Re: Bear canisters revisited (please)

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Posted by Bill S on April 3, 2007 at 1:02:16 pm EDT
In reply to Re: Bear canisters revisited (please) posted by Karman on April 1, 2007 at 10:55:17 am EDT

The only thing that has really changed in the past few years on bear containers is that there are more companies making them these days.

First thing, as hinted at by some of the posts, is that what works depends on what part of the world you are in. For example, in much of the Eastern US, you can get along just fine by simply putting the food in a bag of some type (your pack, for example), hauling it up with some parachute cord tossed over a limb 15 feet up or so, and tying it off to the tree trunk. Try that in the Sierra, and you will have no food or pack in 3 to 4 hours, with a couple more bears prowling around wondering where it went.

The Ursack works in some areas, but is not approved for use in Yosemite or Inyo National Forest (they check when you are getting your permit, as well as warning you when you make your reservation 6 months in advance - try for the reservation less than 6 months in advance and there are none left except walk-ins, for which there is always a line). Those locations require portable canister from a small group that have passed a test (Sacramento zoo has some of the exiled bears, and they put the containers in the enclosure with them to see if the container survives). Yosemite accepts the Bear Vault, but Inyo NF has had several incidents in which the bears managed to get into Bear Vaults. Bear Vaults are not recommended for grizzly country, according to the company, but are ok for black bears (except Inyo NF). UrSacks have not survived the "Yosemite University for Bears" tests, even in the latest version, according to the rangers at the Yosemite Backcountry Office.

The only 2 backpackable containers that are accepted for all US and Canadian venues are the Garcia and BearIKade. They are heavier than the Bear Vault or some of the other canister type, or the UrSack.

Best thing is to contact the rangers or land managers for the area you are going to spend most of your time in for the next few years to see what works there. If, like much of the Rockies in Colorado and New Mexico, you can get along with just a bag and some parachute cord or counterbalancing, then save your money. Or, as in Yosemite, if you can just rent the container or only have to come up with a refundable deposit, again save your money. But if you are going to Denali NP, you may have to spring for a BearIKade.

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