scent of food or toothpaste etc u have to kp clean on outside obviously folks use them while salmon fishg huntg hikg etc there r many places tht r treeless up here and folks sleep w food in tents the bears here r anothr breed big wild and if thy want u thy don't hesitate....this seems 2 work tho..I haven't used them yet but know plenty who have ..will b using them next yr sorry 4 typos and such I blame my phone 4 all u critics haha