Bear can: You like to pack it horizontally or vertically?

[Doug Coe]

I bought my ULA Catalyst because it can fit a bear can horizontally. I was renting Garcia can’s back then. Now I own a Bearvault 450 and a Bearicade Expedition. The Expedition has to go vertically, which leaves just enough room on each side to be a pain. I could push it over to one side, but I’ve had bad carries with lop-sided loads.

Anywho, I’ve read people saying that they preferred to pack a bear can vertically. And others liked it horizontally. What is your preference…and why?

What would the ideal pack have that would make carrying a bear canister better?

[Paul Wagner]

I carry our larger bearvault vertically in my Golite pack…and our tent goes right next to it.  The fit is snug, and the weight is pretty balanced.

[BlackHatGuy]

“What would the ideal pack have that would make carrying a bear canister better?”

A porter?

[Ken Thompson]

Being able to plop it in on its side makes packing pretty easy.

[Doug Coe]

Doug—I see you said a “porter” not a (HMG) “Porter”. Took me a second to realize that! Is there a llama around here somewhere?

[Doug Coe]

Paul—I might have to give that off-center vertical bear can method a better try.

Ken—Thanks for chiming in with your preference.

[Matthew / BPL]

I purchased a Catalyst a few years ago thinking that I wanted to carry my BV500 horizontally but I decided quickly that it was more comfortable to carry vertically. I can’t explain exactly why but my hypothesis is that a vertical carry is more comfortable because it places the mass closest to the core of my body rather than placing mass to the left and right of my center of mass.

[Brad Rogers]

I carry a Bearikade Weekender or Expedition vertically. I tried the Weekender in my Unaweep 4800 horizontally, but for some reason didn’t like the carry as well. If I carry my Bear Vault Solo, I carry it lid toward the back, probably due to habit of finding that the most comfortable way of carrying it with a frameless pack years ago.

[Daryl and Daryl]

I carry bear cannisters horizontally for the balance.  My pack is large enough to carry a couple of the largest cannisters horizontally if I need to.

[Jerry Adams]

Horizontally

If it’s vertical, if tends to flop back and forth sideways

I hate having to carry it though.  2.5 pounds is about like 2 days of consumables

[Doug Coe]

Matthew & Brad—I haven’t carried one horizontally for a few years, but I don’t think it felt substantially better to me. I’m thinking of making a pack to carry it that way for the ease of packing around it.

Daryl—On one week long trip section of the JMT I ended up carrying two Garcia cans horizontally (my brother was a bit more out of shape than me!) It worked fine in my Catalyst.

Jerry—Exactly my current bugaboo. Packing and repacking little items on each side of a vertical can is a pain in the ass. As for the weight generally, I am starting to use an Ursack for non-regulated areas in CA, though if a bear chews on it my trip would be messed up!

 

[Brad Rogers]

Nunatak was working on a pack that was specially designed to carry a canister horizontally at the bottom of the pack and while I’m not sure how well it worked, looked like an interesting approach.

[Jacob]

I’ve been experimenting with horizontally, high up on the shoulders. I got the idea from Mchale’s website: http://www.mchalepacks.com/ultralight/Detail%20Hi%20Rez%20Pages/Bear%20Cannister%20Page.htm

Putting the can nearer my center of mass makes me feel awkward like I did when I was fat. Putting the weight high up ‘on the shoulders’ makes me feel more agile which leads to less fatigue, as long as it stays secure! Sensations of my pack wobbling/swaying are super annoying. There is something about the volume of the canister as well as its weight that makes it feel awkward nearer my center of gravity. If I pack the bear canister’s contents into a opsack, the opsake is more comfortable to carry in the middle of my pack, up against my back. If I ever need to be seriously careful, this carry method allows me to not put any food or cookware inside my pack ever, which I like as well.

I have considered building a pack with two vertical stays which would curve toward the back to perfectly hold a cylindrical canister horizontally right up against the shoulders while still falling away from the back transferring weight the standard way with a hip belt and load lifters.

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[Lester Moore]

The Bearvault 450 is a curious canister as far as sizing. It is about the same in diameter and height, so I’ve carried mine horizontal, vertical and horizontally rotated (where the lid sits flat against your back). Definitely agree with Jacob – high and close to the back seems to feel best for carrying.

Some people carry their canister empty on the top of their pack and pack all their food in a bag deep inside their pack. I’ve never tried this, but the big downside is having to re-pack your canister each night – probably only an issue the first few nights.

[Jerry Adams]

I sized my pack so the bear vault fits sideways.  I also put my sleeping mat burrito style, so the pack has to be big enough for that too.  Bear vault goes almost on top.  Some food and water for the day’s use goes on top of that, and jacket in case it rains.

If bear can isn’t required, I just hang my pack from a tree and put my food in it.  I am mostly just worried about rodents.  Where I go, bears are fearful of humans.

[Chris B]

Vertical at the top of my pack. Usually if I need a bear I take my Gregory Z40, I know its not UL but its really comfy:-) My BC is BV450 which is about the same dimension in height and diameter, I find if I pack my sleeping bag one side and sleeping pad on the other it keeps it well clear of my back. This is usually the last piece of gear I load and I and I leave the lid loose so I can easily access food in the day.

[Doug Coe]

Obviously, different strokes for different folks, YMMV, and all that jazz.

Jacob—I’m surprised you like the carry better with the bear can up high, but…see above. I don’t get what you’re describing with two stays holding a horizontal can.  How would they hold the can? You don’t mean they’d be on the side away from your back (often called the “front” of the pack) do you?

