Don't like bear canisters….don't like to hang my food…any suggestions?

I use either a Minor or the regular Ursack. It’s nice to not have to look for the tree.

It slows critters down. But as far as I know they have never been tested.

Ursack white or whatever they call the latest, where allowed.  I haven’t used the minor.  Also Use an OPSac or other smell proof barrier as well.  The vendors test these extensively and many lightweight backpackers use them in place of canisters and hanging.

You mentioned Sierra and not worried about bears.  Also suggested you would survive if you lost your food.  That sounds irresponsible to me.  I could care less if you are hungry.  The canisters, hanging and other methods are there to protect the animals.  I’m pretty sure some form of food protection is required by law or land management times throughout the Sierra.

Don’t feed the animals!. I know that’s your point, but hopefully you’re not looking for feedback to use less when the rules say you should consider bears.

Those metal mesh bags might be a better choice.

https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/ursack-major-rodent-breech/

I have heard of:
1) Sleeping with your food
2) Hanging your food
3) Bear canisters
4) Odor Proofing your food (bears have very sensitive snouts)
5) Drowning food in deep water
6) Burying food

The lightest method is hanging your food. Learn a good, safe method. The fastest method is using a canister (but also a couple pounds heavier.)

Odor Proofing doesn’t work very well, bears can smell through water, and burying food beyond a bears reach takes too much time. Forget sleeping with your food for obvious reasons.

Mostly, ursacks are heavy food bags. I do NOT recommend these. I have heard stories of bear cubs playing with them for hours, masticated and saliva drenched remains in the Ursack and bears running off with them when presented with loud noises (usually due to failed lines tying them off to trees and rocks.) Hung, they are as effective as standard bear hang, just heavier. See Ken T’s note above.

Of the above methods, I use hangs mostly and canisters sometimes (when above treeline or when required.) In the many years I have been out camping/hiking, well over 45, I never lost my food to a bear. I am afraid you are stuck with one of the methods you don’t care for. Sorta like carrying food for 14 days, knowing you won’t eat the last of it until you have carried it for 14 days, 13days, 12days, 11days… Even the extra couple ounces can add up…

The white Ursacks are allowed in the E. Sierra (Inyo NF). I’ve never had a bear come into my camp over there. The white Ursacks  are certified by the Grizzly Committee, so I guess they do keep the bears from eating the food. As James says, you might end up with chewed on food, though.

I  hear the Opsacks do work. Bear have been known to walk right by them. They are hard to get closed properly, though.  I keep them open but folded during the day. I like them because my pack, which I use as pillow, doesn’t smell so much like food. Also they are clear, so better than a stuff sack for finding what you are looking for.

I use a Ursack lots because it weighs 8 oz instead of the 1 kg bear canisters, and it does keep the bears from associating food with humans. BTW, best to choose your food carefully when in bear country. Avoid smoked salmon, IMHO it is bear bait.

First off, I agree with Bob to comply with the laws and regulations of the area you are in.

Having said that, here back East where bear canisters are rarely required I sometimes will carry food in a cookie tin. I drilled aligned holes through the edge of the lid and the body and put wing nuts through to secure the lid on. This will prevent any of the likely suspects (rodents, crows, raccoons, etc) from getting to the food but not bears or feral hogs. I have a small tin that actually was from a holiday gift of cookies that’s good for an overnighter that weighs just over 6 oz. I think you can get tins at a craft store like Michael’s or Hobby Lobby.

I have a small tin that actually was from a holiday gift of cookies that’s good for an overnighter that weighs just over 6 oz.

Conditioning bears to associate holiday images with food seems dangerous to Santa.

I agree with Marco: hang or canister.

Off course the Ursack is a tempting alternative.

If I can get convinced they do not give bears the ‘food reward’ conditioning I might one day consider them.

My stash includes butter, sometimes oil, often fish. During an attack most of these will likely saturate the fabric or make it thru the 1/4″ separations in the Spectra the Ursack company warns about. It seems unlikely this will not entice a bear to come back for more.

So we add the Kevlar liner to help with that issue.

However the food will still be crushed. I won’t go hungry, but every meal will taste the same and be caffeinated, sweetened and salted.

Such a mix of food and packaging could be a big deal so let’s add the aluminum liner, and why not the Opsack barrier for the ants.

Now the Ursack deluxe is 25 ounces.

The Weekender is 31 ounces. Both hold the same. One is a stacked set of add-ons trying to solve issue after issue, the other a direct shot at the best solution.

The main thing for me is whether or not the bear will receive a reward from an encounter with my food. So far I view a proper bear hang or a canister as the best defense.

Ursack S29 7.4oz, with the aluminum liner is 17.8 oz

Minor v.1 is 5.1oz

My Outsack is about the same size as the Minor 4.2oz

Bearikade Weekender 30.9oz

My hanging kit weighs 2.1oz plus the weight of the food bag in use.

I would never use an Ursack as a hanging food bag. Totally defeats its reason for being.

I almost never hang. Raccoons, crows, chipmunks and deer are the biggest bother I experience. Had bears pass through camp, but not stop for dinner.

Lets not forget that the OP is looking for rodent proof.

“More looking to rodent proof.”

BTW the Outsack, Ratsack mesh bags make the best creek coolers. I think these might be a good option for you. Happy with mine.

Ken T, you’re right: 17.8oz.

But isn’t that without the Kevlar liner, which I interpret from various sources as the one feature most addressing the OP’s concerns about rodents? I also see it as the most effective add-on for the food reward issue I have.

The aluminum thingy is meant as an anti-crush measure, right?

