What Are Bear Canisters For Backpacking?

What Are Bear Canisters For Backpacking?

When you’re venturing into the wilderness in areas known to be bear country, you’ll likely be faced with the question of whether or not to bring a bear canister for backpacking. On most occasions, if you are hiking and camping where bears are common, it is a good idea to bring one along. No matter how cumbersome they might seem.

If you’re new to hiking in bear territory, you might not be familiar with bear cans. Fortunately, they are pretty easy to use if you’re a human. However, there are some things you should know about bear canisters for backpacking before you bring one along.

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What Are Bear Canisters

Why You Need a Bear Canister

The main purpose of brining bear canisters for backpacking is keeping your food away from animals…particularly bears. While there are other ways to store your food at camp, these methods might not be available at every site. Bear poles, lockers, or trees to hang a bag from aren’t always an option. This is when bear cans are a great alternative.

Even when other methods are available, a bear canister may be more effective anyway. Animals that live near popular campsites may learn ways to get the food in a tree or bear pole.

These canisters, on the other hand, are practically impossible for them to get into. Even if they’ve seen one before they wont be able to open the lock. That doesn’t mean there aren’t skilled bears out there who are able to get to your food, but it does create quite the challenge that most bears will give up on.

Whether you prefer to use one or not, there are some national parks where you will have to bring along a bear canister for backpacking and camping. These are usually forests that have a high population of bears. Check with your park destination before heading out to see if they are necessary. You may be faced with a hefty fine if you’re caught without one!

The Importance of Keeping Food From Animals

So keeping your food in a bear canister will keep the animals from getting into it, but why is that important? Well there are a couple reasons we want to keep animals out of our food…

You Need Your Food

Being in the middle of the woods and having your food supply taken away can be a disaster. You need that energy to continue your journey, and you may be miles from the end of it. The further away you are from the trail head, the more dangerous of a situation this is. Protecting your food will protect yourself from a bad end to your trip.

Learn More About Backpacking Nutrition Here

It’s Bad for the Bears and Other Backpackers, Too

Bears are pretty smart and they need a lot of food. When they find a way to get an easy meal, they will remember it. If a bear got a bag full of goodies at someones campsite, chances are they will be coming back to that site often.

We don’t want bears to feel comfortable or encouraged to approach humans and their campsite. They may become bolder and more aggressive around humans which can be dangerous. Though bear attacks are rare, its important to know what to do if you come across a threatening bear. Learn more here.

Once bears start to exhibit these types of aggressive behavior, the national park may take action by putting the bear down. While this is for the safety of visitors, it is always a shame to end an animals life in this way.

When you store your food properly, you protect your fellow backpackers, yourself, and the bears. It’s a minor inconvenience for a large impact.

How To Use a Bear Canister

Using a bear canister is pretty straight forward, but there are some things to keep in mind in order to use it “properly”.

What to Pack in Your Bear Canister

Any food or scented item should go in your canister. This includes toothpaste, lotion, sunscreen, soap and deodorant. Food wrappers and garbage should also be tucked away in here.

Since some of these containers are small you may want to repackage these items or purchase travel-sized toiletries. Using baggies instead of cartons or boxes can save you a ton of space. This is also best practice for saving room in your backpack!

What Not to Pack in Your Bear Canister

There is no need to pack in any of the food you will be eating your first day and night on the trail. This will save you some space in your container and make your first day’s snacks easy to access. In fact, you may want to remove your snacks for the day each morning before setting off on your hike to keep your food accessible on the trail.

How to Store Your Bear Canister

At the end of the day, place your bear can at least 100 feet away from your campsite on a flat, soft surface. Avoid putting it on a hill or near a waterway where it might roll away on you.  Don’t put it on a rocky surface either because it will give a bear a better chance at cracking the can by putting its weight on it.

There is no need to hide your can, the animals will be able to find it by smell if they want to. Tucking it under leaves or in a hole will just make it harder for you to find it in the morning. Leave some sort of marker near the canister so you know where to find it.

Personalize Your Bear Canister

Many people will put stickers and decorations on their canisters to add a little style to it. While bedazzling it is unnecessary, you might want to add a sticker with your phone number on it in case it gets lost. These canisters are not cheap. You want to increase your odds of getting it back if you lose it.

How To Carry A Bear Canister

Bear canisters are heavy and bulky, even if you get a small one. Due to it’s size and weight, you’ll need to put it in the main pocket of your backpack. Strapping it on the bottom or side will cause it to move around a lot, throwing off your balance and potentially hurting your back. Instead, place it in the center of your backpack between your shoulder blades and close to your back to prevent pain and imbalances.

Buying vs Renting Bear Canisters

There are pros and cons to buying your own bear canister versus renting or loaning a canister. The answer for whether you should buy or rent really depends on your backpacking habits.

Renting

Buying

Pro: More Choices – If you buy your own bear canisters for backpacking, you can do some shopping around to find one that fits your needs in terms of size, color, shape, and lock mechanism. If you want to splurge, you can get one that is more lightweight and compact than one you’ll ever get as a rental.

Con: Expensive – If you don’t go backpacking in bear country often, it might not be worth the investment. Bear canisters range in price from $70 to over $300. You may want to evaluate whether that is worth it for you.

Whether you should rent or own really depends on your backpacking habits. If you frequently hike in forests where bears are common, you may be better off buying one. That way you can get one that is more modern and lightweight than ones you would get as a rental. If you tend to stay out of bear country, renting will be the more cost-effective route.

If you’re hiking in bear country, you may also need bear spray. Learn more here.

What to Look for in Buying a Bear Canister

1. Local Requirements – Not all bear canisters are treated equal. Some parks have certain requirements for bear canisters. Typically, a hard-shelled bear canister will do for most national parks. However it is helpful to do a little research on the parks you plan on visiting. If you don’t store your food properly, you may get stuck with a painful fine.
2. Weight – As with most backpacking gear, the weight of your bear canister is an important thing to consider. Unfortunately, most of them are rather heavy. It’s going to cost you a couple pounds on your back to carry a bear canister.Look for one that is just as big as you need it and shop around for one that is relatively lightweight. One to two pounds is considered lightweight for bear canisters.
3. Size – Think about how much food you’ll be carrying and whether you’re going to be sharing the canister with a friend. Get a canister that is big enough to carry your food and scented toiletries for the longest trip you plan on taking.
4. Translucent or Dark Sides – It can be easier to find what you are looking for when you have a container that has clear sides. When you have a dark colored canister, you might be forced to dump everything out to find that snack you wanted.
5. Tools Needed – What do you need to do to unlock the canister? Can you use your hand or will you need a screwdriver or coin to unlock it? Keep in mind you’ll need to carry this tool around with you (and hope you don’t lose it!)

Our Favorite Bear Canisters for Backpacking

BearVault Bear Canister

Counter Assault Bear Keg

Conclusion

Bear canisters for backpacking may not always be required, but it can be a useful tool for keeping your food safe. They may be clunky and heavy, but they give you peace of mind that you will have breakfast in the morning. When venturing into the woods – especially in bear country – consider bringing one of these along.

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