Bearikade Scout w/ GG Murmur for 3-5 day solo hikes

Bryce, I've been looking at the Scout for an ADK trip myself and have been trying to figure out what size I want to buy. I've exchanged a few emails with a gentleman named Allen. He's been very helpful. If you need one that's a different size, it sounds like you can have one made to order. I was really impressed with the speed of their responses to my questions.

"Yes you can buy a Scout. North Cascades Nat'l Park just cleaned out our stock of Scouts, but we are rebuilding. Our tooling produces a six foot long carbon fiber cylinder. We dice to meet custom orders to the 1/8" inch. Have built from 8" tall to 18" tall. When the numbers become frequent, we give it a nickname."

And later I got this as part of another email: "Shipping again by mid-August."

I'll be following this thread closely to see what advice you get and hopefully getting a Bearicade in early Sept.

My trips is Sept 30-Oct 2nd. I hope the scouts are back in stock by then. Did Allen know if anyone else has stuffed a scout into a Murmur before?

Yes, if you notice that part of the second email. It sounds like they'll be back in stock by mid-August.

No, I didn't ask about that pack. I'm going to make a model out of an old sleeping mat or something to test the size with my pack. I'll be using a Virga. With that big extension collar, I'm sure that it'll be fine for me. I'm still debating between the Scout and the Weekender.

Good luck with your purchase.

You could make a 9" dia 8" long cannister and check, coffee can foam wrapped or cardboard rolled. You could stretch the Murmur top and get a measurement. If it is greater than 34" the Bearikade may fit. I require at least 100 cubic inches per day but the first days food does not go in the can. If a can is not required the spectra sack with aluminum liner can be adjusted for length and width. Cut the length and squeeze and tape the dia.

I use a scout with my GG pack–I forget the model name, but it's their largest pack. It fits sideways on the bottom with enough room to stuff all of my clothes on either side.(I know that this is not the traditional way to carry a canister but I have my reasons.) I easily carry five days of food in the scout (with first night's dinner outside the canister).And I'm carrying Mountain House dinners in their original packing–but the vaccuum sealed ones which are smaller. The scout is Deeeliteful! It just packs beautifully. Hard to imagine that it wouldn't fit in a Murmur; perhaps upright. But it's small.

Did you know you can rent a Bearikade Weekender (4oz heavier than the Scout) for $5 for the 1st three days and $2 a day after? Quite a bit cheaper if you aren’t going to be using it regularly. I plan on renting one for my September Yosemite trip, as all I’ve got is a Bearvault 400, which can squeeze 4 days of compact meals into it, but I’d rather pay $20 to have the slightly lighter, bigger Weekender. If only Yosemite accepted the Ursack.

Jim, isn't it a certain amount of hassle to get a rental to you, pack it, use it, and then have to send it back? Personally, I hate that hassle when I am heading out on a trip.

I think your BV400 is about the same as my BV450. For my last trip, I figured that I could finish the trip in five or six days, so I packed the BV450 with five days of food. Midway in the trip, I gave away 24 ounces of food to a stranger. I finished the trip on Day Four, and I still had at least two days of food left. It just depends on what you get used to.

–B.G.–

The $14 shipping to the East Coast is what kills me on the rental. In the end I'd like to buy. I have a GG Mariposa and it will swallow the Scout easily, but of course I want to take my GG Murmur because it's lighter. :p

So I used some heavy paper and put together a model… it fits, I think? Yes, I got the model down into the bottom of the murmur and it is not deformed or buckled. But the problem is up at the top where the extended collar meets the rest of the body. It's a very tight fit there getting over the seams. Not sure the more rigid real scout will get past that point. Silnylon stretches, right? *Gulp*

Got my Scout the other day in the mail and this morning I tested it inside my new GG Murmur. This picture shows the Canister put into the Murmur straight up and down. It takes a little bit of shrugging the pack, but eventually is slides right down. It'd be even easier with the weight of food in there. I folded the rest of the Murmur over top of it to show you how much extra room I have in the pack. I should be fine for SUL 3-season work:

And here is the best I could do with my camera phone to show the remaining width between the canister and the inside of the Murmur, could probably fit a pair of socks or two, but not much, thin stuff:

Good stuff. Congratulations on your purchase and that the can fits your pack!

…buy your gear first, then a pack that fits, holds true here. haha.

But there was a sale on the Murmur awhile back so I took a chance. :)

Congrats on your new bear can. A word of caution as you figure out the best way to pack it. The top and bottom edges are sharp. I've worn several holes (more like cuts actually) in my Granite Gear Ozone from the silnylon material being rubbed against the top edge of the can.

I didn't notice any sharp edges, but I wasn't looking. I'll check it out and perhaps dremel the edges if needed.

+1 my pack got cut up by the square edges of the bearikade.

…and I don't see any rough edges, perhaps they changed the design?

The bottom metal cap is one piece that is sealed to the carbon fiber with a very fine bead of some sort of epoxy all the way around. The top piece you screw on is basically flush.

Not rough but square. The nature of the 90 degree edge will naturally put stress where it is in contact with the fabric.

…in hindsight, those that have worn holes on the square edge, how would you have protected/packed your pack better?