[Doug Coe]

Lester—Yes, the BV 450 is not a problem since it’s so short.

As for not having your food in the can during the day, too much hassle to repack the can each day, and you’d better not let your pack out of arm’s reach in any place where the bears are active.

[Jacob]

I was surprised I liked the weight up top as well. I never would have tried it if I hadn’t found that page on McHale’s website and then saw that he isn’t the only manufacturer that recommends it.

I was l looking for (still am I guess) other ideas on how to carry the canister after getting annoyed with how the BV500 fits in my Osprey Atmos.

The Atmos has an internal frame which curves away from the back so even with the bear can tightly secured on top of an empty pack the frame forces the canister away from your back. If I let the canister rest too far from my back the pack starts to feel unsteady. I’ve started to imagine stays that would curve with my back so the canister could rest as close to my shoulders as possible, if that makes sense.

Please excuse my drawing abilities;

Hopefully the bear can could help stabilize the stays so no horizontal frame piece would be needed. I thought making it an external frame bag and using some minimalist approach to securing dry bags and other stuff would help counter act some of the bear can’s weight, but the ‘hardware’ (adjusters, buckles, etc) weight adds up fast.

Really the whole idea for the pack comes from trying to carry the bear canister in some *perfect* spot right up against my shoulders while still transferring most of the weight to the hip belt.

I’ve never used an external frame before, this has just been something I’ve been thinking about while trying to pack my bear can

[Nick Gatel]

I’ve never bought a pack with consideration on how a bear can would fit. How I carry it is just a function of how best I can pack it and utilize the space in the pack balancing the entire weight content in my pack. Nowadays I use three different packs. My ancient Kelty D4 external, a McHale Bump, and a McHale LBP 36.

Sort of an exception to bear can consideration was my McHale LBP 36. For that pack, I bought the optional bear can straps:

I don’t use that Garcia can anymore. I have a BV450 and BV500. With the LBP36 I put the BV450 inside the pack, usually vertical. The BV500 is almost the exact same size as the Garcia, so it goes under the lid horizontally as in the picture above.

With my McHale Bump (picture below), a BV450 barely fits vertically. If I push it down past the top of aluminum stays it is hard to get out, as it fits very tightly. So I never use the much taller BV500 with this pack — and once in a great while I use the BV450. If I feel I need protection from bears I use the older Ursak, the yellow one, not the newer “all white.” I do always follow the regulations and use bear cans where required. Also, if I am with a group and we camp in a high use site known to have bears, I sometimes bring a can whether or not it is required.

 

KELTY D4 OPTIONS (which makes the Kelty awesome)

I can fit a bear can anyway I want with several options.

In the picture below the bear can (BV450) is inside the pack. You can see that it could be strapped to the outside of the pack on the top of the pack or below the pack bag where the sleeping bag, foam pad, and air mattress are currently strapped.

BV450

Above is a BV450 vertically, and you can see there is a lot of room around and above it. A BV500 is much taller but can fit vertically.

Below is a BV450 horizontally.

 

The larger BV500

Horizontally, it fits right at the top. The aluminum stays that hold the bag open won’t let it go down any further, so it sits on top of the rest of the pack contents. However, I could take out the stays and push it down — which I never do.

Above: BV500 horizontally with the top flap closed.

Garcia

The Garcia fits almost identically as the BV500. It sits a hair bit lower, but really can’t easily be pushed below the metal frame that keeps the top of the pack back extended.

 

 

 

 

 

[Doug Coe]

Jacob—Yeah, I’m surprised too that you found it carried well up high like that. I’m working on having it horizontal with its midline at about the top of my shoulders. Well, in this photo it’s higher than that:

I don’t know how to get it closer to my back. Maybe your idea of curving stays would help.

[Doug Coe]

Nick—Thanks for your thoughts and for all the great photos. They really help clarify things.

Yeah, old school external frames give you different options and limitations, for sure. I don’t use mine (Trailwise) anymore. It feels too stiff and wobbly to me now.

The McHale looks like it puts the weight of the bear can pretty darned high. Seems like it would be a bit top heavy.

I wonder if making an internal framed pack that’s a bit wider would make the space around a vertical bear can more useful. But I still don’t like squeezing things on each side as a solution.

[Nick Gatel]

I wonder if making an internal framed pack that’s a bit wider would make the space around a vertical bear can more useful. But I still don’t like squeezing things on each side as a solution.

One of the advantages of an internal is moving the frame (stays) closer to the center and creating a cylinder shaped bag that is not quite was wide as an external — this helps with off-trail hiking and scrambling. Most external bags are somewhat rectangular, which makes it easier to load stuff — the wider frame of externals makes it perfect (and somewhat required) for this shape (and wider) of a bag.

Everything is a trade off.

With the bear can high on my McHale, using the frame extensions and the load lifters (Dan’s load lifters are incredible), the top of the pack is the perfect place for the can. This pack is designed to carry a lot of weight, but the most I have ever carried is around 35lbs.

[James Marco]

I have been ignoring this because it is mostly a question of how thinks fit in your pack. With a UL or Lightweight pack, these are often too short for horizontal carries and a BV500 (12″ long.) And, the diameter (~8.7″) is bigger than most packs (usually between 5-8″.) Of course fabric can often wrap around. Even the Counter Assault is 7.5″ making it about the smallest diameter, but will only fit into regular packs, not light or UL packs.

Anyway, I usually use them horizontally (BV450, usually) in a smaller pack. I never liked the way they barreled the pack, packed vertically, meaning it was tough on my backbone.

[Les Waddel]

Just finished making this…  will try it on the TRT end of Aug.

[Author]

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