PDA

View Full Version : bear bag bell



squeezebox
01-08-2016, 15:29
I was on the bicycle forum and someone mentioned using one of those clip-on fishing pole bells on their bear bag. The idea is if a bear messes with your food bag maybe the bell might wake you up and maybe you can scare the bear away. They don't weigh much. And you can clip it to you pack in bear active areas during the day. Does this make any sense for hiking??

kibs
01-08-2016, 16:35
I was on the bicycle forum and someone mentioned using one of those clip-on fishing pole bells on their bear bag. The idea is if a bear messes with your food bag maybe the bell might wake you up and maybe you can scare the bear away. They don't weigh much. And you can clip it to you pack in bear active areas during the day. Does this make any sense for hiking??

I like the idea, however, an additional measure would be to use empty bear cans strung together or beer cans with a few rocks in them to throw at them. makes an awful racket when they hit the ground!!

Lone Wolf
01-08-2016, 16:43
I was on the bicycle forum and someone mentioned using one of those clip-on fishing pole bells on their bear bag. The idea is if a bear messes with your food bag maybe the bell might wake you up and maybe you can scare the bear away. They don't weigh much. And you can clip it to you pack in bear active areas during the day. Does this make any sense for hiking??

if you hang it properly no bear will get the bag. no bells needed

gpburdelljr
01-08-2016, 16:45
I like the idea, however, an additional measure would be to use empty bear cans strung together or beer cans with a few rocks in them to throw at them. makes an awful racket when they hit the ground!!

You carry the beer in, and I'll string up the empties.

rocketsocks
01-08-2016, 22:37
Sounds like a dinner bell

Puddlefish
01-08-2016, 23:30
This sounds like a clever yet terrible idea. How do you plan on scaring the bear away? By yelling and waking up your fellow campers? By waving your scrawny hiker arms at it? What will you do if the bear ignores you? Just let the bear do it's thing, if you hung your bag properly the bell will never ring. If it rings, it just means that you screwed up, and there's no point in compounding that mistake by confronting a bear over a few dollars of gear and the potential inconvenience of a days hunger.

English Stu
01-09-2016, 06:36
A bell might be more use on the JMT or PCT where there are no trees for hanging; although we put cook pots on the bear barrels to make a noise if tampered with or buried the barrel in rocks. Whilst it might be a futile gesture I do choose a few throwing rocks the night before as you can never find one when you want one.

Traveler
01-09-2016, 07:26
If the bag is hung properly the bears won't get it, if not, and they do get at it, they won't mind the bell. Otherwise bag bells would be a great idea if the intent is to annoy others near you when the wind picks up.

swjohnsey
01-09-2016, 10:30
If you can get it down, so can the bear.

MuddyWaters
01-09-2016, 10:57
They don't weigh much. And you can clip it to you pack in bear active areas during the day. Does this make any sense for hiking??

If the bears dont kill you, other hikers will.

HooKooDooKu
01-09-2016, 11:22
Unless you're in grizzly country, you don't need a 'bear bell" on your pack during the day.

Christoph
01-09-2016, 11:56
In general, I think too many people are afraid of black bear encounters. Obviously if treated with respect (just like any other wild animal), they wont bother you. I had a new momma grouse(?) right on the AT and the only way around here was to wait for her to move, then continue down the trail. Once she got up and I realized there were a BUNCH of babies under her, she began her attack on me, hissing and all flared out. I was more afraid of that thing then any bears we encountered! Haha

Uncle Joe
01-09-2016, 13:34
Hanging a bell is not a bad idea. I wear small bells on my pack that are small enough to make very little noise relative to those around me. I'm confident, however, that bears hear them. To my knowledge, no one has complained. I have seen one bear while hiking, running away from me.

Every time there's a discussion about bears there's the inevitable "bear won't....if you do this." or the "bears don't..." We can only predict bear behavior to a point. Overwhelming statistical probability isn't a predictor of behavior. It is probability of behavior.

