Ultra Light Bear Canister

[Jim Leonard]

My use is purely as a Bear canister. I do not plan on cooking with the pot/lid. the dual use part of this is not of any concern or use to me. With that said, I would do some things differently. I do not think the handle is necessary. It is easily as stout as a Bear Vault when laid on its side and compressed without the brace. I may modify it to use Dzus Buttons to close instead of the standard mechanism it has now. This will lay nearly flush and be as or more secure. (Dzus buttons or 1/4 turn fastners are what secures the Garcia canister. http://static.speedwaymotors.com/RS/SR/Product/91007151_T.jpg) A tool would be required.

As far as turning over the handle to get some more room, you cannot. The shape does not allow it. The bends made to hold the pot interfere with the pocket to hold it in the canister.

I may just return it and get a BV450 and eat the 5oz.

[Ken Thompson]

Give the BLM a chance to actually see one of these. I guarantee they will adjust the wording. You need to be smarter than the bears.

[Jim Leonard]

The Lighter 1 Lil Sami got to go out for a night of use after all. I went to pick up a BV450 but the local shop was out of stock. So here was my impression:

Fits perfectly in the bottom of a Z-Packs Arc Blast. I used my Merino top to protect the pack from the Screws.

I fit Food for 2 people for 2 days in it. But very tight. The cross brace was only a minor inconvenience.

I didn't cook In the Lid/Pot so nothing to report there.

I would swap out the screws for some button head screws that would be more cuben pack friendly.

The volume wont be enough for my JMT thru so Im going to get rid of this one and pick up a BV450 or Bearikade again. Hopefully I can test the 9" diameter today. I really like the can in the bottom.

[Ben H.]

I got a lighter1 little Sami in yesterday and wanted to give an initial look review:

Stats:
canister = 20.85 oz
cap/pot = 6.40 oz
handle = 0.90 oz

total bear canister = 28.20 oz

pot lid = 2.20 oz

I am very impressed with this bear canister. It is a very nice size for a weekend trip. The clear shell is nice for seeing where stuff is located inside. The metal cap/pot is pretty solidly built. I was afraid that it would be made out of thin metal, but it is a very nice pot. I might even try frying up something in it sometime. My only gripe would be the knurled screws are a little small. I had no problem unscrewing them, but it could be a problem for someone with weak hand strength or arthritis (though I would think most bear cans would be a challenge for those people). I can also see Jim's point about the screws possibly catching on UL fabrics. To counter that though, the shape factor of the canister would probably end up fitting much nicer into those same UL packs.

[John S.]

It is about the volume of the small bear boxer but $30 more cost. WOM.

[Ben H.]

I agree, its about $30 more, an ounce or two more, and you get 25 cu in more (10% more space). Lighter1 and bear boxer are pretty comparable (slight edge to bear boxer just on those stats). The reason to get the little Sami in my mind are: 1) IF you buy into the dual use of using the lid for heating water (which I do) 2) you absolutely cannot get your stuff into a bear boxer. You get smidgen more room and a better form factor IMO (vertical walls and a wide opening) with the little Sami. 3)You put a high premium on being able to see your stuff in the can (I don't).

I struggled between the two. Based on what I consider Lighter1's deceptive advertising I had made up my mind to get the bear boxer. I sent an email to them about the possibility of picking the can up in person but they did not respond. After that I put them even in terms of customer service. I liked the dual use of the lid/pot so I decided to go with Lighter1.

[Mike Farrell]

I have a BV450 and a old Garcia. The very heavy Garcia actually fits my Circuit better than the BV450 due to the tapered diameter. The BV450 turns it into a barrel. I like the small diameter of the Lighter 1. It will fit small packs much, much better than the others. For my solo weekend trips the small physical size will make my life happy ;) And maybe fry up a trout in the pan. I think I'll try one.

[JJ Willcoxon]

At Moontrail. If you buy 2-3 they go for $67 each. More than 3 they get even cheaper. We needed 3 for our fall trip anyways. The other two guys decided to stay with the bearbag approach and save their dough.

It'll be my first time with a canister instead of baggin' it. So many places on my bucket list of places to backpack require them now, that I thought I'd better see how one works into my kit. One thing is for sure. About a week's worth of food and toothpaste, deet, etc. is all we're getting into a BV500 and that's packing it darn tight.

