Bear Food Storage - Hang or Canister?

If backpacking in a place with active bears but no regulations, hang food or pack bear canister?

  • Hang it

    Votes: 22 68.8%

  • Pack the canister

    Votes: 6 18.8%

  • Purple!!!

    Votes: 4 12.5%
  • Total voters
    32
Nick said:
Whoa! you packed in the electric fence system?!!? We need to hear more about this!
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I bought that fence when we backpacked and kayaked along the coast in Alaska a few years ago.

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It's about 3.7 pounds, so it's not too bad. I used it in the Weminuche (oops!) Washakie a couple of years ago because I went up there in the thick of grizzly country. Every single person we saw near the trailhead in the Weminuche Washakie was carrying at least a large handgun, and most were carrying combinations of handguns, rifles, and bear spray. It felt a little spookier than Alaska, actually.

In Alaska, I woke up the first morning with a hummingbird sitting on the fence. That didn't give me a warm-fuzzy that the fence would deter a bear, but I kept reminding myself about the electrical theory of the fence, and I just trusted it.
 
Aldaron said:
And sometimes a bear canister is just not enough. Here's a campsite I had in the backcountry of the Weminuche Wilderness:

And before anyone says anything...the Wal-mart tent is not mine...but the bear fence is :)
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Those electric fences are awesome. They're even recommended in Alaska due to the gazillion bears to one human, (I could be overestimating, and you should read it: Alaska Backcountry bears do not fear humans like a lot of continental US bears. This is why I ONLY recommend a gun in Alaska...and the people can be crazy there too o_O )
Where did you get it? Heavy? Easy to set up? Is the Weninuche notorious for bears? I've never backpacked Colorado.

I have hung food off a cliff before in the Winds and Sierras (Pre-canister days). It works just as well as long as you don't drop the food hang to the base of the cliff :).

Like @pixie1339 says just taking precautions for the one in a guguplextrillion chance of a bear attack is best no matter which way you bear-proof your food.

Great thread, Salud!
 
Sorry @Aldaron your post at 2208 didn't show up until after I posted. Thanks for the info.
 
Crap...did I say Weminuche? Yeah, there are no grizzlies in Colorado! I meant to say the Washakie in Wyoming. Sorry! Hey, they both start with a W!

Yeah, the Washakie is bad for grizzlies. But that's what makes it exciting!

The fence is pretty easy to set up...it just takes an hour or so to unwind all the wires. For me, the biggest problems are getting the wire taut and having enough room at the campsite for sufficient standoff within the fence. It doesn't really help if your tent is just 6 inches from the fence when the bear can just reach over...and campsites aren't often big enough for that much room.

I hung food off a cliff in the Beartooths a couple of times...that resulted in me needing a new food bag because I wasn't careful when lowering and raising the bag, so I ripped a bunch of small holes in it.

And, yeah, we had several firearms with us in the Washakie. Oddly enough, I didn't take any guns to Alaska.
 
Aldaron said:
Crap...did I say Weminuche? Yeah, there are no grizzlies in Colorado! I meant to say the Washakie in Wyoming. Sorry! Hey, they both start with a W!

Yeah, the Washakie is bad for grizzlies. But that's what makes it exciting!

The fence is pretty easy to set up...it just takes an hour or so to unwind all the wires. For me, the biggest problems are getting the wire taut and having enough room at the campsite for sufficient standoff within the fence. It doesn't really help if your tent is just 6 inches from the fence when the bear can just reach over...and campsites aren't often big enough for that much room.

I hung food off a cliff in the Beartooths a couple of times...that resulted in me needing a new food bag because I wasn't careful when lowering and raising the bag, so I ripped a bunch of small holes in it.

And, yeah, we had several firearms with us in the Washakie. Oddly enough, I didn't take any guns to Alaska.
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Weminuche...Washakie...what's the difference right? It's all beautiful.

I'll have to look into one of those fences. I think it would just give me a little more peace of mind in deep griz country.

I've also grated a hang bag into cheese cloth before as well. It doesn't take long with the sharp granite.
 
TannerT said:
I think it would just give me a little more peace of mind in deep griz country.
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It did make us feel better in Alaska and the Washakie. I'm still not TOTALLY sold on how well it would work, but I can buy the theory behind it, so I believe it would most likely work.

Basically, the electrical shock is fairly light, but the theory is that a bear will try to lick something it's curious about. And, of course, no one likes being surprised by a shock on your tongue, so the bear is scared off by the shock.

I've read a lot of stuff that people in Alaska use them at hunting camps, so it makes me feel that they trust them, and they probably have some first or second hand experiences with the fences.

And, hey, anything that helps me sleep better, whether justifiably or not, while camping in a crazy remote area of Alaska with coastal brown bears wandering around, is worth the 3 pounds in my book!
 
