Bear bagging

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check this out from antigravitygear.com….seems to be one of the best deals out there plus they include a throw bag/storage bag…

http://www.antigravitygear.com/proddetail.php?prod=TRLINE&cat=74

and I agree with dave. triptease will be "sticky" when it comes to hanging…IMHO i would mark it off the list for consideration.

I second the vote for AntiGravityGear's kit. Happy with the results and practcally weightless.

It makes the ones REI sells look like a THROWback to the STONE age … no pun intended :)

Get yourself a handful of the Nite Ize s-biners…pick a size, pick every size …I SWEAR you will find 10,000 uses before you know it. You can pick them up at any sporting goods store now. I may own 15 of them…maybe 20. I keep them everywhere. I have atleast one on every pack I own. 3 or 4 in the car. I don't suggest leaving them at work as other people find them useful too. Put this together with the aforementioned spectra line and I would think you have it made. BPL has them too!

http://www.rei.com/product/771120?vcat=REI_SEARCH

The PCT method only works if you’ve got the right limbs in the right place.

Out of 7 camp sites in BWCA only 2 qualified. For the others we went tree-to-tree with a ‘biner in the middle as a pulley. It requires 2 lines, but is much faster than searching for a PCT limb. It also allows multiple hangs if the tree-to-tree line is stout. We usually hit a stub and then spiraled around the tree, greatly reducing cut limbs.

We found that a MLD line cut into limbs, more so than the wider BPL line. We saw this while wrapping around our tie-off trees, even when careful (birch). We also noted it in a PCT hang when our food stayed hung after releasing the free end (old white pine). A sharp jerk on the free end got things moving again. We had about 15 pounds of food and kitchen.

The throw bag works well, provided it never lands on rock. Ours ALWAYS landed on rock and soon was nothing but shreds. Two layers of duct tape extended its life considerably.

Know the strength of that 'biner. We had an aluminum mini fail at about 25 pounds. And don't have a partner helping with the lift. If things fail, they could get nailed.

On the next trip we'll do a barrel in a harness and not hang.

Edit: I was not very clear on two things above: 1) The throw bag was homemade out of 1.3 uncoated ripstop, and 2) the failed mini 'biner was not one provided by MLD or BPL.

Sorry about any confusion.

I have been using a mod of the PCT method for hanging food and smellies. I carry about 75 ft or so of paracord (the real stuff with seven internal cords) in a very small throw-bag that I made. I tie a one inch split ring into a butterfly knot with an eight inch or so tail at one end of the rope. I tie the rope into a haul loop in the throw bag (filled with rocks, sand or gravel), toss it over a suitable limb, untie the bag, and then tie the tail into a haul loop of my food bag with a bowline. I then thread the free end of the rope through the split ring. Rigged this way, the split ring is not load bearing, but only serves as a guide for the haul rope. The load is transmitted through the butterfly knot. I then pull the free end of the rope until the food bag hits the supporting branch. I then reach up and lark's-head a second one inch split ring into the haul rope as high as I can reach. I find this easier than trying to tie a clove hitch around a stick while keeping tension on the haul rope. I then release the haul rope until the split rings "engage" thus suspending the food bag out of reach. The second ring cannot pass through the first ring, and serves the same purpose as the traditional PCT stick and carabiner.

This method is perhaps slightly more cumbersome than using a carabiner, but it seems a bit more user-friendly to me. I like using paracord because it is relatively light weight, quite cheap and multi-use, especially for emergency or survival use. The inner cords can be pulled out of the sheath and used as emergency sewing thread, small lashing cord, fishing line, etc, etc. The sheath can be used without the core as a cord itself. I can cut off many feet of my bear-bag cord for alternative uses and still have enough to make an effective PCT bagging line.

I have never posted pics here, but if anyone is interested in photos of my PCT mod I can try. I just ask for your indulgence if they don't work very well!

