Best BBL (bear bagging line) for ~10lbs food.

[Javan Dempsey]

Ok guys, what do you use for long trips, i.e. 7+ days?

Prerequisites: Low or no stretch, minimal creep, easy glide, not impossible to handle?

What's the best option at the lightest wt?

I've got tons of 7/64 amsteel blue, and a few other things…

[Emmett Lyman]

I use AGG Spectra 725 cord, and it couldn't be easier. I always feel guilty watching people suffer with their parachute cord or Triptease while my food slides easily up to the furthest branches. There might be an even better option, but I can't imagine what else it would offer.

[John Brochu]

I'm very happy with the cord MLD sells for bear bagging. It will handle 10 pounds easily. It's a bit slippery when trying to pinch it off up high for tying the clove hitch, but that slipperyness is what makes it work so well pulling over branches.

[John Whynot]

I've been happy with the BPL Aircore Pro UrsaLite cord. Works much better than paracord…

[Javan Dempsey]

What's the difference between Aircore Pro Ursalite and Amsteel Blue?

Weighs the same on my scale, amsteel has 1600lbs str in 7/64 sizing..

I was just hoping to save an ounce if possible.

edit: Obviously very similar stuff, the amsteel is 8strand sk-75 with a urethane coating. I guess I'll just stick with it.

edit2: oh, I got confused by the Aircore Pro URSA, and the Ursalite. The 7/64th amsteel is the same wt as the URSA, not the ursalite.

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[Bob Gross]

You know, 40 feet of bear line is kind of short. Back in the old days before bear canisters, I had 50 feet most of the time, and it was marginally long enough. Part of the reason is that you don't always stand directly underneath the limb. Often you have to stand way off to the side, so the extra length can come in handy for a high limb.

Maybe you want to hope for short bears.

–B.G.–

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[Javan Dempsey]

I gotta agree with Bob on this one.

You can certainly get by with 40ft, but I so often find myself walking in places where even 50ft wont get my line over the lowest limb and back down to me.

Honestly, it's starting to bother me that I've begun selecting my pitch site based primarily on ease of bear bagging vs any other factor.

As to bear height well.. :P

[Link .]

I wasn't disagreeing with Bob,I was simply trying to help you find a good deal and when Bob posted it got me to thinking about the fact that I have the BPL bear bag system and it only comes with 40ft.,sorry.

[Bob Gross]

Absolutely, you have to know the nature of the trees in the hiking area, and you have to know the general nature of the bears in that area.

When you get up close to timberline, the trees are very short, and they are spaced far apart. When you get close to the swamp, the trees can be anything, and they are so dense you can't move through them.

I've had to use more than 50 feet on some hangs, but that was back in the pre-canister days.

Also, many bear cords are brightly colored. It would be better to have one that is darkly colored to make it harder for the bear to find. They work to locate the food by several means. First, they go by instinct and memory of where other backpackers have camped in the past. Then they sniff around to find the tree with the hang. Then they try to see the cord and the bag. If you have a dark cord and dark bag, they may get confused and try to climb the wrong tree. I've had that before, and I got the photo. I used black cord after that.

–B.G.–

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