View Full Version : Food Bag
LastHonestFool
11-08-2007, 23:43
What do ya'll use for your food bag?
I used to use just a silnylon stuff sack, and when I made it into my bear bag, toss it in a trash bag so if it rained that night, I don't have soggy food
but, it would probably even out (or be even lighter) just to have it in a dry bag from the get-go (as I used a heavy duty trash bag so it wouldn't rip...)
so, what do you guys use for your food bag? and what size food bag do oyu use?
I'm thinking of carrying 2 dry bags, one for the food, and one for my down bag, and just regualr stuff sacks for the rest as per usual
My food bag isn't a bag at all - I use a plastic pretzel jug. I have several sizes, the one I use most is almost as big as a bear canister, and holds about 5 days of food. It came from a big jug of UTZ brand pretzels at Costco. I wrap a turn of duct tape around the middle so I can tree hang it if need be. Completely waterproof, and your pop-tarts don't get crushed. Weighs about 8 ounces, and everyone at the office helps eat the pretzels.
Tipi Walter
11-09-2007, 00:43
Food bags aren't too big a deal, my first several were old sleeping bag stuff sacks. One of the main issues with hanging food is keeping everything dry. Of late I've found the Outdoor Research Hydroseal stuffsacks to be ideal for food storage. They are waterproof and have a bottom strap which I use to hang the bag, not the long drawcord. By hanging upside down the inside stuff stays dry in an all night rain, at least while the bag is fairly new. I tried the garbage bag system but they are too fragile and still manage to leak.
On long backpacking trips I take 3 food bags: One for cookables, one for snackables, and an overflow bag(rice cakes, canned sodas, chips), something I can strap to the outside of the pack for quick access. This bag empties quickly and I'm back down to the usual two food bags.
For winter camping and avoiding ice encrusted, frozen food bags, they can be placed in the tent vestibule occasionally although even in the winter mice will find them and scamper/chew constantly thru the night. I take alot of food on my trips, maybe 30-plus pounds worth.
The pretzel can idea sounds good although the amount of food I carry would probably fill at least 3 and when all of my food is gone I'd still have the large volume cans taking up space.
minnesotasmith
11-09-2007, 00:51
I used an Ursack, a food bag made of Kevlar-like fabric. It was kind of gratifying to listen to mice break their teeth on it at night. Also, as an Ursack doesn't need hanging the same way regular food bags do, it didn't take up limited space on bear cables, in bear boxes, or in shelter rafters, so owning one is a public service IMO. Lastly, when tenting away from a developed (i.e., shelter) location, it speeds setting up camp to not have to set up a bear line. I'm glad I had one of these during my thruhike, and will continue to use one while hiking.
http://www.ursack.com/
Kerosene
11-09-2007, 01:54
I converted from an Ursack to a silnyl stuff sack a few years ago. I attach a lightweight carabiner to the pull strap on the bottom, to which I tie about 40' of cord, so the bag hangs upside down and things don't get too wet (not that there's much of anything in there that can get waterlogged). Total weight of the bag and 'biner is 1.5 ounces, versus 5 ounces for the original Ursack.
I was under the impression that an Ursack was not rodent-proof.
?
Tipi Walter
11-09-2007, 10:09
I was under the impression that an Ursack was not rodent-proof.
?
And my impression of the Ursack is that I'd need about 5 or 6 of them to hold the amount of food I carry.
Blissful
11-09-2007, 10:24
We used the Outdoor research bags you can get from Wally World. Replaced them one time on the hike. We started with sil nylon bag my hubby made but it soon bit the dust.
headchange4u
11-09-2007, 10:43
I made my food bag from ballistics kevlar I got from Ebay. It was sheet from a bullet proof vest. I think I had less than $10 in it. You can see some pics of it here (http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/showthread.php?t=639&highlight=kevlar). It was not constructed to withstand a bear but it's tough enough that it should give most small critters a hard way to go if they try and raid my food stash. :)
I have also made a food bag from and exploded car air bag. Car air bags are supposedly made from Vectran, the same stuff Ursack is made of. Most auto body shops throw away exploded air bags and you can go by and ask them and they will usually give them to you.
