OpSac test – so far so good

I love this kind of thing –

"Just do it and see what happens."

Can't wait for the saga to continue.

Thanks.

Interesting experiment!

And, thanks for the snack.

PS: Can you put some Snickers bars in the OpSacs bag?

Keep us posted, interested in the results.

Why 2 opsaks?

Thanks for doing this experiment though, I've always wondered.

Thank you so much for doing this. We have about four years of experience with the OP Sac in bear country here in Southeast Alaska and have had no problems with them when paired with an Ursac in the summer and fall, and by themselves during the winter. Of course ours are near camp with a fire and people shuffling around. Nice to see that these results.

Yes, why 2 OpSaks? Nobody would do that in normal use (would they)? Are you certain that you didn't contaminate the outside of the ziplocs with suet on the bag that was compromised? I would have thought sardines would have much more odor than suet. Nevertheless, good stuff. Goes along with what some others here have found.

I'm willing to buy that OPsaks are fully smellproof.

What I'm tempted to caution people is that anything that *looks* like a foodbag – to animals habituated to human food (bears, raccoons, rodents, etc. that search camping areas) – is still vulnerable.

At least, that is the conclusion that I draw after naively leaving my sealed OPsak on top of a picnic table in a campground 2 weeks ago, only to hear it being dragged off into the bushes by a raccoon not 10 minutes after we'd settled into our sleeping bags.

Don't be stupid like me.

To use them for backcountry food caches.
If they are compromised, it means having to cancel the trek and walk out to the nearest highway.
So maximum precautions are taken.

Last summer, two food packages, each one consisting of double bagged and clipped OpSacs, were placed in an older model green coated Ursack that was suspended very high in the forest about half way through the Rawahs in Colorado (between Mountain Home WY and Nokhu Hut below Cameron Pass). It was there unmolested eight days later. Thought about using bear cans, but did not want to have to carry an empty can for another 5 days, and was worried about bears or other critters making off with the cans, as has been reported here a number of times.

Plan to do this again this summer further south on the CDT. Sometimes it is impossible to find a hut or other host to hold the cache at a location near where a resupply of food and a gas canister are desired, and the USFS has refused to hold caches at their stations. So a cache, in the forest is the only option if food weight is to be kept low. Would have been nice if they had put bus station type lockers in the new public shelter at Berthoud Pass, though.

About the possibility of food traces getting on the outside of the OpSacs: Great care is taken, but agree it is a concern. There was a show on PBS where a kitchen counter was infected with salmonella and several people tried to get it clean. No matter how much they tried, some of the bacteria remained and were picked up by some kind of black light arrangement.

Thanks for the comments, and will update in a bit. Eventually the fish will get so rank that it will be surprising if the odor doesn't get out.

For those who want more info, here are links to some prior threads about OpSacs which include John Nausieda's original post about the Clip'n'Seal Bag Clips along with the Amazon link to the clips. The seals are so weak on the OpSacs, the clips really are necessary for a secure seal.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=34595&disable_pagination=1

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=34821http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=34821

Took down the bag with the OpSacs today, June 12th, as it shows no sign of disturbance by any critters after over a month.

As related earlier, the bag without the OpSacs was penetrated over 3 weeks ago.
A friend believes it was not by a bear, but more probably by a clever racoon who climbed out on the limb, pulled the bag up by the cord, and took it back to the base of the limb to nibble on.

In any event, I will be using the double OpSacs with clips in an Ursac for the one cache this summer that will have to be placed in the bush. This same system worked last year in the Colorado Rawahs for over a week, but in the event of invasion by critters this year, will post the details (sadly).

I'm a fan of these Opsacks. I still bear bag my food, but now I keep my breakfast (usually oatmeal & Via) and cookset in the tent/vestibule with me. It makes mornings so much better….especially if it's raining. I don't need to get all my rain gear on just to go retrieve my bear bag and then get back in the tent and cook breakfast. Now I just wake up, fire up my stove and then pack up my stuff while the water boils.

Great test. I think it might be good to remind people about the clip and seal system which really helps to make the Opsak much more secure. I've been using mine with metalized turkey bags as well and it seems very good as well.