Best pack for bear can – maxed out!

What size pack are you using? I believe ULA quotes the volume of a medium pack and you lose a few liters when you size down (and gain a few with a large). That might account for the pack being smaller than quoted. Also, do both manufacturers measure the same way, including pockets and extension collars?

I carried a Seek Outside Unaweep 4800 when I did a 14 day trip without resupply and used a Bearikade Expedition (packed to the brim).  It’s still a bit of a Tetris job, but I don’t think you’ll get out of that with a bear can.   Some places now allow an UrSack which is easier to pack (but not as easy in camp).

BTW: I’m a big fan of Seek Outside when you need a pack for heavy or bulky loads- I would go with the SO Divide nowadays.  I bought my Unaweep in 2015 before the current Divide was released.

Karen, As Mathew said, there are differences in the way different manufacturers measure the volume of their packs. For example, some packs include an extension collar, some packs have it but don’t include it in volume measurements, some packs don’t have one (eg panel loaders.)

i have pretty much given up trying to use the numbers from manufacturers. Most will usually list a height, width depth, or, circumference and height. I just use these numbers to calculate the volume of the body of the pack.(The actual math doesn’t change, just the units.) Some manufacturers (HMG) use a semicircle for a base shape rather than a rectangle, but the idea still holds, since I generally need to convert the circumference to a 11inch flattened oval anyway…but it is all the same idea.

Anyway, I will note that the computed numbers will never match up with the stated volume. Since i know I need two side pockets (large enough to hold two 1/2L water bottles) and Front pouch large enough to hold wet and waterproof stuff (maps, water treatment, water bladder, socks, tarp, etc) I can safely add these in after. I usually use 1.5L for each side pocket and 4L for the front pouch or around 450ci. And I use a pair of pad keepers against my back, so the pad (~400ci) only serves to support & cushion the pack load.

Yes, these numbers can get a bit involved but I don’t do them a lot…maybe once every three or four years when I am looking at a new pack or to help someone. This number crunch will help avoid things like you describe. And I don’t really care what the manufacturers spec says. If I need a larger pack, I want to KNOW it is really larger in the body for example. My base gear doesn’t change much. For comparison, I would note that a full sized bear canister holds around 10L…this is around the same as a full food bag. The actual shell material will take up around 20ci. It is the overall shape and larger diameter that is the visual killer.

As an example, I can usually settle a Bearikade Scout horizontally in my Murmur. It is a little tight coming out, but not terrible. I just have to remember to remove the pad before the food. The overall volume doesn’t change…well maybe slightly. But it LOOKS like there is no room for the rest of my gear. Not true, I load it up fine, but it IS in a different arrangement. Volume doesn’t change over the course of a trip, however.  Since it is not wise to put bedding, sleeping cloths in the bear can with the food, the volume stays roughly the same for the entire trip.  Rather than passing a hiker and him remarking that I am carrying a “glorified purse” it still looks like a full pack as I sit waiting for my ride home.

I can say that a BV450 fits easily in an Exos 58 L. I can’t say that that helps OP.

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When I had the Crown 60, I used it on a JMT hike with a weekender.  I thought it carried it great, and provided additional support than the plastic framesheet.  This required the can to have gear stuffed around it, but it worked great for me.

I’m going winter backpacking in Yosemite for the first time and just bought a BV450.  I hate it. It’s heavy and really hard pack in a space efficient way.  I don’t have a dedicated winter pack, so my summer pack will have to do.  Combined with my bigger sleeping bag and extra winter layers, my pack is bursting at the seems.

The only solution I can think of is to jump up to a bigger pack.  When it comes down to it, I’ll bear the extra 1lb. of pack weight for the convenience of the 10L larger pack.  I came to this conclusion after spending about 4 “rounds” of backpack Tetris before I settled on a less than ideal load configuration (the heavy canister was between my shoulders rather than down low).

I’m with Brad on the Seek Outside pack (I have the Divide). It’s the only pack I have in which I can put a Weekender horizontally, which is always my preference for carrying a canister. Yeah, it’s not a UL pack, but it carries great and is perfect for bulky loads.

If you like your Granite Gear Crown pack, maybe try their newly revised Blaze 60 pack? It has men’s and women’s fit, adjsutable torso, adjustable hipbelt, and removable lid. They rate it to 50lbs, so it should carry better than the Crown.

Even though it’s advertised as a 75L pack, the ULA Catalyst only has a 52L main body (including the extension collar), so your assessment that it may be smaller than your Crown is correct.

Karen – I can’t speak to the new Crown and Blaze iterations, but I too own the Crown 60 and the same generation of the Blaze 60. I always have simply used the top straps to secure the BV450 to the top of the pack…never bothered trying to fit it inside.

I found the Crown extremely comfortable up to about 25 lbs…much more than that and comfort went quickly downhill.  The Blaze was similarly comfortable up to 35-40 lbs.  Since you like the fit/performance of the Crown, I think you’d be happy with the Blaze for heavier loads.