Rocket Jones
01-09-2016, 17:59
If it was that great of an idea, many would be doing it. You seem to keep looking for ways to add "just an ounce or two" to your kit. You're going to wind up with a 50lb pack and not be any better equipped than another hiker who leave all the useless stuff at home.

squeezebox
01-09-2016, 22:16
If it was that great of an idea, many would be doing it. You seem to keep looking for ways to add "just an ounce or two" to your kit. You're going to wind up with a 50lb pack and not be any better equipped than another hiker who leave all the useless stuff at home.
Yea you are right, It's just hard for me to not to do that.

Wise Old Owl
01-09-2016, 22:22
Sounds like a dinner bell
WOW I am with RS - so you hear the bell you jump up run out of your tent... what the hell are you going to do about it?

Nuff said.

Wise Old Owl
01-09-2016, 22:28
If the bears dont kill you, other hikers will.

Great Post.... I attempt when not with others to be as quiet as possible. I have had Coyote's, Deer & small mammals pop out on the trail for my odd efforts...I get frustrated when a noisy person is in front even 15 minutes ahead. I am there to see as many animals in the wild as possible, it's my nature and my nirvana.

Sarcasm the elf
01-09-2016, 23:44
WOW I am with RS - so you hear the bell you jump up run out of your tent... what the hell are you going to do about it?

Nuff said.

.https://digitalshortbread.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/anchorman-tamethebeast_528_poster.jpg.

jefals
01-10-2016, 01:31
Hey, maybe the bell will scare the bear away!

Jake2c
01-10-2016, 03:27
Bears aren't the only thing that wants your food. If something else is eating at it, I can see where a bell may help.

egilbe
01-10-2016, 09:53
Bears aren't the only thing that wants your food. If something else is eating at it, I can see where a bell may help.

by giving them soothing dinner music?

I met two girls wearing bells while I was hiking in BSP last Summer. I can attest to the annoyance factor.

u.w.
01-10-2016, 10:12
Hmmm...

wonder if anyone makes "ultra light cow bells"?

u.w.

Puddlefish
01-10-2016, 11:15
Hmmm...

wonder if anyone makes "ultra light cow bells"?

u.w.

Great, now I'm picturing Gene Frenkle around a campfire. Hey, anyone mind if I play my cowbell?

colorado_rob
01-10-2016, 11:25
WOW I am with RS - so you hear the bell you jump up run out of your tent... what the hell are you going to do about it?

Nuff said.Not quite nuff said, as in fact you do yell and scream and wave your arms and shine a light in the bear's eyes and in fact, he/she will run away. Bears are skittish. This has happened to me twice now (I'm talking about black bears, of course, not grizzlies). Both times we had hung our food absolutely incorrectly, just being lazy both times. One time, in fact, we had just hung our packs WITH SOME SNACK FOOD IN THEM on a low tree branch. Totally stupid. Never again, until we forget and get lazy again.

Regarding the bell idea, both times we've been bear-violated, I instantly heard the bear, no bell was needed. Bears are big and noisy. I am a light sleeper though. Both times I instantly knew what was going on, sat up and started yelling immediately, grabbed my headlamp, got out of my tent and yelled some more and the bear ran away (one time, carrying my food bag!!!!). I've had five total bear close-encounters in 45 years of backpacking, only two were "exciting".

As far as bothering nearby campers, I would think they would OK with it (my yelling and screaming), knowing there was a bear close by. Perhaps I'm being presumptuous.

See attached pic of my wife's shredded pack, the red stuff is bear slobber from him eating our Gatorade powder....

Puddlefish
01-10-2016, 11:51
Not quite nuff said, as in fact you do yell and scream and wave your arms and shine a light in the bear's eyes and in fact, he/she will run away. Bears are skittish. This has happened to me twice now (I'm talking about black bears, of course, not grizzlies). Both times we had hung our food absolutely incorrectly, just being lazy both times. One time, in fact, we had just hung our packs WITH SOME SNACK FOOD IN THEM on a low tree branch. Totally stupid. Never again, until we forget and get lazy again.

