Bearikade Expedition?

[Jeff L]

Hello All,

I am a long time lurker, first time poster. I am starting to backpack a lot more and most of it in the summer will be in the Sierra Nevada, with a bear can. I currently have a Bearikade Weekender, which I like as much as one can like the added weight of a bear can. Given the ongoing need for a bear can for many Sierra trips (yes, I know about Ursacks) I recently ordered a Nunatak Bear Ears pack. As part of my efforts to up my game and do longer and more frequent trips, I hope to do trips which require more capacity than the weekender. I have a permit for an 8 day trip and 6-7 day trip later this summer and hope to do at least 1-2 “longer” (probably 5-9 day trips) in the future. I am wondering if I should upgrade my capacity to carry more food with an Expedition, Blazer, or the BV500. I have been learning about techniques to get more in a can, including higher caloric density, repackaging, etc. but I also read about people who struggle with getting a week of food into a BV 500. I don’t want to waste money, but what do you all think about getting the Expedition vs the BV500 or Bearikade Blazer? The advantage is the ability to have greater capacity for the longer trips with only a 3oz penalty over the Blazer and 40z savings over the BV500. With the Bears Ears I don’t really have to worry about a larger size fitting in the pack. I know I can improve at packing efficiency but if I go 7 or 8 days I am worried I may be beyond the limit of what I can get in the can, even with keeping the first day of food outside. I also thought about renting but it seems it would be good to have the can to check out my packing in preparation for trips. Thank you for your time and any input you have.

[Matthew / BPL]

How many calories do you want a day? Do you prioritize ease of packing and interesting food choices? Do you enjoy planning and spreadsheets?

I got ~3300 cal/day into a just over a liter/day. It’s not easy but it wasn’t that hard either. I was willing to make sacrifices in order to make a trip happen.

The Expedition is probably a good idea. It will make your life easier.

[jscott]

I have the Bearikade Scout and the Weekender. I’ve seen the Expedition. It’s huge! I personally would  hate to carry one.

It’s easy to get 7 days of food in a Weekender. The Bears Ears should handle that brilliantly. It’s the lightest bear canister of its size. Good.

Here are a few tricks: if your trip exceeds bear can capacity:

–eat breakfast before heading out and carry lunch and the first night’s dinner on your person

–learn good hanging technique and go ahead and hang sunscreen and bug spray etc. bears aren’t  really interested in these anyway

–re supply. In the Sierra, there are many re-supply point on trail. Simply mail your food to the site and pick it up. They are dependable!

–because of this last point, you can usually devise a route with re-supply every 7 or 8 days

IMO the Expedition  is overkill in the Sierra. If you’re doing a high route, off trail,   bear issues are greatly diminished.

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[Charlie Brenneman]

I would rent it personally if I was going on a longer expedition. You can get 6-7x 8-10 day trips before it would be more than owning it and like others have said it is too big for most trips you’ll do. Resupply or you can even stash food in some lockers if you plan the route well.

[Steve Thompson]

Personally, if going unsupported for a couple weeks AND there are no bear boxes on the route, I’ll carry 2 weekenders.  Sometimes my route will be a figure 8 or something close where I can stash one and retrieve it midway, sometimes I’ll dayhike one in and stash it to set up a “resupply”, and sometimes I just bear the load.  Weekenders fit my pack horizontally, so they carry well, and when one empties I’ll stash my clothes in it to condense my load.

[Jeff L]

Thanks for all the good info everyone! Much appreciated.

Mathew I was shooting for 3300-3500 for calories. I do prioritize ease with food and like interesting food, but for a trip I can rough it a bit and want to be light, though I also get nutrition can be important, especially for more than a few days. I like planning but less into spreadsheets, though I am a big time list maker.

[Terran Terran]

I think the Blazer is closer to the width of the backpack while I think the Expedition will hang out. While there isn’t much difference in weight, the extra weight is further away from your center. I think minor nuisances. They don’t recommend the Expedition for their frameless packs. Having room for your cook kit might be a nice feature. Expedition would make a better seat, but you can’t keep it in camp. I’ve looked at this setup a few times. I’m a bit jealous. I think I’d go with the Blazer. Through hiking you’ll find resupply and be carrying less weight. If you’re going to sit by the lake for 9 days, then the expedition might be nice.