Get a Luxury Light frame and attach the most minimalist pack you can find and like. Nothing carries a bear canister like that. I put either a Weekender or a Scout horizontally on the bottom of my GG frameless pack and it nearly snaps into the metal L bar on the bottom of the LL frame. You can also just put the bear canister outside your pack on that L bar.

It’s easy to drape a pack over the frame of a LL pack. I really didn’t like the round bags that come with a LL pack. You can buy a frame solo.

“So…I’ve read a ton of posts on here but I haven’t really seen the optimal bear can carrying pack.”

I think that depends in part, at least, on the canister you are using, in addition to the pack dimensions and shape.  For my purposes, the ULA OHM has proved to be ideal for my Bearikade Scout.  I can fit it in the pack with the flat top/bottom against my back, and room to spare for a folded Gossamer Gear Nite Lite 1/8″ pad.  I’m not sure what pack, if there is one, where you could do that with a Weekender, but it might be worth inquiring to various pack makers.  You might get lucky.  If you’re able and willing to cough up the buck, Dan McHale can custom design a pack to hold a canister, or so he told me years ago.  He’d be a good place to start if you are willing to part with the money.  Another approach might be to spend time reducing the volume of food to the point where you couldfit the required amount in a Bearikade Scout and go with the OHM.  I have taken that approach, and can fit 8 full days of food in the Scout.  With the first day’s food carried outside the canister, I’m good for 9 days in the field.  YMMV may vary, depending on your diet attention to how you choose your ingredients and packing technique.

It is a medium sized pack. John’s answer makes sense to me, that pack just doesn’t hold any more than the Crown. If the Blaze has more support that may be the way to go, and just put something on the top – whether that’s the can or something else that I take out of the main compartment. I hate tying stuff on, but I guess it’s that or go with something really big and heavy. That is not gonna happen! Thanks all.

YES, what Tom said. Reduce the volume of your food and then you can carry a smaller can. 1 Liter of food per day works for me. YMMV.

By contrast, I max out at six days with my Scout. And that’s with only breakfast and a powerbar for lunch on the sixth day.

I think with the lid and volume of the Blaze 60, you could fit everything inside the pack.

If you go to Section Hiker’s website though, you can see a picture of the Blaze 60 with a bear can strapped to the top, so it looks like Granite Gear has thought of this. A Weekender might even fit nicely under the lid.

https://sectionhiker.com/outdoor-retailer-2018-editors-choice-gear-picks/

I personally hate carrying a bear canister up top on a pack, but everyone’s anatomy is different. The weight of a full canister on top makes me feel way too tippy, and it’s uncomfortable for other reasons.

I personally hate carrying a bear canister up top on a pack, but everyone’s anatomy is different.

Isn’t that the truth!  I long ago discovered that I preferred the heaviest items packed in the upper half of the pack.  For me with the weight low in the pack it pulls on the shoulders and makes me learn too far forward to achieve equilibrium balance.  With the weight up high, my balance point is very nearly vertical, almost as though I were not carrying a pack at all.

Yes, I see people with a loaded bear can on top from time to time but I wouldn’t want to carry it that way.

I figured out that the issue is really the Prolite pad. It just fills up that inner main bag on the Catalyst, but fits fine in the Crown. But the Catalyst has more support, and the bear can is just unwieldy.

I finally got around to weighing things, and posted a list. Basically with the GG Crown I’ll take my Ursack, and if I have to carry the bear can, I’ll use the Catalyst and either just put the Prolite pad on top (rather than the bear can) or maybe…get a new pad. I hate Neoairs though, and nothing else is really less heavy or bulky as the Prolite except less warm/comfy pads. Overall I’m pretty happy with my stuff, but open to thoughts on cutting or replacing. Using the Catalyst/bear can will increase base weight by 35 ounces. But with a more comfortable carry, I think.

One nice thing about the Catalyst is being able to reach the water bottles. I just used bladder/hydration tube with the GG Crown because the bottles were too hard to replace without removing the pack. I could pull them out, but not put them back in.

The Nemo Tensor Insulated pad, 3″ thick, is only 15 oz. in regular size. Rolls up to the size of a 1L nalgene.

Karen, sounds like you’ve come up with a solution, so I don’t know if this will help.  I have a GG Crown 2 60 that I can use for solo trips as long as 5 days, carrying a BV 450 vertically above the sleeping bag and with other gear stuffed around it.  The tent gets lashed to the outside of the pack on the way in but I can get everything back in the pack for the trip out.  I do not put the first day’s food and snacks in the bear can, and I repackage the heck out of everything before it goes into the can (put freeze dried food into freezer bags etc).  I know that I have a tendency to take along too much food, so I have made an effort to be more mindful of that.  My last trip I was down to the last energy bar for lunch on the way out, yay.  Even if I had to go without food for a day or so I have – ahem – some reserves.