Regarding the bell idea, both times we've been bear-violated, I instantly heard the bear, no bell was needed. Bears are big and noisy. I am a light sleeper though. Both times I instantly knew what was going on, sat up and started yelling immediately, grabbed my headlamp, got out of my tent and yelled some more and the bear ran away (one time, carrying my food bag!!!!). I've had five total bear close-encounters in 45 years of backpacking, only two were "exciting".

As far as bothering nearby campers, I would think they would OK with it (my yelling and screaming), knowing there was a bear close by. Perhaps I'm being presumptuous.

See attached pic of my wife's shredded pack, the red stuff is bear slobber from him eating our Gatorade powder....

Speaking only for myself, I'd rather you lost your food bag, than to be woken up by your yelling. The bag should have been hung well away from my tent, right? Why would I care about a bear a hundred yards away? Again, it's just compounding your original mistake and making other people suffer along with you.

I'm not entirely a monster, I'd be happy to give you a spare meal... after a good nights sleep. I'd be far less charitable if you woke me up in the process.

colorado_rob
01-10-2016, 12:15
Speaking only for myself, I'd rather you lost your food bag, than to be woken up by your yelling. The bag should have been hung well away from my tent, right? Why would I care about a bear a hundred yards away? Again, it's just compounding your original mistake and making other people suffer along with you.

I'm not entirely a monster, I'd be happy to give you a spare meal... after a good nights sleep. I'd be far less charitable if you woke me up in the process.thank you for your input, but I do apologize in advance, because if there is a bear anywhere near my tent, for any reason, I will yell and scream and chase it away. In the instance I was referring to earlier, I did make a bad judgment error in hanging low and close to my tent, but again, I learned my lesson and will never, ever, make that same mistake again.

So, again, in the unlikely event we will share the same campsite during a bear encounter, I apologize in advance!

Sarcasm the elf
01-10-2016, 12:20
Not quite nuff said, as in fact you do yell and scream and wave your arms and shine a light in the bear's eyes and in fact, he/she will run away. Bears are skittish. This has happened to me twice now (I'm talking about black bears, of course, not grizzlies). Both times we had hung our food absolutely incorrectly, just being lazy both times. One time, in fact, we had just hung our packs WITH SOME SNACK FOOD IN THEM on a low tree branch. Totally stupid. Never again, until we forget and get lazy again.

Regarding the bell idea, both times we've been bear-violated, I instantly heard the bear, no bell was needed. Bears are big and noisy. I am a light sleeper though. Both times I instantly knew what was going on, sat up and started yelling immediately, grabbed my headlamp, got out of my tent and yelled some more and the bear ran away (one time, carrying my food bag!!!!). I've had five total bear close-encounters in 45 years of backpacking, only two were "exciting".

As far as bothering nearby campers, I would think they would OK with it (my yelling and screaming), knowing there was a bear close by. Perhaps I'm being presumptuous.

See attached pic of my wife's shredded pack, the red stuff is bear slobber from him eating our Gatorade powder....

In the event that you choose to scare a bear away from the vicinity of my campsite, feel free to wake me up, I'll be glad to help, no questions asked.

Malto
01-10-2016, 12:53
Not quite nuff said, as in fact you do yell and scream and wave your arms and shine a light in the bear's eyes and in fact, he/she will run away. Bears are skittish. This has happened to me twice now (I'm talking about black bears, of course, not grizzlies). Both times we had hung our food absolutely incorrectly, just being lazy both times. One time, in fact, we had just hung our packs WITH SOME SNACK FOOD IN THEM on a low tree branch. Totally stupid. Never again, until we forget and get lazy again.

Regarding the bell idea, both times we've been bear-violated, I instantly heard the bear, no bell was needed. Bears are big and noisy. I am a light sleeper though. Both times I instantly knew what was going on, sat up and started yelling immediately, grabbed my headlamp, got out of my tent and yelled some more and the bear ran away (one time, carrying my food bag!!!!). I've had five total bear close-encounters in 45 years of backpacking, only two were "exciting".

