Tips for Choosing Backpacking Bear Canisters and Bags

Pictured to the left is the hard-walled bear canister that we pack whenever we backpack into ursine country. Sure, it is an extra two pounds that I really don't want to lug on my back. True, a bear has never tried to claw his or her way into it. Are we still glad to carry it? Absolutely. Have you ever seen the PBS show with grizzly bears pounding their way in to trash dumpsters?

In the Colorado mountain wilderness areas there are two animals to avoid, moose and bears. Moose do not want your food, they just want you to stay out of their way. Bears will gladly feast on whatever you bring into their domain. That is why it is an iron-clad rule that backpackers have their food in a bear canister or bear bag when hiking and camping in wilderness areas frequented by our ursine neighbors. Along with keeping your food away from bears, there is another plus; the smaller critters like raccoons, opossums and squirrels can not get to your grub either. They might not be dangerous, but they can eat most and scatter the rest of your food overnight.

Factors in choosing the right bear canister or bag come down to weight, cost, ease of use, number of days food it needs to hold, and whether it has other uses.

There are three basic types of food containers meant to frustrate bears. Opaque and transparent hard-walled canisters and high tech bear bags.

Backpackers Cache (the one pictured is our Bear Cache) is constructed of opaque ABS plastic and shaped so a bear would have a difficult time getting a good grip on it. Empty it weighs 2.7 pounds but we have carried food for two people, five days on the trail, and had room to put toothpaste, etc. in. The Bearikade, from Wild Ideas is made of an opaque carbon fiber with metal caps at each end and has an empty weight of 2.5 pounds. Both seal well against rain or moisture and have quick release locks that can be opened with the back of a knife blade. The Bearikade price is considerable higher than the Bear Cache.

Bear Vault makes their product from transparent polycarbonate with a screw-on top and an empty weight of 2.9 pounds. It has guides to hold pack straps in place when attached to a backpack. It also protects against moisture and is close to the Bear Cache in price.

It is recommended that an odor barrier plastic bag be used to line canisters to minimize escaping smells. In camp the hard-walled canisters should be wedged in the crook of a tree or between two boulders at least 50 yards away. That is so if a bear does happen across it they are not at your campsite. These canisters can also be used as little tables great for playing cards or stools.

Ursack added modern technology to the age-old bear bag. Fashioned from bulletproof fabric they are extremely difficult, maybe impossible for a bear to shred. To keep them from crushing the food inside, Ursack offers an optional aluminum liner. The empty weight is approximately 8 ounces without the aluminum liner. They are also not approved by the Sierra Interagency Black Bear Group. Their website has some cool videos of bears trying to get at food in an Ursack.

Any kind of bear bag should be hung over a tree limb at least 50 yards away from camp, at least 20 feet off the ground, and ten feet from the trunk of the tree. Above tree-line tie it securely around a boulder or log too big for a bear to drag away. A odor barrier plastic should also be used.

Using a bear canister or bag could mean learning to repackage your trail food. When a bear country park ranger asks to see it or a bear wanders near, you will be glad to have one. They are required in any National Park or National Forest where bears live.

Bear canisters and bags are meant for your welfare and for the bears, too.