Good video. I have tried all these too. I think of an Ursack as a "critter" bag. There are cases of bears eventually chewing through them. It's rare, and takes a big hungry bear, but it's happened. But even if a bear doesn't rip it open, it will smush all your food, and slobber all over the bag, leaving you with inedible mush. Ursacks are GREAT at keeping chipmunks, ravens, mice, racoons, squirrels out of your food, and on a day after day, hike after hike, trail after trail basis, this is far more common than bears. Canisters have been defeated by bears, but that's hyper rare. Things like a bear pushing it off a cliff to where it breaks. I take my canister when required. The rest of the time the Ursack works great. I've never lost food on a PCT hang, but know two people that have. I've had birds try to attack a hung bag, and poke holes in it. There are a LOT of people who just sleep with their food, even in the Sierras and northern Rockies. A bear would have to be really hungry, almost desperate, and fearless to try and take it from you. I grew up doing this, but not any more. I'm a big believer in keeping bags, canisters as clean as possible, and putting all my food and wrappers in gallon freezer bags. I've tried the Opsack, which supposedly blocks all odor (I doubt this, but may cut the scent way, way, way down), but find them fragile, and not much more than an expensive, glorified freezer bag.
Boundary Waters veteran here. My strategy is to use an Ursak with a Loksak odor-proof bag for anything that has a scent. Six trips - no bear or critter issues so far. More importantly, I keep a clean camp and clean dishes and fish far from my sleeping and hangout areas. So far so good! I’ll do anything to avoid schlepping a canister around.
We mostly hike in the Sierras so are always required to have a bear can. It's heavy, but it's safe and easy, as you say. One time we were in a place that only required a dry bag and I was so paranoid all night that a critter would chew a hole in it, but we got lucky.
Overall a very accurate video with fair unbiased opinions about food storage. One detail I would like to add about the dry storage bag: While this might be a great option on the AT (which was mentioned several times) the dry storage bag runs into problems in the Western United States with trying to find a tree to hang it. Elevations are higher out here and I have done a LOT of backpacking above 9500 ft elevation. At that elevation you are getting close to tree line and there are not very many trees and many of the ones there don't grow very tall. When you get above 10500 ft, trees for hanging a bag become VERY hard to find. Over the years I have used URSack with a lot of success. For this reason the seasoned backpacker will own all three of these options and use whichever one works best to the particular circumstance. Great video.
Hi, I truly believe my bear canister saved my life. I slipped and fell backward on a rock slab safely landing on my bear canister instead of my head smashing on the slab. Will not hike without it now. Great video. Interest rates are up.... that extra 200k you have laying around could earn you 10k in a 1 year cd. That's a free thru-hike. 😊
Thanks. Great video and glad I stumbled onto it. I'm transitioning from a bear bag to canister and just purchased the BearVault 450. Everything you say is right, especially about how even when you are down to a small amount of food, the Bearvault will reamain the same size. I'm trying to see that as a positve because it doesn't change so you know what you are working with, every day of your hike. Not sure that makes sense. Thanks and happy trails.🤘🏻🥾🏔
Great info, thanks! April 2024 is my attempt (nobo), will turn 53 on the trail. Newbies like me to this type of hiking need all the help with info we can get!
If I have extra space in my canister, like on a simple overnight trip, I use it to carry my sleeping bag with my food. Sure some of the food might rub off onto it like cheese and salami but I figure I can was the bag later😉
Do you put your first aid kit and other smellables in the bear canister/storage aswell? I've been trained to put all smellables in the bear storage but it seams impractical when using something like a bear canister. What do you do with first aid kits and other items like toiletries?
Hey! Good question. I try to put all smellables in there, really all that turns out to be is a small tube of toothpaste. I typically don’t bring deodorant or any ointments, neosporin, or anything that would have a scent. My backpack first aid kit is an ace bandage, couple bandaids and ibuprofen. Thanks for the comment!
It’s really Dependent on the trail/wilderness. I Prefer a canister, but it is heavy. I put rocks on top of the canister to act as an alarm system if any animals try to get to it at night.
