Bearikades

I own a Bearikade Scout, it is slightly smaller than the Weekender.

In my opinion Bearikades are the best bear cans on the market.
High quality, and lighter weight.
But other heavier brands do work,
so yes, you are probably paying extra just to save weight.
whether or not it is worth it … you must decide for yourself based on your own indiviual cicumstances … money v.s. weight.
For me its worth it.

you can always rent one on your next trip to try it out first.

I have the Weekender for my 7-8 day trips. Works nice, I've heard somewhere that the bears have dashed them somehow and opened them up. May want to do more research. I like the lightness and peace of mind with canisters when I have to take one. Mine is re-enforced with stickers from all over.
Duaen

Other than weight, one slight difference could be that there is supposedly one or more bears I believe in the Adirondacks that has figured out how to open a Bear Vault brand.

Where are you backpacking? That will affect your choice of canister.

As mentioned, no Bear Vaults in the Adirondacks. Yellow Yellow, the famous Bear Vault opener, is now RIP, but she trained a number of cubs over the years!

Bearikades have not been approved by the InterAgency Grizzly Bear Committee, so they can't be used where IAGBC-approved canisters are required (Grand Teton NP being an example). Go here and page down to see what happened when Bearikade met grizzly:
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=60298&startat=80
The explanation is farther along in that thread.

Of course either canister is fine for the Sierra.

Duane- hahah I heard the bears hate stickers. Sounds pretty impenetrable.

I'm not opposed to paying more for something that is lighter. I guess I just like to know why I'm going to pay more. and like I said it does look cool and its not like it'd be the first time I got something just casue it looked cool.

I more less want to make sure that its not a piece of junk that cost more cause it weighs less but can't perform the task it was designed to do.

Mary-
I will be in California mostly. So the sierra's is where I will be mostly. With a couple trips to other state parks.

I will also need it for whitney I believe. (I still dont have my date from the lottery?)

"I more less want to make sure that its not a piece of junk that cost more cause it weighs less but can't perform the task it was designed to do."

No worries there, in my opinion. The Bearikades are very well made and a beautiful piece of kit.

I think a Bearikade is the single most expensive item I ever bought for backpacking. Which says a lot about the relative affordability of backpacking as a hobby.

Mary- that posted link to another thread worries me a little. There is one of these expensive cannisters basically shredded from a grizzly. apparently these are great for black bears but not so good for grizzlies? have they fixed this issue? Or addressed it at all other than saying they dont do business in grizzly populated areas as much.

no grizzlys in California,
mostly just Marmots at Whitney.

"Am I simply paying 100+ dollars extra to have a pound removed from my pack?"

Another benefit of the Bearikade is the ease of opening the canister. Bear Vaults can be a real pain to open on a cold morning. I think most Bear Vault owners (including myself) can attest to cursing the canister in frustration at least a few times.

I know that there are no griz in CA. I live here.

Now does that mean that I want to buy a bear canister that is only useful in california? especially when it cost 3 times as much as other canisters? That is my concern.

Edit: sounded to snarky

well its the Bearikade or the Garcia,
totally your choice … only you know what your future plans are.

> "Am I simply paying 100+ dollars extra to have a pound removed from my pack?"

No. When you compare similar size to similar size the difference is not a pound and the price difference is more than $100. So depending on the size you might be either:
1. Spending $169 to save 10 ounces.
2. Spending $152 extra to save 5 ounces

From a post I made on another forum:
"The numbers are:
* Bearicade Weekender – 650 cubic inches, 31 ounces, $249
* Bearvault BV500 – 700 cubic inches, 41 ounces, $79.95
or for the smaller size:
* Bearicade Scout- 500 cubic inches, 28 ounces, $219
* Bearvault BV450 – 440 cubic inches, 33 ounces, $66.95

Personally I find the weight savings of the Bearicade models to not really justify the price, for me at least. For the large size $169 extra to save 10 ounces might almost start to look tempting, but $152 extra to save 5 ounces seems very dubious to me. Those would be some of the most expensive ounces saved on my list if I went that route. If I use the Bear Vault models I can buy both for way less than one Bearicade of any size and use the one best suited to the hike I am doing. The flexibility of having both is nice because when you can use the smaller one you can probably same additional weight by taking a smaller lighter pack. In my case on trips where the BV 450 is enough I am likely to be using a 10 ounce lighter pack as well for a weight savings of 22 ounces over the BV500. It is even 12 ounce lighter than if I had the Bearicade Weekender. Obviously I'd save weight with the Scout, but how many folks are willing to splurge for a Scout and a Weekender. Having all three Bearicades would be ideal but $762 would probably be hard to justify for most of us.

I figure that I can fairly easily get to a base weight of 11-12 pounds (depending on how much clothing I take) with the BV450 even if carrying a few luxury items. At that point I am really not willing to spring for another $152 to save 5 ounces.

On the other hand if you need a really big canister the Bearicade Expedition is in a class by itself as far as I know. I sure as heck would not want to use it on shorter trips or ones with frequent resupply options though. I guess if you are doing one big trip where you need that capacity renting or buying and reselling one makes sense. I really don't see it for the smaller sizes though unless you will only need a canister once."

