BearVault BV450

That's not a bad deal!

I would get one, except that I already have one.

–B.G.–

I'm debating between a BearVault 450 and a Bare Boxer Contender…

I have three bear canisters for comparison. The Garcia is the second generation. A little heavy and bulky. Works good and lasts a long time. The smaller BearVault is better and lighter. The twist lid locks in such a way that some people have fought with it for minutes at a time. I guess that is good. The BearBoxer is much smaller in diameter and weight. For 3 days, I would take the BearBoxer. For 4-5 days, I would take the BearVault. The Garcia may be collecting dust.

–B.G.–

Thanks, Bob. This is helpful.

he Bob, wanna sell that Garcia?

Hmmm. I hadn't thought about it much.

There must be quite a supply crisis if you guys are asking for a Garcia that is ten years old.

–B.G.–

I have a 3-day trip to Yosemite in May, and a week-long trip in PNW in August.

I'm hoping not to buy multiple bear canisters. The thing about buying into the middle — it could either be the perfect "do it both" — or it could end up being "neither here nor there". Looks like the Garcia fell into the second category in your case. Decisions, decisions…

I know that when the Garcia cans came out on the market over ten years ago, that it was a one-size-fits-all solution, and that was the only brand/game in town until the competitors came along. You know there isn't too much weight difference between a large and a small size, so maybe a person would want to buy only the large and not fool with a small. On the other hand, that flies in the face of everything UL.

I saw a guy backpacking in Yosemite with his DIY bear canister. It was a RubberMaid kitchen container with duct tape. Obviously no rangers caught him, or else they would have thrown the book at him.
–B.G.–

"DIY bear canister. It was a RubberMaid kitchen container with duct tape."

Amazing.

Hard to picture without the real thing, but I wonder if there's any way to cram 6 days' worth of food into the Bare Boxer? Aarrgh… wishful thinking.

I wonder if there's any way to cram 6 days' worth of food into the Bare Boxer?

You would have to get pretty creative.

You can probably get your six days into a Bearikade Scout, which is not much bigger or heavier, though. It's rated for 5 days, and BPL folks have reported the Bearikade ratings somewhat conservative, so you may be able to cram 6 days' food in there.

Scout is same height, 1.6" bigger diameter, and two ounces heavier. Of course your wallet will be $155 lighter with the Scout instead of the Bare Boxer.

–MV

At least they did for me a couple of years ago, when I wanted something between the weekender and expedition.

Where in the Pacific Northwest are you traveling? Bear canisters are not required in most places; with areas of Olympic National Park being one. (They have bear wires in some section of the park). Mt. Rainier does not require you to carry a bear canister, for instance. Nor does North Cascades National Park.

Can someone really get six days worth of food in a 500 cubic inch canister? I guess you don't have to carry all of it in the canister – you definitely could carry the first day outside the canister.

Dirk

"Hard to picture without the real thing, but I wonder if there's any way to cram 6 days' worth of food into the Bare Boxer?"

No way. Three days, yes. Possibly four. If you were foraging along the trail for berries and catching fish, possibly six.

Oh, wait. I just heard something about a new large BearBoxer.

–B.G.–

Yes, just confirmed that canisters are not required in the PNW. Hoorah!

I’ll go with the Bare Boxer Contender for my 3 days at Yosemite (thanks to Christopher Graf’s recommendation). And I’ll use my Ursack for my week-long PNW hike. :)

Benjamin,

Where are you planning to hike in the NW?

Btw, I believe that canisters are required in Olympic now. It has been a little while since I've been but I think they removed many of the cables. I did a 6-day trip there in 2004 and did not get to the ranger station in Hoodsport in time to rent a bear canister, so we just hung our food on the cables. Maybe someone else could comment…

Edit: oops sorry to hijack this thread!