Both Vectran and Kevlar sew easily on a machine.
Sooner or later, we'll all be carrying bear cans or Ursacks. They're required in parts of the Sierras and the Adirondacks - eventually portions of the AT will follow.
Ursacks aren't up to the standards of bear canisters.
I have also made a food bag from and exploded car air bag. Car air bags are supposedly made from Vectran, the same stuff Ursack is made of. Most auto body shops throw away exploded air bags and you can go by and ask them and they will usually give them to you.
Good ideal.
Now you just have to turn a Ursack into an airbag.;)
I
I have also made a food bag from and exploded car air bag. Car air bags are supposedly made from Vectran, the same stuff Ursack is made of.
Honey, I wrecked the car.... again!
sixhusbands
11-09-2007, 12:51
The bear canisters are not 100 percent efficient either. We camped near a group in the high peaks region of the Adirondacks, where the bear canister is manditory ( $250 fine without one) and they lost all of their food to a bear that opened the canister. Maybe they did not propoerly close it or "yogi" is alive and well. Plus water can get in if you leave them out with the lid facing up.
Sooner or later, we'll all be carrying bear cans or Ursacks. They're required in parts of the Sierras and the Adirondacks - eventually portions of the AT will follow.
The bear canisters are not 100 percent efficient either. We camped near a group in the high peaks region of the Adirondacks, where the bear canister is manditory ( $250 fine without one) and they lost all of their food to a bear that opened the canister. Maybe they did not propoerly close it or "yogi" is alive and well. Plus water can get in if you leave them out with the lid facing up.
Yup, you can't use Ursacks in the Adk high peaks region from April 1 to October 1 at all, only rigid bear canisters. Ursacks also waterlog pretty easily. Sold mine years ago... not worth the weight, especially after getting wet and they don't hold enough food.
Sixhusbands, I have only heard of bear canisters failing due to improper use. Perhaps that is the case or it had some sort of a manufacturing defect?
i use a big sil-nylon bag and every thing inside of it is in ziplocks, the bag is big enough to hold a wks worth of food and my cooking pot, mice nibbled on my bandana that holds my cookset together, been hanging it w/ my food ever since
can't wait to get my pics up have a great one that shows bears are getting smarter
Real simple: a sil nylon stuff sack. It's got a strap on the bottom that I tie the line onto. No big deal to toss up a line over a branch every evening.
Yup, you can't use Ursacks in the Adk high peaks region from April 1 to October 1 at all, only rigid bear canisters. Ursacks also waterlog pretty easily. Sold mine years ago... not worth the weight, especially after getting wet and they don't hold enough food.
Sixhusbands, I have only heard of bear canisters failing due to improper use. Perhaps that is the case or it had some sort of a manufacturing defect?
Some of the older models of Bear Vault have been de-certified, I suspect the failures are related to those. The very first model had a cap like a medicine bottle, and was not watertight - the newer tops are watertight.
Silnylon stuff sack- (Granite Gear Airline #6), lined with a 2 mil plastic bag. I also carry a small O.P. sack for trash. Whole setup is about 2.5 oz., weatherproof, and very nearly odorproof.
I use silnylon stuff sacks right now. If I had to use a bear canister I would use the Bearikade.
http://www.wild-ideas.net/products.html
I use a nylon bag with a cinch top, when closed up the bag converts into a small day pack good for anything from running to get water to staying put for a day and taking a short walk back up a peak to eat lunch and enjoy views
I started using a BearVault 400 canister last year and love it. Yeah, it weighs more than I'd like my food storage solution to weigh (at 2lb, 9oz), but peace of mind is worth it!
http://www.rei.com/product/738570
Anyone who would leave the lid off upside down deserves what was mentioned above. The word "idiot" comes to mind! :D :p
It has a click-lock system that should make it impossible for a bear to open. The couple of nights I stayed in a shelter during the heavy rain my last hike gave me reason to take joy in having the BearVault as well. I had no worries about rodents getting into my food what-so-ever!