Since we'll be 12 days on a loop, without an accessible place to cache or resupply, I guess we'll be cannin' it AND baggin' it the first three or four days.

Seems a shame that eight lbs. of food requires almost three lbs. of protection. All the trouble I went to cut my base weight and I just gained a bunch back.

I am looking forward to not having to toss rope, sweat the other little critters, and/or worry about camping below treeline though. Might just be worth it.

[Bob Gross]

The BV500 also makes a good camp chair.

–B.G.–

[Dean F.]

Wow. I just read this whole thread and I have to say that I'm rather surprised. What's with all of the open hostility to the dual-use aspect of this Lighter1 thing? It's certainly innovative, and seems like something about which most ULers would be atwitter. An approved bear canister with useable pot at about the same weight as a BearVault? What's not to like? If you don't use a pot- okay, good on ya. Don't buy this. But poo-pooing it because YOU don't use a pot is kinda juvenile.

Just sayin'.

This looks genius, to me. The pot looks like an excellent candidate for a cat can stove and a simple aluminum flashing windscreen- it is wide and short. The handle would unbalance it, though, so for this use might have to be left off.

If this thing had been available back when I was in the market for a bear canister I would have given it VERY serious thought.

Ken's criticism about how you can't put the lid on the canister while you're using it to cook also strikes me as.. well… very odd. Having a bear wander by in the quarter or half hour that you're using the pot- especially if all you do is boil water as do most of us- is rather remote. I think that almost any reasonable use would qualify as "within reach" while the lid was off.

Regarding "misleading advertising"- I don't think that the manufacturer is really a hiker, per se, so may not be fully hip to the conventions that we expect. Or is just not very articulate. (The website doesn't exactly look professional.) And I'll also say that I had no trouble puzzling out the website- which I checked out BEFORE I got to the whole "misleading advertising" discussion in the thread, so I wasn't forewarned. All of that being said, this was possibly the most valid criticism I saw- and I don't think it is very damning at all, frankly.

Bringing religion up in what was essentially a business discussion WAS a bit odd on the manufacturer's part, though. But I have noticed that quite a few devout Christians seem to expect that mentioning their piety will automatically get them extra kudos from most Americans- whom they seem to think all share their devotion or something- so it's at least not actively surprising. Personally, I'd be more sympathic if they'd said it was Made In The USA…

[Ben H.]

I agree completely Dean.

As far as misleading advertising, they did clarify the website somewhat after they received comments on here, but their response was pretty underwhelming to say the least. I still think it is confusing that they never add the weights together to tell you how the thing is going to weigh to have a bear canister out in the field. It is not clear to me that when they quote the canister weight it does not include the lid or handle which are both required to have a bear proof canister.

I wasn't too happy with how they handled this thread, but I ended up ordering and am very happy with it. The lid is a very nice pot and is an excellent profile for an alcohol stove. I agree, that I don't get why people are hostile to the dual use aspect. People mentioned its not a good idea to cook with your bear can, because it will smell like food. But… isn't that the whole idea of a bear can? To isolate your food smells to a single thing. It's not like bears don't know there is food inside bear cans. People really underestimate bears ability to smell and just how much information they get in that whiff.

[SHAWN HILL]

Ben … thanks for your review and your open-mindedness. So many other posters have disparaged the product so much that it's hard for any of us to get an actual informed opinion of the Lighter1. There were several posts asking if anyone had actually purchased and tried one and your post was one of only 2 that actually had used it hands on, and we appreciate that you took the time to let us know your thoughts.

It's unfortunate that so many just attacked this product and the company for such minor issues (the lid as a cook pot and how the weights are listed on the website). Let's cut the manufacturer a bit of a break. It sure sounds like this is their first go-round on creating a product for backpackers. Is it perfect for everyone … no. What product is? Everyone has different criteria that on their list. Some may want a see-through container, others want a lid that can be removed without tools, one may want a container that is short and wide, others – tall and narrow. Some may even find it convenient to be able to use the lid of their bear container as a cook pot so they can leave their other cook pot at home.

I don't have an issue with stating your opinion that this one isn't for you and the reasons why, but leave it at that. Stop hammering away post after post after post. I like to read some one else's 2 cents, but some of these posts go way beyond that.

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