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

[James Marco]

You might try some silicone caulk on the straps to prevent the canister from slipping off center.

[Doug Coe]

Les—That looks slick! How does it feel walking around with it fully loaded?

Does it have a hipbelt? I like hipbelts myself.

And how does the front pocket close? Drawstring? Zipper?

[Les Waddel]

Doug – Comfortable, no slipping or shifting.  I got the big canister, it’s just a few oz. heavier, but LOT of room to pack stuff other than food.  Yes, hip belt and main pocket is drawstring with top cover. front pocket has water proof zipper.  Bag was made with heat sealable so waterproof, no stitching.  Fully loaded… Max I usually carry is 18 lbs for a 5 day trip.  I’m working on getting my weight down (pack/carry weight not my weight!)

[Doug Coe]

Les—Thanks for the info. (I just checked your previous posts and found one where you talk more about this pack. Cool stuff!)

Putting the bear can on the bottom might make for a good carry (weight down low), but I want my pack to stand up when I let go of it (so: flat-bottomed). And I don’t want an uncovered can in any possible mud. HYOH YMMV, and all that jazz.

Do you  (anyone) think rain could get in an uncovered bear can on top of a pack?

[Nick Gatel]

Do you  (anyone) think rain could get in an uncovered bear can on top of a pack?

Probably not. I did have a Garcia leak a little water when it sat out in a rain storm overnight, but it was sitting with the lid facing up. It was just a little water and didn’t hurt anything. With a Bear Vault, it could possibly leak if the lid isn’t completely tightened, but even then I doubt it.

Putting the bear can on the bottom might make for a good carry (weight down low), but I want my pack to stand up when I let go of it (so: flat-bottomed). And I don’t want an uncovered can in any possible mud. HYOH YMMV, and all that jazz.

I wouldn’t like the canister at the bottom (HYOH) and I never put my food at the bottom of any pack.

There isn’t really any good solution for bear cans. My McHale LBP works well because the large can is strapped to the bottom of the top lid. But I don’t always take the lid with me. On short trips if I need a can and I need my larger McHale for the rest of my gear (instead of the Bump), the small can easily fits into the LBP pack bag. On my next trip I will probably bring a bear can, but it won’t fit easily in my Bump, and the LBP is too big for the length and conditions. The best pack for this canister is my old Kelty… but I’d rather take the smaller Bump.

[Doug Coe]

Nick—Everyone’s got their preferences. Roger C. says on his website he’d never put his sleeping bag at the bottom of a pack (might get wet)—something I always do!

I started this thread because I’m gathering ideas for a myog pack. So, I can make it smallish and still make it wide enough at the top for a 12″ long Bearikade fitting in sideways if I want to.

[Nick Gatel]

I started this thread because I’m gathering ideas for a myog pack. So, I can make it smallish and still make it wide enough at the top for a 12″ long Bearikade fitting in sideways if I want to.

That’s a pretty wide top. The only internal frame pack I own that can fit a can that long sideways is an ancient Gregory Whitney 95 — a huge pack! Since you don’t want the can strapped to the bottom of the pack, it seems to me that the best option might be to somehow securely strap it to the top outside. If you were to strap it to the bottom, it might get “muddy” when you drop the pack, but it won’t hurt the contents. But given the usual placement of a hip belt at the bottom of a pack, I think I would find a can strapped to the bottom of a pack annoying. It will be interesting to see what you come up with.

[Doug Coe]

Nick—Yeah, strapping a bear can on the bottom of an internal frame pack seems to bring in some problems. It’s likely to interfere with the hipbelt and water bottle pockets. And it’s round on the bottom.

Strapping the can on top can work well if it is kept fairly close to the back.

Making the top of the pack shaped bigger so it mushrooms out to fit a 12″ can sideways might not have much advantage, though I suppose it’s cleaner and might make strapping long things on the pack’s sides easier.

[Steve Thompson]

I carry horizontally.  Have a McHale Sarc that had Dan make just large enough diameter to slip the bearikade weekender into.  Aside from stuff I want super handy during the day it goes at the top of my pack riding between my shoulder blades and tops of my shoulders.  In this configuration the top of my pack is definitely heavier than the bottom.

Do find interesting the above shoulder positioning, puts the heavier weight “old school” so to speak in the way we were taught to load external frame packs.

 

[Doug Coe]

Steven—Do you find that having the can at that height carries well, comfortably?

[Miner]

Well vertically obviously since that is the only way they fit in my frameless packs. :-)

Back when I carried a larger pack, I liked to put it horizontally because I could keep the weight down lower, but I in recent years I actually find that packing it vertically I can pack things more efficiently: less air gaps (very important with frameless packs) and it’s much easier to access the contents.  And if I went back to a larger pack, I’d likely continue to pack it vertically today.

As my pack is a frameless ULA CDT and a MLD Burn (only the small Bare Boxer 101 fits), I obviously have much smaller gear so I have plenty of things to slip things along the side of the bear can on both sides.  I usually use my MLD solo Tarp on one side and my MLD bivy sack on the other side while trying to stuff my unused rain jacket and other misc items to fill in any gaps.  I only pack the near corners (eg. side closest to my back), as putting stuff in the far corners causes the pack’s back to distort which adds pressure on the shoulders as it pulls the shoulder straps further back.  The issues with using a pack barely big enough to carry a can.

[Steve Thompson]

<span style=”display: inline !important; float: none; background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: ‘Helvetica Neue’,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 26.1px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;”>Steven—Do you find that having the can at that height carries well, comfortably?</span>

Yes.  Works well for me.  Lower in the pack, not at all.

 

 

[Mark Verber]

I use a Bearicade Weekender. Vertically with items on either side to keep it from moving side to side. It’s opening at is at the top of my pack.

Why?

1. Ease of access: My food is always in the can, and I can get to it without having to dig it out of my pack.
2. When sidewise the can deforms my current pack making it less comfortable then when carried vertically,

–Mark

 

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