Hanging food: how many layers?

[spelt with a t]

When hanging food, do you use an OPSack and/or Ursack plus stuff sack, or just the sack? This is probably a can of worms I'm opening, but a forum search didn't come up with any sort of agreed upon way of encasing food.

[John S.]

Double bag it.

http://www.wemjournal.org/article/S1080-6032%2810%2900265-6/fulltext

[spelt with a t]

It would simplify matters, then, to get an OPSack. Thanks.

[James Winstead]

I usually double bag with an opsack mostly more out of concern for odors permeating throughout my pack during the day, rather than for security from beasts while hung. This might be over-paranoid, but I don't like the idea of, for example, my insulation layers(which are usually on top in my pack with the food) coming out with any food odor no matter how faint.

my 2c at least…

[Randy Smith]

I eat FBC meals and bag each meal in quart sized freezer bags, then stack the quart bags into a gallon sized freezer bag. The empty bag from each meal is placed into a clean quart sized freezer bag dedicated to hold my trash.

[Anonymous]

"I usually double bag with an opsack mostly more out of concern for odors permeating throughout my pack during the day, rather than for security from beasts while hung. This might be over-paranoid, but I don't like the idea of, for example, my insulation layers(which are usually on top in my pack with the food) coming out with any food odor no matter how faint."

Nothing paranoid about that. It's good practice. It also helps avoid attracting attention to bagged food.

If you're going to hang your food, an Ursack is unnecessary and potentially counterproductive. If a bear does manage to down a hung Ursack, they will be able to drag it away and go to work on the aperture at their leisure. Sooner or later, they will work the knot loose if it isn't closely secured to a tree trunk, large branch, etc, where pulling on the Ursack only tightens the knot and the aperture.

Edited for content "and the aperture".

[spelt with a t]

about things I've never done before. Thanks everyone.

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

I do exactly what Randy does – all my individual meals and snacks go into a gallon freezer bag, into the Ursack. This keeps the meals from getting damp if it rains/heavy dew and keeps dirt from getting in. As well if a bag were to pop it contains the dry food.
And as he says, I also use a second gallon bag for garbage that I run down the side of the Ursack, keeping my garbage separate from my food.

As for hanging? I don't hang the Ursack, it is tied off.

[Michael Ray]

FBC meals in quart bags into an OpSak into a cheap drybag.

[Dean F.]

Humans have been "bear bagging" since the stone age- without OpSacks. So no, I don't think that you "need" the OpSack. That said, technology does make some things easier or better and this is probably one such instance. I use one. You don't "need" a lightweight silnylon tarp when a canvas one will work just fine- but the silnylon one sure improves things, doesn't it?

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