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Razorback
04-25-2012, 19:12
Hanging food in a bag or Ursack at the end of a long day is a nuisance, and most of us don't really suspend the bags correctly anyway. Bear canisters are heavy and bulky. Has anyone tried and had success (or failure) with food storage on the ground or in the tent with odor proof Opsacks? I recognize that many sleep with food in their tent in any case, but Opsacks may provide more protection from intrusions by mice and other critters, and are light weight and can be folded taking up less pack space as food is consumed.

SouthMark
04-25-2012, 19:29
I believe Andrew Skurka did his Alaskan trek through grizzly country using Opsacks. He is a member here and maybe he can chime in to confirm or not. I have placed an opsack full of nuts in my backyard and no squirrels messed with it. I did the same with an open can of cat food it it was not touched. I sleep in a hammock with my food and have never used an opsack but I have never had my food messed with by bears, mice or any other animal.

Suttree
04-25-2012, 20:53
I have used Opsacks as you describe on the AT/PCT/CDT with success. The bags aren't bombproof, however, and can be costly.

-ed

SCRUB HIKER
04-25-2012, 21:26
I started my AT hike putting my food in an Opsak inside of an Ursack on the ground in my tent vestibule. I never had an animal problem, but the Opsaks aren't very durable in my experience. The first two lasted about two weeks apiece, after which I gave up and just used the Ursack by itself as my food bag. It wasn't worth it to keep paying so much for big glorified Ziploc bags (most of my food was in smaller Ziploc bags anyway).

Odd Man Out
04-25-2012, 22:42
I believe Andrew Skurka did his Alaskan trek through grizzly country using Opsacks. He is a member here and maybe he can chime in to confirm or not. I have placed an opsack full of nuts in my backyard and no squirrels messed with it. I did the same with an open can of cat food it it was not touched. I sleep in a hammock with my food and have never used an opsack but I have never had my food messed with by bears, mice or any other animal.

Yes this was discussed in his book. But there was more to it. The strategy also includes not camping in established camp sites/sheter areas or where you cook your dinner.

Montana AT05
04-25-2012, 23:11
Yes this was discussed in his book. But there was more to it. The strategy also includes not camping in established camp sites/sheter areas or where you cook your dinner.

I use these as well. I live and hike/camp in Grizzly country (north of Yellowstone).

Far better solution than the "hey look a pinata" method. I don't care for the size, weight, volume of a bear canister.

And yes, stay away from established sites when possible or what looks to be areas frequented by bears or likely to have bears (streams, berry bushes). Bears have huge territories so the chance encounter is rare (i've only seen two grizzly in the wild and each time I felt I was a safe distance). I also have my food individually contained in standard ziplocks too (not odor proof but eh, when inside an odor proof bag I like to think it helps).

Usually more worried about critters than bears though.

Slosteppin
04-26-2012, 20:17
I am, perhaps, paranoid about my food. I pack it in freezer Ziplocs, in Opsacs, in my food bag. Every night the food bag is hung in a tree at least 100 feet from my tent. I have walked several hundred feet to find a suitable tree. Nothing has ever bothered my food bag at night.
I mostly hike alone. If I spend an hour hanging my food so it is safe I'm OK with that. It is better than sitting at home watching TV.

Odd Man Out
04-26-2012, 21:00
I read on one web site that cuben fiber food bags were resistant to mice. Anyone know if there is any evidence for that?

Chair-man
09-05-2013, 14:30
I thought I'd revive this thread considering the recent post about rodents.
I just ordered some of these Odor Proof saks (opsak) from the manufacture who claims these baggies are 100 percent odor proof. Anyone ever had any rodents chew into one of these bags? (assuming the outside of the bag was a clean as possible).

http://www.loksak.com/products/opsak

You tube review (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wwGxMQJrd8)

hikerboy57
09-05-2013, 16:08
Not yet. I've been using them for 2 years.theyre durable enough if you don't overstuff them

WalksInDark
09-05-2013, 16:56
I used the same OPSACK for multiple multi-day section hikes and had not problem just putting them in tree crotches near my hammock. The sacks do wear out...but it is usually apparent well before they actually fail.

I could not figure out a way to tie an OPSACK off with rope to hang in a tree. So they spent there time just sitting there.

Shonryu
09-06-2013, 01:49
I use usually section out my foods by days in 1quart freezer bags since I freezer bag cook my meals and then place those in a 1 gallon freezer bag that goes into my opsack. I then place my opsack in my zpacks cuban fiber food bag and hang it PCT style. Having a bear come into my camp and snatch my food bag once was a hard learned lesson that taught me not to male the same carless mistake again. Am I overkilling it? Probably but I've never had an issue since.

mtnkngxt
09-06-2013, 08:14
I typically cook at shelter picnic tables on the AT and then move on down the trail to camp. Thin nylobarrier in my food back and a quick PCT style bear bag hang and I'm in business.

Setting camp takes a whole 4 or 5 minutes in most areas.

leaftye
09-06-2013, 09:06
As often as I recommend odor proof bags, I've never used mine. There's been times I wished I had.

Here's an alternative to expensive OPSAK's.
http://litetrail.com/shop/litetrail-nylobarrier-odor-proof-bag

I don't know how effective it is, but it's lightweight and I'm sure it as least minimizes scents. That could be enough.

I think odor proof bags should be used with everything. From bear canisters, to Ursacks, bear bags and even just a food bag pillow. The best protection is for animals to not know your food is there, then they don't even have the chance to try to get into your food container...or you can rest more peacefully without hungry animals noisily roaming around your campsite.

treesloth
09-06-2013, 12:24
As a side note - the seal-a-meal bags block odors pretty effectively as well... I make custom 'food wallets' that I store daily hiking snacks in, as well as refuse from those snacks. I like to keep the food smells out of my external pack pockets. Also, the large size OPSaks can be made smaller (if there is a need) by using the sealing mechanism on your food sealer.

I also saw the litetrail odor proof bag that Leaftye mentioned, definitely going to give one of those a try on a hike next month.

Kerosene
09-06-2013, 12:39
I read on one web site that cuben fiber food bags were resistant to mice. Anyone know if there is any evidence for that?They haven't penetrated my zPacks Cuben fiber food bag, but I haven't exactly tried to tempt them either. I view this as a good compromise relative to the weight of an Ursack (which I used to carry), but I still hang.