+1 to Bob’s comment on responsibility…

Food storage like it or not is critical for the safety of ALL hikers. The lack of responsible human behavior is creating no less than generations of trash bears on well traveled trails especially where the pressures of hunting is not an issue for the same bears. I don’t know the level of responsibility of the OP but I know what I have seen with my own eyes and if people are put out by the daily responsibilities of proper and safe food cooking and storage chores they should find a more compatible front country activity to enjoy. Yes I said it, stay out of the woods if your too lazy to do it right. There are plenty of examples of physical encounters now with black bears to prove my point. It is not your level of comfort you should be worried about, it is the possibility of the bears you are training with bad behavior that will interact poorly with your fellow BP’ers out there you should be worried about. And just because you can get away with something doesn’t make it an intelligent choice.       Sorry (well not really) but sometimes you have to cut thru the BS and tell it like it is.

I know this doesn’t answer your question, but you should just get used to hanging your food as one of your camp chores. It’s just good practice, esp with the increasing numbers of people in the backcountry. If you look at it as an art, and take pride in your hangs, it becomes an enjoyable part of leave no trace camping. There is so little to do once you’ve set up camp, what’s 5 minutes to help keep animals away from human food?

Most places I hike there’s no place to hang anything (above treeline). So I’ve gotten used to carrying a bear canister whether they’re required or not. It’s a small price to pay for my peace of mind and for the protection of the animals.

And I agree that I’m mostly protecting against rodents and marmots – I rarely encounter bears above treeline away from the trailhead slums (aka campgrounds).

not a big fan of bear canisters because of their weight

Have you considered reducing your base weight by the same amount that your bear canister weighs? If you take short trips of 4 days or less, you’ll hardly notice the weight of a 26 ounce Bear Boxer Contender 101 canister in your pack if your base weight (minus canister) is in the lower UL range. Or as Serge said, just get used to hanging your food – I don’t like taking the trash out to the curb at home but I do it anyway because it has to be done.

Another option if available in your area is choose hikes that have campsites with bare boxes or intact bear hang lines. In Olympic National Park there are many such sites, and you can do a whole week long trip there without canister if you pick your campsites for it. The lines often get taken down by falling trees over the winter, so you have to check with the rangers (or trail condition reports online) regarding lines at each site before your trip.

I agree with jimmy b. Do it correctly 20 or thirty times and it is just something you do. Hanging a bear line is not that hard, learn to do it correctly. And using a canister is not that hard. Even leaving your current supper out while relieving yourself can be a bit risky. Create a good habit of ALWAYS being with your food. Take your food bag with you when hanging it and take the nights food out as you hang it, or, just before you drop your canister, remove your food then walk back to camp to cook it. Never leave it alone.

Get a Bearikade scout. It’s light. I used to hang in the Sierra. I was very good. I still lost food to bears–once one broke off the hang limb and once my food was on the ground right next to me while I tried to light a fire in the rain. Darn cub! That was the end for me. Now I find the canister far easier than hanging.

But if it was just rodents I was worried about, I’d hang. That’s a simple hang and the bag is easy to retrieve when I realize that I left my advil in it after hanging it up.No need to for a bear proof hand for rodents.

Thanks for all the tips and suggestions everyone. Per some responses, I always follow the regulations when I camp and if I’m doing something more than 3-4 nights I always take my BV450 regardless of the rules.

Sounds like the Ursack Minor may be the right fit for what I’m looking for though. May have to check one out. Like the cookie tin idea as well. Do you put the food in an opsack with it?

Toss a baseball with the kid next door to keep your arm in shape.  A good “arm” makes hanging a cinch.

Like the cookie tin idea as well. Do you put the food in an opsack with it?

I don’t, I just put the food in the tin. I don’t care if the critters can smell it as long as they can’t get to it, and I’m dubious that the opsak is truly odor-proof anyway.

I’ve used completely odorless food stuffs (like canned goods), rinsed off, and just leave it under leaf litter at the base of a tree or under the beams of a foot bridge across a stream.  Never had a problem, but I do this in Alaska where bears are so habituated to humans as a food source.  I have heard and think I’ve observed black bears in California routinely biting ANY ziplock bag because while some have dirty socks or deodorant inside, others have GORP, chocolate, etc.

It is a rare setting that allows for this trick, but I’ve seen it done twice (out of many hundreds of nights of camping):  Repel off a cliff or lead climb up a difficult crack and hang a bag of food from a climbing nut/chock secured in the crack.  Remember that bears have better strength-to-weight than you do, so it is an unusual pitch that doable by you and impossible for them, but there are some.

“Repel off a cliff or lead climb up a difficult crack and hang a bag of food from a climbing nut/chock secured in the crack. ”

I did something like this once years ago. But it was an easy crack since I’m no climber. It worked that night. This sort of topography isn’t always ready at hand however. And it often takes a lot of effort to climb up to a cliff wall from your campsite and then find and ascend a crack. In the end, a Bearikade has proven easier overall.

I’ve also dangled a food sack over a cliff that had a steep approach. Supposedly bears don’t like this scenario. But neither do I. In California, bears know how to draw up a food sack using the rope it’s hanging from. So much for humans being the only tool using species.

If you like to hike at altitude tree hangs become few and far between. Even at 9500 feet the scrawny trees that you might find are no good for hanging. It’s important to protect bears from your food–not the other way around. People should research and understand this.

So…to belabor a point, I use a Bearikade. For me it’s the least painful of all the options in bear country.

Haha, definitely using a bear canister before I repel down a cliff ;)

Don’t like bear canisters….don’t like to hang my food…any suggestions?

I’d suggest you put it in a stuff sack inside the foot section of your sleeping bag… easy to defend it from attacks that way :)