I bring a plain old nylon food bag most of the time. Here in my part of MO I haven’t seen signs of any bears. But I have had goats steak my trail mix. Every time I’m doing a bear hang I WISH I had my canister. And when I do bring the canister it feels so worth the weight. If I can figure out the space I’ll usually strap it to the outside of my kelty trekker 65. Only reason I don’t bring it solo is because the small quantity of food for an overnight isn’t worth it but I bring it when someone goes with me
Goats!?! haha, that's a whole knew critter to worry about. They can eat for days too huh? I hear ya though, when I'm out there without a canister, trying to hang food...really wish I had one with me.
When using an ursack, I think it's important to pair it with the scent proof opsack plastic bag. There's endless videos of a bear tearing out the bottom of the ursack after catching the scent of food inside. But if the bear or 'mini bears' can't smell your food, then you're going to have another level of protection by them not checking out your food. The Opsack weighs very little. This has worked well for me on my hikes of the AT, PCT, Long Trail and more.
great review. yes, I've done the "in the tent" thing too, but only in areas where bears are scarce and the greater risk is from marmots or other small critters. I triple bag the food inside 3 large plastic garbage bag, tying each one tight before putting it into the next outer one. My thinking is that very little smell will get thru 3 layers of plastic, that I probably have more smell on my clothes, breath, etc. Could be wrong of course. And in areas where there are lots of bears, I use the canister.
Hey Hollywood, I’m new to your channel. I have really been enjoying your videos. I have always used a food bag until recently. I injured my shoulder and doing a bear hang has become challenging. I have a new 475 Bear Vault. I hope it will work good for 3 to 4 days on the trail. There are definitely a few advantages to a bear can as you pointed out. They say they make good seat or a small table. One thing to consider is more and more areas are requiring bear cans. I’m just having a hard time justifying the weight. One thing I did, as suggested by others, was to put pieces of reflective tape all around the can to facilitate finding it in the dark. I have also hear of people putting micro gps tracker in the can so they can find them with their phone. I need to look more into that. Thanks for the great video and have a great day!
Hey! Welcome to the channel 🙂 Great points you got, love the seat aspect of it. Reflective tape is a great idea as well. I think they have a bit of that on there already, but more certainly won't hurt. Appreciate the comment!
I can fit 5 days of food in a BV450. But this depends on the food. For example, trail mix with a lot of nuts is a LOT of dense calories, and almost no packaging compared to freeze dried meals. Don't forget, your first night out is "free". That is, you don't need to put your first night's backpacking meal in the canister, as you will be consuming it before you go to sleep (you will want to put the dead wrappers in the canister, I recommend inside a gallon sized freezer bag).
Good question, never had any issues with mice in either. The cables are really hard for the mice to climb, by design. And the bear boxes seal up pretty tight. Sure it’s happened before, but from my experience, pretty solid choices. Thanks for the comment!
I’ve heard too many stories about having to search the woods for the can in the morning after bears played soccer with it all night. If I had to carry a canister, I’d still want to put it in a bear box or hang in anyways. Totally understand why certain areas make you have one, but they do suck. I’m a dry bag guy myself.
100 yards away?? First im afraid of not finding it, second im not sure why im afraid of other hikers stealing food. Does that ever happen on thru hikes??
Haha that’d be something. Haven’t heard of it yet, but sure it’s happened. To be fair, they say to put it 100 yards away, I typically get lazy and put it about 50. Thanks for the comment!
When it's cold, there's a trick you can do with an old credit card to get it open. You put the credit card between the lid and the can right by the lock tab - it helps the lid glide over the lock bumps even when it's cold.
The Bear Cannister he showed is most likely flawed. If that is the one that you can open with your hands without a coin or screwdriver bears can get into it. In the Adirondacks I saw a sign telling hikers not to use that type and they had one that was ripped up. The Rangers there do not want you to use that type. I use the old fashioned one where you need to you use a coin, keys, screwdriver to open. My Bear Cannister has claw marks all over it but no real damage.
Thanks for the comment. This one isn’t flawed and works just as well as the others that use coins in terms of bears. All comes down to personal preference
Backpacks are not designed to accommodate bear cans and bear cans are not designed to fit in backpacks. Putting bear cans on top of the pack raises your center of gravity a lot, causing instability.
