Lightweight bear bag for long trips

If you want something larger than the standard bag, I would contact Joe at Zpacks and see what he could do.

"If you want something larger than the standard bag, I would contact Joe at Zpacks and see what he could do."

+1 He's got quite a selection of Cuben fiber bags for sale, including a pretty good size one designed for bear bagging.

Joe will make you a blast type bag to your dimensions if you ask.

"The bags would need to be durable and be able to survive scrapes against trees and accidental hitting the ground really hard, possibly on a long thru hike (e.g. PCT) without any major punctures."

So no cuben then. Dan Durston (fellow BPLr) had two cuben bags fail halfway through their PCT thru. Just so you know.

I use an Ursack, so no help from me.

I use the S2S eVac bag as my food bag. It's a nice compromise of being lightweight and durable although I did poke a hole on it on the Wonderland by being careless. I do notice that it gets damp in the bag when I hang it in the rain overnight but I suspect that's more from condensation than water leaking through the material.

I forget what the volume and weight of the bag is but I'll post it here later.

I've never bear bagged on long hikes. It just doesn't happen and I mostly slept with my food.

But… if I were to do another I'd carry Joe's bag for food where there wasn't significant bear issues. I'd carry an Ursack where I was concerned. I'd carry a canister in National Parks where I was required.

I'd blow the money on all three.

Since 2008, I just used a regular cuben fiber stuff sack rather then a dry bag for my food bag. I will use a 2nd one for overflow if needed rather then trying to overstuff the first one. It's also easier to pack 2 smaller bags then one giant one in your backpack.

On the PCT, I also ended up sleeping with my food far more then I hung it which is pretty commonly done by thru-hikers. Except in the Sierra Nevada where I used a bear can between Kennedy Meadows and Lake Tahoe.

I have found cuben fiber stuff sacks to be pretty durable except for abrasion which should not be an issue with a food bag as I see it. I don't get the requirement for able to handle scrapes against a tree which is abrasive. If properly hung, a bear bag should be far away from the trunk and never hit it otherwise a bear could grab it from there.

I don't like dry bags. They turn into one solid object when rolled up. They don't conform to spaces in your pack. Then you get gaps in between the fixed shapes.

What is wrong with a standard Granite Gear or similar sil-nylon stuff sack?

http://www.granitegear.com/outdoor/packing-systems/event-sil-drysack.html

One year later, and I bought two custom cuben fiber bags from Zpacks. KT is right about cuben fiber. After about 10 days of use, it is already showing major signs of wear including a few small holes in it. I think that the main source of abrasion is actually taking it in and out of the pack.I met a guy who had a Sea-to-Summit Ultra-Sil Nano dry bag and said he had it for 3 years. It was stuffed to the brim with all sorts of things poking into the side and seemed in very good condition. At 28 g for 13 L, that seems like a good alternative.

Ian,

can you use bear bags on the Wonderland trail? I’m hoping to go next year and I thought they required bear canisters.

It’s hard to beat the STS UltraSil roll-top bags for price/weight/performance…they pretty much hit the compromise sweet spot.  I have several that have been in service for 3+ years and still look/work like new including the one used for food hangs.

I now use the ZPacks cuben bear bag kit, and am very happy with it’s performance and durability.  That said, my decision to make a change had mostly to do with the Zpacks system being a natural color.  I believe a food hang should blend in and look as much as possible like a part of the forest.  It only makes sense that animals would be more attracted to things that don’t look like they belong, i.e stand out.

Brightly colored bags and hang lines are out for me.

Bear canisters are not required on the Wonderland Trail

.Hiking the Wonderland Trail: Being cautious around animals .

It’s hard to beat the STS UltraSil roll-top bags for price/weight/performance…they pretty much hit the compromise sweet spot.

+1. For comparison, the S2S 13L weighs 1.4 oz and costs about $16 (before any sales/discounts) vs. Zpacks 12.3L weighs 1.1 oz and costs $35+ship. So a few tenths of an ounce penalty for less than half the cost. S2S also makes a 20L that sounds like the perfect size for you. And, they also make a nano ultra-sil in multiple sizes, even lighter but not as durable.

I don’t like dry bags.

I used to feel the same way until a night time storm ruined all my food hung in a drawstring bag.

I should have said I have the Ultra-Sil *Nano* bags…they look and feel like they’d be somewhat fragile but are in actuality very sturdy. Replaced them with STS ultra-mesh stuff sacks when I got a “waterproof” pack and started using my Schnozzle as a pack liner.  SO much easier to see things in a mesh stuff sack.

does anyone use spinnaker anymore?  I have a 10-ish liter spinnaker sack that I’ve used for bagging for the last five years, not even a pinhole in it- it’s light too (sub ounce)

Don, Wonderland has bear poles or bear lockers at all the sites. So it’s really easy. Just need a nice roll-top waterproof bag.

I know it’s been a while, but I figured I’d update.

I bought some Cuben fiber bags from Zpacks. Not suprisingly, they developed some small holes after about 5 uses, likely due to abrasion from the tree as I hoisted the bag up. They are now clothes stuff sacks or food bags in places where food storage is not an issue.

I then tried some Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil Nano. Within the first use, there was a hole in the side. I took the bag down, and the entire closure apparatus separated from the rest of the bag. Not durable is an understatement. I think a plastic bag from the grocery store would be more durable.

I’m back to square one. I’m thinking maybe the heavier but more durable STS dry bags. Alternatively, I could get an Ursack, although they are a bit small. I need about 20 L to fit all of my food sometimes, as I go out of ~10 days at a time sometimes.

While it goes against UL philosophy, consider using 2 or 3 separate food hang bags on long unsupported trips. 15 to 20 lbs of food puts a lot of stress on the hang point of a single food bag. Multiple bags means less stress on the hang point, meaning a lighter weight bag will work. Multiple bags also allows you to pack easier and to segregate food better for more efficient meal preparation (who likes to dig to the bottom of a 20 L dry bag stuffed with food to find a toothbrush, chocolate bar or a coffee packet).

Cuben fiber bags…developed some small holes after about 5 uses, likely due to abrasion from the tree as I hoisted the bag up.

The bag should be hung well out on a branch, several feet from the trunk, such that the bag wouldn’t abrade against the tree.

Well if you can’t find exactly what you want  I can make you one out of 1.43 Cuben, the same zpacks uses for their bear bag. I made one myself and it has proven to be very durable. In fact, I don’t try to be careful with it at all. If you bought regular black dry bags from them then it was 1.0oz Cuben and I’m not surprised at the pin holes. The difference in durability between the two is significant in my opinion.

Yeah I’ve beat the hell out of my ZPacks 1.43 food bag including dropping a huge branch on it (scouts were involved in that 😐) and it’s still airtight.

Adam, do you have a sewing machine or know anyone who does?   The new Mountain Silnylon sold by Ripstop by the Roll seems almost perfect for this use.  It will have better abrasion resistance than even Cuben Fiber/Dyneema composite that is heavier than it.  And the tear strengths and waterpoofness are nothing to sneeze at.