View Full Version : bear vault
Anybody using the Bear Vault on the AT? I know its overkill, but if it fits in your pack OK, then there are some other benefits that seem worthwhile. Plus, I hate hanging my stuff. For anybody that is or has used it, do you continue to use it on the AT despite its weight and bulk, and what are your reasons for doing so? Anybody using something that is like it but less expensive, even if it might not be technically as good? (since we don't have those smartypants Adirondack bears around these parts ;) )
I use mine just about all the time. I figure it's only a matter of time before bear canisters are required - or at the very least fashionable - almost everywhere. There's long list of pros that, for me a least, make up for the 2 pounds: it's a seat, it always takes up the same space, it's waterproof, I don't like to fuss with hanging, things don't get crushed, I can see what's inside, yada, yada, yada. It's standard equipment for me.
Llama Legs
07-27-2010, 21:16
I'm eager to bring mine only when I can make one of my buddies carry it !
We've nicknamed it the "Depth Charge"...
I can't spare the extra volume (and weight) that it consumes in my solo system.
Anybody using the short version of the bear vault? Still OK as a stool? I'd be using it for shorter solo hikes.
I guess on short hikes a short stool would do.:D
I have two big bear vaults and one small one. Often I use the big ones to stash food at road crossings for long trips, and use the smaller one for short trips, or to re-fill from the biggies.
I guess on short hikes a short stool would do.:D
I have two big bear vaults and one small one. Often I use the big ones to stash food at road crossings for long trips, and use the smaller one for short trips, or to re-fill from the biggies.
So, what do you do with the empty bv's? Stash them again and then pick them up on the way home? Interesting idea, but sounds like a lot of setup and breakdown to do it well without going home disappointed, not to mention the potential disappointment on the trail.
Anybody using the short version of the bear vault? Still OK as a stool? I'd be using it for shorter solo hikes.
I have both versions of the Bear Vault and the short one is fine for a stool.
So, what do you do with the empty bv's? Stash them again and then pick them up on the way home? Interesting idea, but sounds like a lot of setup and breakdown to do it well without going home disappointed, not to mention the potential disappointment on the trail.
Yep, leave 'em in the woods and come back sometime to pick up. Not sure what you're thinking of for the rest... setup=stuff with food, stash in the woods, breakdown=empty trash and toss in closet. Not much to do well there. Can't imagine why I'd go home disappointed.
dcmidnight
08-03-2010, 08:43
The friends I've hiked with have the BV500 and I'll be getting one as well. Its (hanging) is just one less thing to have to deal with at the end of a 10-12 hour day of hiking. Its nice to stow all your food, cookware, utensils and other smellables in one container and boom you're done. If you forgot something or want to get something else quickly you can - and I like that its seethrough. Just my opinion though and I know most folks on here seem to hate them for their weight. But in the "good weight/bad weight" discussion I'm not sure what the weight savings are over a bag/rope but its a "good weight" tradeoff I'll make.
I have two different bear cans at home (BV500 and a standard black Garcia), plus my wife and I each have a standard Ursack. I wouldn't consider bringing any of those on any part of the AT --- too heavy, and the cans are too invariably bulky. IMO, use the bear poles or bear cables or bear lockers when those are provided, and otherwise just hang food in shelters to avoid rodents.
Also FWIW, when I do carry a bear can I don't find it a terribly useful stool; I'm pretty used to sitting on the ground. On the AT this year it was nice to setup my air mattress inside a shelter such that I could sit on that with my back against the shelter wall --- much more comfortable than sitting poised on the top of a plastic can.
What I did bring this year and liked was the Ursack Minor, a 2.7 oz food bag that's rodent proof but not bear proof. Rodents are the issue on the AT. In over four months of hiking the AT this year I never saw a bear. Apart from the Smokies, Shenendoah N.P. and parts of New Jersey I don't think there's really much of an issue.
To be clear, I'm not saying that differing opinions are "wrong" (!) or anything like that, just sharing how I see this.
Berserker
08-03-2010, 13:20
I don't have a Bear Vault, but I do have a Bearikade Weekender I purchased for a trip I did in the Sierras a few years back. I have used it on the AT a couple of times. I typically use it on low mileage more relaxed trips where I don't want to deal with the hassle of hanging my food. I Normally don't use it on most trips though due to the extra weight/bulk.
IMO, use the bear poles or bear cables or bear lockers when those are provided, and otherwise just hang food in shelters to avoid rodents.
...it was nice to setup my air mattress inside a shelter such that I could sit on that with my back against the shelter wall --- much more comfortable than sitting poised on the top of a plastic can.
In general, I don't like to stay in/at shelters. I like to stop just before darkness with just enough time to string up a hammock, and I just don't want to fiddle with going and finding a good place to hang stuff.
Yep, leave 'em in the woods and come back sometime to pick up. Not sure what you're thinking of for the rest... setup=stuff with food, stash in the woods, breakdown=empty trash and toss in closet. Not much to do well there. Can't imagine why I'd go home disappointed.
Well, its just the whole leaving it somewhere and hoping its going to still be there. I mean, what if a bear did find it and rolled, pushed, kicked it somewhere you couldn't find it, not to mention what if a human (bad one) finds it. For me, I would be worrying about where to stash it, taking time to find the right place, then worrying about it all the way there, especially if I was counting on it for resupply. Just seems like a lot of time in setup and retrieval even if you're good about not worrying about it. Plus, that's a lot of money for several of them.
Well, its just the whole leaving it somewhere and hoping its going to still be there. I mean, what if a bear did find it and rolled, pushed, kicked it somewhere you couldn't find it, not to mention what if a human (bad one) finds it. For me, I would be worrying about where to stash it, taking time to find the right place, then worrying about it all the way there, especially if I was counting on it for resupply. Just seems like a lot of time in setup and retrieval even if you're good about not worrying about it. Plus, that's a lot of money for several of them.
Well... a bear's more likely to find the can when you're using it at a campsite, and you can sit 10 feet to the side of the trail and watch people walk by you without ever noticing you, so I don't worry about it being found by anything or anyone at all, and have never found my cans disturbed yet.
If it ever happens, it happens, and into town I go to resupply.
The actual stashing is simple: go fishing or hiking a few days to a few weeks ahead, leave can a hundred feet or so into the woods, drink a beer, continue fishing, go home. Later, go hiking, find can (yes, you can find it and you don't need a treasure map or notes or a freakin' GPS), drink another beer (cause you left some there!), empty contents of can into pack. Days or weeks later, go hiking or fishing again, pick up empty can, drink another beer, lather rinse repeat!
Works for me, but clearly it ain't going to work for you!
My prowess for getting into bear trouble is well known. I am EXTREMELY paranoid when it comes to smells and on relatively shorter trips I believe I'll still carry it but I'm slowly growing used to the idea of leaving it at home. I believe for an AT thru hike the weight and the volume it takes up would both be issues. I also find it very difficult to get everything into it I need that first day but I'm probably packing too much food. On the AT I'd like the option of taking more than four days food with me if I needed to.
That said obviously I'm glad I had it when this bear decided to grab my stuff. I'm beginning to come around to the idea that it's not so much bear vault versus hanging but good bear and scent practices versus not good bear and scent practices. The bear stayed around my tent for a good hour and a half that night. Had I properly hung my food maybe it would have quickly moved on or maybe it would have managed to get at my food sack or attacked my tent. Who knows.