I've been using 2mm line similar to Kelty Triptease for awhile. I did an experiment here at home to see if it cut into the limbs of trees and with a reasonable amount of load. I couldn't see any damage even on relatively fresh oak and pine limbs that were much smaller than I'd expect to use when camping. I've never had it snag and 50' of it packs very small and is light. My local outfitter sells it for $0.10 a foot in a myriad of colors. I made my own bag with a drawstring at the top for the rock / weight. Its a handy container for the rope when packed. I have been using a carabiner but I'm opting for the lighter weight knot now.

Kelty Triptease has a high friction sheath and is very small diameter. Basically, that's the perfect recipe for sawing into tree limbs, and snagging on retrieval. I have used Triptease occasionally for bear bagging, and it worked, but it is far from the ideal product.

OK, so Kelty Triptease is off the list, but now you've given me too many options to choose from. Let me ask you this–are any of these lines susceptible to tangling? Just going by weight alone, it seems the AGG line or the Mountain Laurel Designs line is a better bet than the spectra ones sold on this site. However, the AGG is black, and I have concerns about visibility.

Help me decide!

PS–What kind of stuff sack are you guys using in conjunction with the line? I've been using these…

http://www.rei.com/product/709096

I use this one:
http://www.rei.com/product/777725

Spectra/Dyneema is amazing stuff – exceptionally strong for it's weight. My vote would be for the BPL Ursalite.

Hi David,

I just purchased the AGG line/bear bag kit that comes with the stuff sack in the last month. It's probably the best deal going if budget is a factor.

Unlike the picture however, the line I received was white. Not sure when the color changed.

I've also used the Backpackinglight bear bag line and while it's more expensive I prefer it. Both lines work good, I'd say they are equally slippery and flat, but the BPL line seems stiffer and my impression is that it tangles a bit less.

The REI stuffsack that you linked to looks the same as the one I use. It's identical or maybe one size larger. I've been pretty happy with it.

Jason,

I use the same Sea to Summit stuff sacks for my sleeping bag and clothing. Does it keep your food pretty dry in the rain?

My only concern with these is that the weight of the sack pulling on the roll top might damage it. With the REI stuff sacks, I hang it upside down by the loop at the bottom–that way, the water doesn't trickle in through the top.

David

PS–If I were to go with the line sold here, which one would you choose, the AirCore Pro "UrsaLite"? I'd go for the whole kit, but then I would be limited by the stuff sack it comes with. Does anyone know the volume of their sack, by the way?

As far as stuff sacks for food is concerned, I use totally breathable nylon.

My food is in a O.P. sack which is then in an Aloksak, so the food is dry. For me, the stuff sack is simply there to protect the important bags from abrasion or puncture.

The O.P. sack is the critical one to me because it can avoid attracting interest to my food in the first place.

How big is your odor proof sack? Is it just for your trash or opened bags, or for factory sealed freeze dried food as well? I've been double bagging my trash in gallon ziplocks. The rest of the stuff just goes in the bag. Since I'm traveling with others, the food bag gets pretty large in volume.

Packaging that food comes in is not odor proof! Yes, to you and me it is, but not Smokey the Bear or rodents.

I carry two O.P. sacks, large one for food and a small one for waste. My large ones are 10 liters and the small ones are not marked but are probably 2 liters.

Which brand/model of O.P. sack do you use? (Is it the one sold on this site?)

thanks
David

Gossamer Gear carries a flat spectra line that is claimed not to damage trees and easier to tie knots with. I haven't used it yet, but it sure sounds like a good solution! Anyone have any experience with this item?

My S2S drysack has kept my food dry thus far. Never had it out in really persistant rain and humidity like you get on they get on the coast though. However, I also use OP sacks for food and garbage, and most of my food is in realitively WP packaging anyway, so I have a fairly redundant system (albeit a little heavier than requried). I prefer not to lure critters into camp even if they can't get to my food.

Hi David,

I use the Watchful Eye brand O.P. saks.

cheers