I opt to hang when regulations don't require otherwise for all the advantages listed in this thread. In addition to hanging, I line my bear bag with a nylopro bag that is supposed to be odor proof. They were originally available for purchase through litetrail.com but that now redirects to a post on backpackinglight.com with info about how to place an order via paypal. I think the guy who ran litetrail.com couldn't keep up with the whole site he had been running, which used to offer some other items, so he took it down and now just does the bags via paypal. I like them. They are extremely light weight, easier to close off by twisting and twirling the top of the bag, folding it over, and applying a twisty tie onto it and I don't have to worry about it folding or bending in my back in a way that would break the seal as has happened on me with a Loksak. And the medium size seems to hold more food when needed than I've been able to safely insert into the larger sized Loksak. I ordered packs of both large and medium bags last year. I use the large size as a pack liner to hold my sleeping bag and clothing in. I use the medium bag for holding food on multi-day trips. However, for single nighters, I'll still just stick with a smaller size Loksak and I'll use the same small Loksak for holding a day's worth of snacks and lunch at the top of my pack or in an outside pack pocket for each access on multi-day trips.

Regardless of the brand/make of OP bag used, having all food stored in an OP bag helps to ensure I don't have any food smells leech onto my other gear and pack which gives me a bit more peace of mind when I go to sleep for the night.

For food storage, I think I'll alternate between the two types on trips this next year just to get more experience with each under and to test their durability and then post a review with a more detailed analysis on the pros and cons of each on them.
 
I personally hate having to hang at the end of a long day so I started using a canister last summer. Bare boxer contender 3 day canister... Weighs only 1.6 lbs and I can throw my folded up z lite on top and sit on it.
 
Vegan.Hiker said:
I personally hate having to hang at the end of a long day so I started using a canister last summer. Bare boxer contender 3 day canister... Weighs only 1.6 lbs and I can throw my folded up z lite on top and sit on it.
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Gets more interesting after dark when your flashlight decides to puke and then you start hearing snapping branches. Cheap thrills.
 
Vegan.Hiker said:
I personally hate having to hang at the end of a long day so I started using a canister last summer. Bare boxer contender 3 day canister... Weighs only 1.6 lbs and I can throw my folded up z lite on top and sit on it.
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That seems like a ton of weight to carry just to avoid hanging. Is it really worth it? Do you carry it on most or all trips or just in certain areas?
 
Nick said:
That seems like a ton of weight to carry just to avoid hanging. Is it really worth it? Do you carry it on most or all trips or just in certain areas?
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Maybe I'm a clutz but to hang it right, like as in 15 feet high between 2 trees, is a total pain the butt imo and seems to take me at least 20 minutes each time (not to mention getting it back down in the morning). And I always seem to be racing daylight to finish dinner, brush my teeth, and hang. I've done the quick 3 minute hang from a branch but we all know that's not too reliable, especially against rodents who can climb vertically on cordage. They are required in the ADK's but I took the canister on a local overnight where it wasn't required last year and loved being able to just walk off and drop it without worrying about sunlight and spending what should be a relaxing evening, wandering around looking for the perfect tree, tossing rocks and untangling knots.
 
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Nick said:
That seems like a ton of weight to carry just to avoid hanging. Is it really worth it? Do you carry it on most or all trips or just in certain areas?
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I'd rather carry the extra weight of a canister than deal with hanging, too. Easier for me. To each their own. I'm willing to carry the added weight for the convenience. I've got photos to take!
 
Wild. I guess we need a thread on how to 'properly' hang. I quite enjoy watching drunk people do it at the end of the night. I'm sure we did it right! :confused:

Vegan.Hiker said:
I've done the quick 3 minute hang from a branch but we all know that's usually not too reliable, especially against rodents who can climb vertically on cordage.
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I wouldn't say we all do, as that's all I've ever really done and I've never had a problem of any kind with it. Maybe I'm lucky?
 
I think I've developed some lazy habits over the past couple years - when I'm only in marginal bear areas (the Uintas, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, northern New England), I generally just use my food as a pillow. Probably not the smartest, in case a bear decides to use my pillow as food. However I do have way fewer problems with rodents that way, which is worth a lot to me. The philosophy is that, in areas where bears are more timid, they won't want to fight me over a bag of Dorritos. Obviously grizzly country, the Sierra, the ADKs, the Smokies, etc are a whole different ballgame. Not saying I do it right, but it's what's worked for me thus far.
 
Vegan.Hiker said:
Rodents are an issue out here, I wonder if they aren't so much out west?
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Well there are a lot more rodents back east, and certain areas see very high use compared to the remote parts of the west. Also AT-style shelters are absolute jungle gyms for mice!
 
LarryBoy said:
I think I've developed some lazy habits over the past couple years - when I'm only in marginal bear areas (the Uintas, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, northern New England), I generally just use my food as a pillow.
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I usually sleep with my food too. I don't in grizzly country (although I do have different opinions than most on this subject). I would also use a canister in places like the Sierra's, where the bears are habituated.
 
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