As far as bothering nearby campers, I would think they would OK with it (my yelling and screaming), knowing there was a bear close by. Perhaps I'm being presumptuous.

See attached pic of my wife's shredded pack, the red stuff is bear slobber from him eating our Gatorade powder....

You can make this story much better. You got up, punched the bear in nose, giving him a bloody nose (see red on pack.) the bear bowed his head, apologies and went on his way.

Puddlefish
01-10-2016, 13:28
thank you for your input, but I do apologize in advance, because if there is a bear anywhere near my tent, for any reason, I will yell and scream and chase it away. In the instance I was referring to earlier, I did make a bad judgment error in hanging low and close to my tent, but again, I learned my lesson and will never, ever, make that same mistake again.

So, again, in the unlikely event we will share the same campsite during a bear encounter, I apologize in advance!

I'm certain you've hung bear bags hundreds of times more than I have, and have largely perfected your method. My point was more about good technique where hanging a proper distance from camp is better than attaching a bell, and being too lazy to walk a few yards downwind.

I know that I don't ever want to be that guy who's laziness lures a bear into a shared site.

Pedaling Fool
01-10-2016, 19:00
I just sleep with my food bags as my pillow, that way I don't need any bells to warn me of animals messin' around with my stuff. I guess animals have manners, because I've never had any problems with being woken up:)

Lone Wolf
01-10-2016, 19:05
I just sleep with my food bags as my pillow, that way I don't need any bells to warn me of animals messin' around with my stuff.

been doin' the same goin' on 30 years now. don't need no stinkin' bells :cool:

Blissful
01-10-2016, 21:25
Please, no bells. No need. If you see a bear on the trail just talk to it like your dog. If they are near shelters, make tons of noise. I see bears a lot working in Shenandoah.

Christoph
01-10-2016, 21:46
I agree, no bells. Now mouse traps on the other hand are a welcome addition.

squeezebox
01-11-2016, 12:40
I agree, no bells. Now mouse traps on the other hand are a welcome addition.

Mouse traps weigh about 1oz. I drilled a hole in 2 and put loops so I could hang on my bear bag. Some people would get seriously upset about killing the local residents. At some point an extra oz here and there will add to pounds that I really don't need. I need to take a trip through my pack list and throw out some of the small stuff.

dudeijuststarted
01-11-2016, 12:53
Windy everning + bear bag with clanging bells = campsite full of irritated hikers.

Miner
01-12-2016, 11:01
Wow, times have changed. It use to be that people protected their food instead of giving up before the bear even tried as some seem to suggest.

In some areas, bears can get to even properly hung bags. It's the whole reason that bear cans are required in many places in the Sierra Nevada and there wasn't a shortage of good places to hang in Yosemite. Most should feel fortunate that their local bears are slackers in comparison to their Sierra cousins.

Back before the era of bear cans came, It was always standard procedure to try to scare the bear off by making noise or throwing rocks near but not at the bear. Back when I use to carry a full cookset, I would attach my pots to the outside of the bag so that they will bang together loudly and wake me up if disturbed. One of the few times I ever had a bear try for it, the loud clanging noise scared it off before I could do anything . So I don't see a problem with what the OP suggests doing with a bell.

Most people have heavier things in their pack then a bell they could get rid of. As gear weight has been going down over recent years, I've noticed that carried electronics weight is going up.

u.w.
01-17-2016, 01:54
In the event that you choose to scare a bear away from the vicinity of my campsite, feel free to wake me up, I'll be glad to help, no questions asked.

Agreed. Wake me up too, and I'll help.

u.w.

WILLIAM HAYES
01-18-2016, 18:38
dont need it on the AT just added weight-- just hang your food bag correctly

PAFranklin
01-19-2016, 11:41
I think all you are going to do is train the bears that a bell means diner time.