Ultralite Bear canister option

[Cedar1974]

Apparently some places on the trail require a bear canister. I want to use an Ursack, but my partner is still worried it will attract bears to us. Is there some options you can offer for a lighter way to secure our food?

[Treebeard89]

You can hike straight through the areas that require a canister

[Cedar1974]

You can hike straight through the areas that require a canister

Really? Are they that short?

[ChuckT]

Ursack is _supposed_ to foil _some_ 4 legged critters but works better with a lining to seal in odors as well.

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[12trysomething]

Unfortunately what others have done (or not done) in the past will likely be 95% of the reason if you have a bear encounter. Other than the areas that have dedicated bear bag systems you will struggle to see anyone with a proper bear bag set up (10' up and 4' away).

In direct answer to your question, I use the Ursack and am not aware of anything lighter.

Best wishes,

Rob

[Cedar1974]

I know an Ursack can stop up to a Grizzly bear (there is test video on their website) but I am still getting a hanging system to help my partner feel safer. So 4' away and at least 10' up is the rule, I'll keep that in mind.

[Hosh]

I also hang my Ursack when below treeline. Here's a good method:

http://theultimatehang.com/2013/03/h...he-pct-method/

[SouthMark]

The only section that requires a canister is the 5 mile section in Georgia between Lance Gap and Neel Gap and it expires June 1.

[Hosh]

In absence of a requirement for an "approved" canister or in limited cases, a Ursack, you can hang a Zpacks bear bag with Nylofume liner bags and 50' of spectra cord and a carabiner. The Nylofume reduces or eliminates odors. It's also a lighter option with more volume.

A lot of people sleep with their food. I prefer to hang it where possible. Storing food in a tent is problematic. If a bear encounters it when the campsite is vacant, they will begin to associate tents with food. Same principle as avoiding dropping your pack when confronted with a bear on the trail.

I have always tried to eliminate any possibility of a bear getting to my food. It's a hassle to be hungry, but the consequences for the bear are often much worse.

Colorado's bear population is growing very fast due to hunting restrictions. We have had several areas closed due to aggressive bear activity, even some remote wilderness areas.

It's prudent to keep your food away from bears regardless of what the regulations allow.

[Cedar1974]

It isn't just bears you need to worry about. There was a Thru hiker named Red Beard. He recorded his whole trip, and told about how their camp was attacked by, as he put it, rabid chipmunks. They chewed through one woman's tent, then her food bag and took all her food.

[TNhiker]

It isn't just bears you need to worry about. There was a Thru hiker named Red Beard. He recorded his whole trip, and told about how their camp was attacked by, as he put it, rabid chipmunks. They chewed through one woman's tent, then her food bag and took all her food.

along with mice.........

[MuddyWaters]

along with mice.........

And coons
And skunks

[Sandy of PA]

Wild Ideas makes the lightest most expensive canisters out there. If you are good at carrying high fat low volume food a Bear Boxer Contender is also light, cheaper, but much smaller. I can get 4 days in mine which works for most of the AT. Your partner could carry one of these while you carry a regular food bag. Just put all the nuts, dried fruit, and anything with sugar in the can, and carry any dried veggies, potatoes, rice and oatmeal in the bag. The critters don't want the dry cereal!

[martinb]

Do not sleep with your food in GSMNP. The hanging Ursack idea is the lightest weight option without deferring to a space-robbing solid canister.

[Dogwood]

Ultralite Bear canister

That's a contradiction. There is no UL bear canister. Just lighter. However, there are some lighter ways to protect food from bears and other critters. IMO, protecting food from wildlife begins well before any bear canister is utilized. It involves procedures, techniques, considerations, etc. Gear is not the solution to every challenge.

[Dogwood]

IMHO, the bigger threat to your food are not bears but mice, and all they can represent, on typical AT hikes. Where bears are an issue you'll find bear cables to hang your food and of course knowing how to do a good hang where there aren't ones.

[Mags]

Ursacks aren't really meant to be hung in a traditional bear bag style. Not that you can't, but not necessarily needed.

http://www.ursack.com/how-to-use/

[Sarcasm the elf]

Really? Are they that short?

The only part of the Appalachian Trail that specifically requires a bear canister is a single 5 mile stretch between Neels Gap and Jarrods Gap in Georgia.

From the ATC Website:

Georgia

Bear canisters seasonally required for camping between Jarrard Gap and Neel Gap
A new U.S. Forest Service rule requires approved bear-resistant storage containers for overnight camping on a 5-mile stretch of the A.T. in the Chattahoochee National Forest between Jarrard Gap and Neel Gap, between March 1 and June 1 each year. This stretch is located between points 26.7 and 31.7 miles north of the southern terminus of the A.T. at Springer Moutain, Georgia, and includes Woods Hole Shelter, Slaughter Creek Campsite, and Blood Mountain Shelter. “Bear canisters” should be used to store food, food containers, garbage and toiletries. For more information, call the Chattahoochee - Oconee National Forest at (770) 297-3000.

http://www.appalachiantrail.org/home.../trail-updates

[Sarcasm the elf]

Ursacks aren't really meant to be hung in a traditional bear bag style. Not that you can't, but not necessarily needed.

http://www.ursack.com/how-to-use/

Isn't it actually counter productive to hang an ursack? I thought the whole idea was that ursacks needed to be attached to a tree with the included cut resistant cord so that if an animal got a grip on the soft bag they couldn't walk off with it. (as opposed to hard sided canisters which are designed so that animals simply can't get a grip on them with their mouths, and shouldn't attached to anything)

[Mags]

Isn't it actually counter productive to hang an ursack? )

Yep. It is. I was just being more diplomatic than I usually am..as is the Ursack website.

Hanging an Ursack is like a fish riding a bicycle.