Good video. I have tried all these too. I think of an Ursack as a "critter" bag. There are cases of bears eventually chewing through them. It's rare, and takes a big hungry bear, but it's happened. But even if a bear doesn't rip it open, it will smush all your food, and slobber all over the bag, leaving you with inedible mush. Ursacks are GREAT at keeping chipmunks, ravens, mice, racoons, squirrels out of your food, and on a day after day, hike after hike, trail after trail basis, this is far more common than bears. Canisters have been defeated by bears, but that's hyper rare. Things like a bear pushing it off a cliff to where it breaks. I take my canister when required. The rest of the time the Ursack works great.
I've never lost food on a PCT hang, but know two people that have. I've had birds try to attack a hung bag, and poke holes in it.
There are a LOT of people who just sleep with their food, even in the Sierras and northern Rockies. A bear would have to be really hungry, almost desperate, and fearless to try and take it from you. I grew up doing this, but not any more.
I'm a big believer in keeping bags, canisters as clean as possible, and putting all my food and wrappers in gallon freezer bags. I've tried the Opsack, which supposedly blocks all odor (I doubt this, but may cut the scent way, way, way down), but find them fragile, and not much more than an expensive, glorified freezer bag.
Awesome recap! Thanks so much for this. Guess it really just depends on the situation which we’re going to bring. Thanks again for the comment!!
Thank you for the kind words about my dad. He has talked about you and enjoyed spending sometime with you 🤍
Boundary Waters veteran here. My strategy is to use an Ursak with a Loksak odor-proof bag for anything that has a scent. Six trips - no bear or critter issues so far. More importantly, I keep a clean camp and clean dishes and fish far from my sleeping and hangout areas. So far so good! I’ll do anything to avoid schlepping a canister around.
I know exactly what you mean! Those canisters are pretty cumbersome
LOVE this vid. Takes a long time to figure out what's best for you, and constantly changes, great job with it
Thanks a bunch!
Gotta store that food!!! How do you do it?
We mostly hike in the Sierras so are always required to have a bear can. It's heavy, but it's safe and easy, as you say. One time we were in a place that only required a dry bag and I was so paranoid all night that a critter would chew a hole in it, but we got lucky.
I just purchased my BearVault. Found your channel. Subscribed!
Thanks for watching!!! Welcome :-)
@@PackAndSoul - absolutely!
Overall a very accurate video with fair unbiased opinions about food storage. One detail I would like to add about the dry storage bag: While this might be a great option on the AT (which was mentioned several times) the dry storage bag runs into problems in the Western United States with trying to find a tree to hang it. Elevations are higher out here and I have done a LOT of backpacking above 9500 ft elevation. At that elevation you are getting close to tree line and there are not very many trees and many of the ones there don't grow very tall. When you get above 10500 ft, trees for hanging a bag become VERY hard to find. Over the years I have used URSack with a lot of success. For this reason the seasoned backpacker will own all three of these options and use whichever one works best to the particular circumstance. Great video.
EXCELLENT point. You’re absolutely right, hard to hang a food bag without a tree! Thanks so much for the contribution, and appreciate you watching!
Hi, I truly believe my bear canister saved my life. I slipped and fell backward on a rock slab safely landing on my bear canister instead of my head smashing on the slab. Will not hike without it now. Great video.
Interest rates are up.... that extra 200k you have laying around could earn you 10k in a 1 year cd. That's a free thru-hike. 😊
Wow, that’s a wild story! Glad you’re okay. Wish I had 200k lying around lol
One of the best vids on the topic I’ve seen. Nicely done
Really appreciate that
Thanks. Great video and glad I stumbled onto it. I'm transitioning from a bear bag to canister and just purchased the BearVault 450. Everything you say is right, especially about how even when you are down to a small amount of food, the Bearvault will reamain the same size. I'm trying to see that as a positve because it doesn't change so you know what you are working with, every day of your hike. Not sure that makes sense. Thanks and happy trails.🤘🏻🥾🏔
Thanks for the comment! Makes perfect sense. And when I’m out in heavy hear country, having that vault is super reassuring!
Great video. I’m an ursack convert but I agree. You need to have all options depending on the trip.
