Bear Necessities: The Best Bear Proof Containers for Backpacking
1. Bare Boxer Lightweight Bear Resistant Food Canister
Weighing only 1.6 pounds, the Bare Boxer is THE lightest APPROVED bear canister in the market for its volume! Its compact design can slip easily into your backpack for use in National parks & forests with canister regulations. Compact & light design makes the Bare Boxer the ideal companion for shorter hiking and backpacking trips! Easy for you to open and impossible for the bear. Simply use almost any key*, knife, or a multi-tool like a Swiss army knife to open the 3 locks.
2. Bear Vault BV500
This large-capacity container’s 700 cubic inch interior stashes enough supplies for weeklong trips into bear country. An innovative tool-free top gives you quick access to your goodies, and the see-through polycarbonate housing and extra-wide lid make it easy to find what you’re looking for. Slip this lightweight Bear Vault canister into your expedition pack or use the guides to strap it down.
3. Ursac Major
The Ursack Major Bear Bag is food protection against pesky bears. Lightweight and much easier to work with than the rigid bear containers, they certainly shrink down as you gobble up the food inside. Tear-resistant and certified, you should hang it from a tree or hide it, just be sure to secure it to a fixed object and keep it far from camp.
- Made of “bullet proof” UHMWP fabric and is designed to prevent bears from getting your food in their territory
- It comes with an integrated six foot, 2,500 pound tensile strength cord
- It is about 24 inches in circumference, 14 inches tall and holds about 650 cubic inches (10.65 Liters)
- If packed only with freeze dried food, it will hold 37 single servings of breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Weighs 7.6 ounces
4. Frontiersman Bear Safe & Resistant 11.86 Liter Food Storage Container
This durable food storage container is made for multi-day hikes and has a generous 11.86-liter (734.64 cubic inch) capacity. The container easily packs inside 45 liter or larger bags along with your other outdoor gear; Tapered design helps to make the most of your pack space and prevents awkward load distribution for comfortable carrying. A locking mechanism secures the lid using three solid screws to ensure the lid stays tightly closed; A high pressure release valve allows the container to flex without breaking if a bear attempts to get inside. The smooth polypropylene container is tough and difficult for bears to grasp; It keeps bears out!
5. Counter Assault Bear Keg
The Counter Assault Bear Keg container is about as simple as it gets. It’s fairly small but can still pack a lot of dry goods without issue and requires only a simple flathead screwdriver to open which you should probably have on you, to begin with. Very similar in nature to other tool opened options on this list, the Counter Assault Bear Keg is very affordable and also on the list of approved bear-resistant canisters for a large majority of National Parks within the united states.
Will bear canisters keep bears from smelling the food inside the canister?
Not completely. Bears have some of the best noses on the planet and given that it is nearly impossible to completely contain the smell of food, you’ll probably wind up attracting bear if you leave it sitting around long enough. This is why it’s highly recommended that you store your food both downwind and away from your camp just in case a curious bear comes wandering around and catches a whiff of your food.
Is human food bad for bears?
Bears actually really like human food – especially junk food. Many studies have been conducted to assess the impact that human food has on various North American bear species and while it won’t outright kill them if they eat it, they can become dependent on human food and will seek it out on some occasions.
Bears are more or fewer carnivores and a large part of their diet consists of fresh meats they really only resort to eating fruit during periods when they can’t find fresh meat. Another reason to keep bears away from your food is for their own health. It has been discovered that bears who eat enough human food will often hibernate less and at later periods than other bears do.
Who certifies bear canisters?
As you read through various regulations and requirements for your specific hiking or camping site, you’ll start seeing two acronyms pop up: IGBC and SIBBG. These mean “International Grizzly Bear Committee” and “Sierra Interagency Black Bear Group.”
The SIBBG has disbanded but you’ll still see their name pop up since that’s what Yosemite uses for their accepted canister requirements (and many other national parks end up taking Yosemite’s lead in creating their guidelines).
The IGBC is still active in certifying new canisters so the ones on this list are just a handful of the options you have at your disposal. Although black bears and grizzly bears only show up in a handful of places across the united states, (most notably Alaska and the Pacific northwest) there are other places where bears do exist that you normally wouldn’t expect so it helps to read the rules and regulations of your desired campsite before you head out.
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