This may sound like a small consideration given the price difference, but I really like that my Bearikade is a smooth flat surface. It slips into a frameless pack easily without getting hung-up and has no external ridges or bumps to bother your back.

Add the opening mechanism design plus weight savings and I've been happy with my choice.

PS: Pretty sure WildIdeas does have a rental program if you want to try one out.

"Bear Vaults can be a real pain to open on a cold morning. I think most Bear Vault owners (including myself) can attest to cursing the canister in frustration at least a few times."

This kid has a solution:

Not to sound TOO snarky, but everyone gets all huffy about that single picture of the bearikade that was mauled by a grizzly. My understanding is that they are used successfully in Alaska (please you Yukon folks correct me if I'm wrong) and all sorts of other places without incident.

There is no bear canister that is completely bear proof (ahem Yellow Yellow and your smarty pants offspring), so why does a single photo of a single bear can make people think the bearikade is not bear worthy??

I've read that threat a few times and really can't understand it. Now the price, that's a whole other thing to get all huffy about…..

Bear canisters provide about 40 minutes of protection.

They are not bear proof, nor marketed as such.

Yes, you pay quite a premium to save some weight in a canister with reduced volume capacity, an opaque surface and major back-country bling.

Personally, I go with the BV500's and am willing to carry the "extra weight" in exchange for:
–greater volume capacity than either a Bearikade or a Garcia;
–translucent sides that let me see what I'm digging for;
–nice, rounded edges that don't tear things;
–a simple method of opening that my Scouts and I find pretty easy;
–proven resistance to Yogi Bear himself, after he bashed, drooled and relocated our canister to no avail;
–insanely easier to use and lighter than a Garcia.

That said, I also commit to the High Sierra ethos of putting a rock in the pack of anyone with visible carbon-fiber equipment, so things tend to even-out…

hmm good info. I would likely only be buying one of these even if it is the bear vault and i was looking at the weekender. I did not know that they only bought your food slightly more time than with out. I assumed(I know I know I should not assume)that they stopped bears from getting your food. I guess I just need to order one and stop staring at the price.

We need to get a BPL member to make one of these that weighs less. Have they invented UL adamantium cloth yet?

It isn't unreasonable to spend the money on a Bearikade if you (a) have the money and (b) use it a lot, like on a thru-hike or if you live in California and are required or at least should take a canister for nearly every trip. If the canister is an integral part of every trip, get the one that has the features you like best. That said, Pete's numbers are something to consider: spending $169 to save 10 ounces; spending $152 extra to save 5 ounces.

I have a BV450 and BV500; neither gets a lot of use here in the PNW, where bears are not a problem like in Yosemite.

I have the money its not like im going to have to eat ramin for a week or anything. For some reason, and I dont know why, its harder to shell out for this than any of my other gear. Maybe its that im getting it because I have to and not because ive researched it, I love it and I really really want it.

I'm in the same camp as Pete. I needed 2 canisters for my JMT hike last year and went with Bearvault 500's that I got on sale for about $65 each. I saved more than $350 over the price of 2 Bearikades at the cost of 10 oz in weight to my pack and my son's. Bearikades are indeed nice, and if they were closer in price I would buy one, but I could not afford one Bearikade, much less two.

BTW: I found that opening a Bearvault became very easy and painless once I figured out how. Just take a small stick and push inward and counterclockwise just behind the tab on the lid. The lid turns just enough to get past the lock and opens easily from there.

Another Californian here – I've had the Bearikade Weekender and Scout for 3 or 4 years now, and am as pleased as I can be with something I'd rather not be carrying in the first place. Since most of my trips are under a week and solo, I have not gotten the Expedition. I've used my Bearikades as a stool in camp, and as a platform for my stove. If any bears have messed with my Bearikades, I have had no evidence of it. I'm sure the stickers have had a lot to do with that! ;) But some sort of bear canister is required in too many good areas here in California, I figured I might as well get them. Plus when I go with another family member, I make them take the bigger, heavier canister!

Actually, I put bright stickers on them to help me find them in the morning!

I agree that at the outset, regardless of branding or design, the bear-can appears to be one of those "I wouldn't take this if I didn't have to" decisions.

I expected to buy my bear-can, use it in the Sierra, and then sell it off. However, I hate hanging food … I hate hunting for appropriate trees and apparently, despite years of clumsy practice, I suck at throwing and tying knots. In situations where I am out with a small pack for only a few days and I don't want to sleep with my food the bear-can has surprisingly become an attractive piece of gear, even in situations where it is not mandated.

Additionally, in the right frameless pack, the smooth sided Bearikade placed vertically has worked well in building some pack-structure … kind of like a CCF pad burrito style, but in CF form.

Anyway, point being it might not become the throw away, sell-it-off, "I don't want to use it!" piece of gear it initially appears to be.

As to Erik's backcountry bling factor, I totally agree. Those darn kids with their SilNylon and rubber-soled shoes. Its strictly canvas and hobnail boots for me! (LOL. Sorry. I couldn't help myself.)