Thanks for watching and the comment!
something good on this channel every week, star
That’s means a lot, thanks!
depends solely on the trail, love the video, you're good at this, keep it up
Yeah, definitely trail dependent
Great info, thanks! April 2024 is my attempt (nobo), will turn 53 on the trail. Newbies like me to this type of hiking need all the help with info we can get!
Yessss!! Love to hear that. Keep in touch, and any questions you have, feel free to reach out
Your intro is sooo nice. Really conveys how much you love the outdoors!
That’s so kind of you! Appreciate it :-)
If I have extra space in my canister, like on a simple overnight trip, I use it to carry my sleeping bag with my food. Sure some of the food might rub off onto it like cheese and salami but I figure I can was the bag later😉
Great idea to carry other things in the bar bag!
Do you put your first aid kit and other smellables in the bear canister/storage aswell? I've been trained to put all smellables in the bear storage but it seams impractical when using something like a bear canister. What do you do with first aid kits and other items like toiletries?
Hey! Good question. I try to put all smellables in there, really all that turns out to be is a small tube of toothpaste. I typically don’t bring deodorant or any ointments, neosporin, or anything that would have a scent. My backpack first aid kit is an ace bandage, couple bandaids and ibuprofen. Thanks for the comment!
I love hearing your Trail wisdom, Hollywood, and especially your honesty❣️😎🥰
Thanks for the comparisons❣️😎
Keep’em comin❣️😃👍🏻👍🏻
Thanks for the motivation! Love your comments :-)
It’s really Dependent on the trail/wilderness. I Prefer a canister, but it is heavy. I put rocks on top of the canister to act as an alarm system if any animals try to get to it at night.
Rocks are a good idea
I always learn so much watching you. Thanks for sharing.
Love that! Thanks Lena :-)
I bring a plain old nylon food bag most of the time. Here in my part of MO I haven’t seen signs of any bears. But I have had goats steak my trail mix. Every time I’m doing a bear hang I WISH I had my canister. And when I do bring the canister it feels so worth the weight. If I can figure out the space I’ll usually strap it to the outside of my kelty trekker 65. Only reason I don’t bring it solo is because the small quantity of food for an overnight isn’t worth it but I bring it when someone goes with me
Goats!?! haha, that's a whole knew critter to worry about. They can eat for days too huh? I hear ya though, when I'm out there without a canister, trying to hang food...really wish I had one with me.
When using an ursack, I think it's important to pair it with the scent proof opsack plastic bag. There's endless videos of a bear tearing out the bottom of the ursack after catching the scent of food inside. But if the bear or 'mini bears' can't smell your food, then you're going to have another level of protection by them not checking out your food. The Opsack weighs very little. This has worked well for me on my hikes of the AT, PCT, Long Trail and more.
Great point, thanks for the comment
great review. yes, I've done the "in the tent" thing too, but only in areas where bears are scarce and the greater risk is from marmots or other small critters. I triple bag the food inside 3 large plastic garbage bag, tying each one tight before putting it into the next outer one. My thinking is that very little smell will get thru 3 layers of plastic, that I probably have more smell on my clothes, breath, etc. Could be wrong of course. And in areas where there are lots of bears, I use the canister.
Appreciate the comment! Yeah that all makes sense to me. It’s like, it all works and is fine…until it isn’t lol
The small 425 bear vault STILL doesn't fit well in my pack, but I will pack around it by stuffing things around it.
I know! Those things are always tough. Which pack do you have?
@@PackAndSoul its an Osprey. I LOVE IT
@@mooseliver1772 amazing!
Hey Hollywood, I’m new to your channel. I have really been enjoying your videos.
I have always used a food bag until recently. I injured my shoulder and doing a bear hang has become challenging. I have a new 475 Bear Vault. I hope it will work good for 3 to 4 days on the trail. There are definitely a few advantages to a bear can as you pointed out. They say they make good seat or a small table. One thing to consider is more and more areas are requiring bear cans. I’m just having a hard time justifying the weight.
One thing I did, as suggested by others, was to put pieces of reflective tape all around the can to facilitate finding it in the dark. I have also hear of people putting micro gps tracker in the can so they can find them with their phone. I need to look more into that. Thanks for the great video and have a great day!