It will hold 7-8 days worth of food, which should be about the upper limit weight-wise of what anyone would want to carry, and for the shorter 3-4 days or weekend hikes, you can use the space to store other stuff like my JetBoil.
It packs into my pack very nicely, putting it in to one side/bottom of the main Grerory compartment first. Then beside it on the other side/bottom goes my tent and ground pad. Then I fill in the smaller items, stuffing and squeezing them where ever it seems best. When finished, I have a nice weight balanced, well-formed main compartment part of the pack.
Well this is what i think about them idiots.We would not have anything to say or show them on this forum we need them to keep us sharp & smart
Bootstrap
11-11-2007, 15:26
I'm feeling ignorant.
The books tend to say that as long as you hang your food in a bag at least 10 feet above the ground and at least feet from the nearest tree trunk, far enough from your campsite to avoid drawing bears in your direction, you should be OK.
Several posts in this thread indicate this is not true.
Please enlighten me!
Jonathan
lonehiker
11-11-2007, 17:00
If you properly hang your food bag as you indicated, you should be ok. The issue is that some areas require bear cannisters. Of course, this may be the result of people not hanging their food bags properly in the first place. The bears now associate hikers with "easy" meals.
In Yosemite a few years ago I had my food hung "by the book" about 100 yrds. from my tent. I got up the next morning and found my food bag in shreds and NO FOOD left! The limb it was hung over was broken off at the base of the tree, probably by the 500-600 lb. brown bear I had seen the previous evening snooping around the campsite.
But to be honest, the BearVault works equally well fending off the smaller varmin like skunks, squirrils, mice, birds, etc. Also, camping on or near the top of some of the AT's higher peaks, you may find no decent tree to hang your food in. That is especially true in the Rockies and Sierras. Bear cannisters are convenient and lend great peace of mind . . . part of the recipe for a good night's sleep! ;)
sloopjonboswell
11-11-2007, 19:02
a great alternative to expensive and sometimes heavy 'bearproof' con job stuff sacks is the old trusty plastic bag from the grocery store. double bag it! triple bag it! as far as waterproof goes, your food should be sealed already. (ziplocks, etc)
1) your recycling
2) you can spend more money on beer
3) you can hear the pesky mice if they happen to slip down a hanger and make it to your bag. and then you can kill them
4) you can irritate fellow hikers in the morning when you dig through your food bag.
5) your learning hobo style
I'm feeling ignorant.
The books tend to say that as long as you hang your food in a bag at least 10 feet above the ground and at least feet from the nearest tree trunk, far enough from your campsite to avoid drawing bears in your direction, you should be OK.
Several posts in this thread indicate this is not true.
Please enlighten me!
Jonathan
"Should be OK" is the operative term here. There's no foolproof method of hanging - bears can be very determined, and pretty creative. Some will leap from a branch and try to snag the bag on the way down, others have been known to carry a chainsaw. Yeah, if you hang properly, you should be OK, but there's no guarantees. As Summit mentioned, some folks (including me with greater and greater frequency), will trade the weight of the bear canister for the peace of mind it offers. After all, if you use a bear canister properly, you should be OK!:cool:
Well this is what i think about them idiots.We would not have anything to say or show them on this forum we need them to keep us sharp & smartThe problem is . . . people like that aren't on this site! :eek: The boys and girls here are way smarter than that! :p :)
I had the idea at one time to sew together some aluminum screen material (make a pouch) and put it inside a stuff sack to keep the mice out. As far as hanging food, I have used the mouse baffles in shelters without a problem as well as hanging the bag from trees. Mice and squirrels are much more abundant than bears, so the screen material would probably work. Since I haven't had critters in my food yet, I'm still putting off the implementation of my great idea.:o