Length of Cord for Food Bag?

[rock steady]

buy 50' at an army surplus store. just be sure it is 550 paracord.buya 18 oz plastic jar of Gatorade powder to store it in. drill a 1/4" hole in the top. when you get to camp dump the cord,fill the jar w/a few rocks then put the end of the cord back thru the top and tie some knot on the end (which is now on the inside side) screw the lid on, arrange your paracord, and Sling It! its a great lil gizmo! God bless...

[Jack Tarlin]

Paracord usually goes for fifty feet for around five bucks. You'll want it for a laundry line as well as a bear hanger. You might also want to cut short pieces off of it in some places (like if you're trying to secure a non free-standing tent to a wooden tent platform, which happens often up north). Bring 50 feet, not thirty.

[rocketsocks]

50' minimum would be my take...if I wanted to hang my food, which I don't.

[lonehiker]

35' to perhaps 40'.

[SWODaddy]

50' for all the reasons already mentioned.

[QiWiz]

30 is a bit short IMO for some branches you may want to use. 40-50 feet a better bet.

[Christoph]

I'd like to change my thought process on this a bit from my earlier post. I said I'd stick to 30 feet but I think maybe 50 is the way to go. Not only for bear bag use, but repairs (after all, it's really light and durable) and maybe a quick clothes line for drying after the huge rainstorm you just hiked though. ?? Just my 2 cents. I think I'll stick with 50 on my next attempt.

[Huli]

We were just at Harpers Creek shelter as part of a section hike. There is no bear pole at that shelter. I had forgotten my bear line, my brother had his 30 ft piece. Had we not found some line laying around the site, the 30 would have been too short to reach, by 5ft!

[bigcranky]

30 is cutting it close, but probably not a big deal in the South. Up in Vermont I was happy to have all fifty feet sometimes.

Look at it this way -- the tallest branch you can throw over is roughly half the length of your line, since you need both ends to attach the bag and pull it up. So 30 feet of line means a 15 foot branch, max, which using the PCT method gets your food at most 9 feet from the ground -- probably enough. But there are places were the best branch was way over 15 feet.

Also, I found that paracord stretched far too much for my taste. I like the Spectra flat cord, 40-50 feet of it. Lighter than para and way stronger, with zero stretch and it never tangles.

[lonehiker]

30 is cutting it close, but probably not a big deal in the South. Up in Vermont I was happy to have all fifty feet sometimes.

Look at it this way -- the tallest branch you can throw over is roughly half the length of your line, since you need both ends to attach the bag and pull it up. So 30 feet of line means a 15 foot branch, max, which using the PCT method gets your food at most 9 feet from the ground -- probably enough. But there are places were the best branch was way over 15 feet.

Also, I found that paracord stretched far too much for my taste. I like the Spectra flat cord, 40-50 feet of it. Lighter than para and way stronger, with zero stretch and it never tangles.

You don't need 30' for a 15' branch. Both ends can easily be 5' off the ground and you are still able to hook onto and haul up. Is it easier to have 30'? Perhaps, but definitely not required. That is why I say 35' (40' max) for bear line use.

[MtDoraDave]

I recently discovered the new aged paracord called "technora" Technora 950 (950 lb test) is about half the size (and weight) of the paracord 550 and almost twice as strong...and has a ptfe (teflon) coating to help it glide over branches. Google it. It's not cheap, but it's not as expensive as most of the other essential gear we pay big bucks for.

I have had times when 50' was just barely long enough, so I won't bring less. To keep it from getting tangled, I wrap it around a small piece of thin walled (schedule 20) 3/4" pvc pipe. (or a stick) The pipe could double for a water spout to help in some "seep" sources.

[nsherry61]

And, if you're serious about hanging bear bags, there are always going to be times when the branches just aren't there to provide an effective PCT hang, and in those cases, where an alternative method needs to be used, some extra line will be the difference between a successful hang and failed hang. It seems silly to me to carry less than 50' of line given its usefulness for non-PCT hangs, it usefulness in all the other uses for twine in the back-country, and its relative light weight.

[cmoulder]

50' of 1.8mm Dyneema. Slick cord is much better than Paracord and much lighter. I used 40' for a while and often it was just barely enough.

IMO the more perplexing issue is, How do you throw the weighted end over a branch and find success with the fewest number of attempts?? Sometimes I get lucky and hit the jackpot on the 2nd or 3rd try, but it's taken as many as 30 tries to get it done!!

[1azarus]

50' of 1.8mm Dyneema. Slick cord is much better than Paracord and much lighter. I used 40' for a while and often it was just barely enough.

IMO the more perplexing issue is, How do you throw the weighted end over a branch and find success with the fewest number of attempts?? Sometimes I get lucky and hit the jackpot on the 2nd or 3rd try, but it's taken as many as 30 tries to get it done!!

now, here's an honest hiker. ...and each throw, for me, is a moment of extreme anxiety because i fear that the line will become hopelessly tangled somehow, or that someone will show up to witness the spectacle! I still am finding I sleep a little bit better with my food hung PCT style from a tree than hung from the foot end of my hammock, even though I've never had an issue with keeping my food close.

[lonehiker]

50' of 1.8mm Dyneema. Slick cord is much better than Paracord and much lighter. I used 40' for a while and often it was just barely enough.

IMO the more perplexing issue is, How do you throw the weighted end over a branch and find success with the fewest number of attempts?? Sometimes I get lucky and hit the jackpot on the 2nd or 3rd try, but it's taken as many as 30 tries to get it done!!

The key is to put ample amount of weight in your throw/rope bag. Not being a baseball player, I seem to have a stronger throw, with more accuracy, by throwing underhanded. I rarely get it on first attempt but usually 2nd or 3rd try nets success.

[Another Kevin]

My most embarrassing bear bag line throw was when I spotted a branch about 25 feet up, maybe a few feet more, that was otherwise perfect. I nailed it on the first try, too, and the weight sailed over the branch, fell down on the other side, and pulled all fifty feet of line with it. Nothing to do for it but pick up the line and throw again, this time with the dead end of the line secured. And of course, then it took me multiple casts to hit a branch again.

[mortonjl]

50ft is the norm

[bettybadass]

I always take more than that. Paracord is not just for hanging food. You can use it to dry your clothes, or help to fix your tent, or to tie down a broken lim