Hey! Welcome to the channel 🙂 Great points you got, love the seat aspect of it. Reflective tape is a great idea as well. I think they have a bit of that on there already, but more certainly won't hurt. Appreciate the comment!
I can fit 5 days of food in a BV450. But this depends on the food. For example, trail mix with a lot of nuts is a LOT of dense calories, and almost no packaging compared to freeze dried meals.
Don't forget, your first night out is "free". That is, you don't need to put your first night's backpacking meal in the canister, as you will be consuming it before you go to sleep (you will want to put the dead wrappers in the canister, I recommend inside a gallon sized freezer bag).
@@PhilAndersonOutside that sounds like a good way to go. Thanks.
@@PhilAndersonOutside great advice! Keep the first night’s food out. Love it.
great advice! thanks again
Appreciate that!
Regarding the cables and bear boxes: I would be concerned with mice getting into my food with both of those methods. What has your experience been?
Good question, never had any issues with mice in either. The cables are really hard for the mice to climb, by design. And the bear boxes seal up pretty tight. Sure it’s happened before, but from my experience, pretty solid choices. Thanks for the comment!
Any thoughts on using the bear canister as a camp stool?
Absolutely!
Alot of good information.
Thanks for watching!
I’ve heard too many stories about having to search the woods for the can in the morning after bears played soccer with it all night. If I had to carry a canister, I’d still want to put it in a bear box or hang in anyways. Totally understand why certain areas make you have one, but they do suck. I’m a dry bag guy myself.
I like the dry bag too, my preferred choice
I've got a silly question....what is best practice for storing weed? I've had a few pungent bags that got me thinking about tossing it in a bear bag.
Not silly! They say anything with a scent should go in the bear bag. So if you got some good stuff, prob wanna throw that in there too ;-)
Thanks.
Thanks for watching!
love the ursack
Me too!
I love the food barrel myself, but I canoe. . . 🤘🏼
#NorthMichigan
Canoeing is prob way more fun than walking lol
@@PackAndSoul I canoe to cool spots and do day hikes. I like a 2 parts canoe 1 part hiking mix ratio combo!
100 yards away?? First im afraid of not finding it, second im not sure why im afraid of other hikers stealing food.
Does that ever happen on thru hikes??
Haha that’d be something. Haven’t heard of it yet, but sure it’s happened. To be fair, they say to put it 100 yards away, I typically get lazy and put it about 50. Thanks for the comment!
So basically no matter how you store your food if a bear has previously found food in someones tent then youre still at risk
Yeah pretty much! They get what they want
cold/warm makes a HUGE difference with the lock
Great point!
When it's cold, there's a trick you can do with an old credit card to get it open. You put the credit card between the lid and the can right by the lock tab - it helps the lid glide over the lock bumps even when it's cold.
But aren’t the bear canisters not odor proof? Just bear proof from stealing your food right?
Right, you can buy odor bags as well to stop the smell. But I‘ve never used them, have heard mixed reviews on them.
@@PackAndSoul gosh it’s like what do you do then .. no real remidy
@@Thatcntrygirl1 its true, bears are gonna be there no matter what we do, I suppose it's just mitigation at a certain point
The Bear Cannister he showed is most likely flawed. If that is the one that you can open with your hands without a coin or screwdriver bears can get into it. In the Adirondacks I saw a sign telling hikers not to use that type and they had one that was ripped up. The Rangers there do not want you to use that type. I use the old fashioned one where you need to you use a coin, keys, screwdriver to open. My Bear Cannister has claw marks all over it but no real damage.
Thanks for the comment. This one isn’t flawed and works just as well as the others that use coins in terms of bears. All comes down to personal preference
Backpacks are not designed to accommodate bear cans and bear cans are not designed to fit in backpacks. Putting bear cans on top of the pack raises your center of gravity a lot, causing instability.
Yup you got that right
Good video, but Kevlar wasnt worn by knights, it was only invented in 1965
Good point
Aren't you yurself the "food" when in grizzly country?
Haha good point
dry brag mostly, but gotta hang it right
Yup! Been there