[AK Granola]

I have a Weekender and an Expedition. I have carried the Exped once; my husband carried it for us on several trips. Eventually I’ll sell the thing; I can’t stand carrying it because it is such a beast. I’d opt for an Ursack+Weekender or some other solution over carrying the Expedition. For my smaller appetite, I can get 8+days into the Weekender, but that is about it. Maybe if I did more scientific calorie measurements or something, but that is *work* – something I get enough of. The Blazer sounds like a good option; it wasn’t around when I purchased the Weekender.
When we did the MT CDT last summer, we estimated 10 days at the outset, so I crammed the Weekender full, and put everything else into a Nylofume bag that I hung inside a nylon sack. Not a great solution but we got lucky (or as some like to say “it worked”). Then we ended up completing the section in 8 days anyway and I had leftover food!

[Jerry Adams]

I was in the Trinity Alps

There was a sign at the trailhead about a problem bear

Some other hiker used an Ursack

The bear got to it and shredded it, ate the food

This is just one anecdotal case, but I’m skeptical of ursacks

[Terran Terran]

You find the perfect tree at the end of a little side trail to hang your Ursack.
You realize later that little side trail was a bear trail and that perfect tree is the same tree that packers have been hanging their food from for the last 50 years.

[jscott]

I’m not a fan of Ursaks either. BUT: for decades I hung food in the Sierra. I was damn good at it! Until I wasn’t. That is, a bear got my sloppy hang when I was bushed and night had fallen and at altitude i couldn’t find a good tree. But for a situation where you had to carry a huge overkill canister like the Expedition or carry a Weekender and hang one day’s breakfast and lunch in an ursak…I’d choose the latter. IF you know what you’re doing (counterbalance hang, etc. plus great limb and all the rest.) And camp below the hang. Or use the Ursak  the way it’s intended, strapped to a tree trunk.

[Diane “Piper” Soini]

I have one. By volume it’s the lightest option for sure. Here is a side-by-side with my Zpacks Arc Blast. I was able to put 11 days of food in it, all stuff I dehydrated myself, plus various bars. It took up all the remaining space after my sleep stuff and shelter. A few things fit next to it.

[dirtbag]

Try the Blazer. You could always sell it quickly and then get expedition if you really need it.

[Jeff L]

Thank you everyone. The wealth of knowledge in this community is really impressive and helpful!

[M B]

Weekender is all i need in sierra.  I can squeeze 7-8 day in it, plus current day in pack. Good enough for any distance between resupplies I’ve had to do at 18-25 mpd

I did encounter people on the JMT who ran out of food….using expedition…. Their packs were ginormous and they were simply traveling too slow.  10 mpd. HYOH…. But at the same time don’t complain about not being able to carry the food you need, when it’s due to the choices you made.

 

[Paul McLaughlin]

I have both a weekender and an expedition. I have gotten 12 days worth into my Expedition with some room to spare, and I think I could do 14 if I packed as carefully as I could. The 12 days was 18lbs; I probably eat less than some now that I am in my 60’s. The officially stated capacities of the two are 650 Cu. in. and 900 cu. in.; based on that and doing the math from 14 days, then I should be able to do 10 with the weekender. I am not sure of that, but I am confident I could get 8 or 9.  I will be using it this summer for that many days. And yes, I could figure out ways to resupply so that I would never need to go longer than 8 or 9 days, but I like to go as long as possible without resupply so that I am out there longer. That’s a matter of personal preference. Beyond that, it depends to a large degree on what you eat and how much, as those things vary a lot from one person to another. If you are 6-3 and 200 pounds of muscle you are going to eat a bunch more than I do at 5-10 and 150, regardless of how compact your particular menu may be. If I were in your shoes, and thinking 9 days would be the most I would want I would put together 9 days worth of your backpacking menu and try to fit that into the weekender. Won’t really cost you anything because you can eat the food, and then you will know how many days you can really do with that canister.

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