New bear resistant “Grubcan”

[Jenny A]

Anyone used the new Grubcan yet?  I saw one at REI, and it certainly catches one’s attention.  Six-inch diameter and about 2 ft long, with a lid that uses what the designer is calling gravity latches – it cannot be opened unless in a vertical position.  Volume and weight seem similar to a BV500.  I played with it a little bit and have no strong feelings one way or the other except that the length would preclude it from fitting inside any of my packs.

I’m not finding any reviews yet…who’s gonna be first to try it?

[John S.]

The bear can get that diameter in his mouth? It better be strong? The price is a ripoff.

[Matthew / BPL]

Huh. Same weight and volume as a BV500. Weird to pack. I don’t think I’m feeling this option.

[Baosito]

Hmmm … Not sure how it’s going to fit into my pack though … I agree with Matthew K. This just looks weird to me. Not to account the $$$ on this item.

[J-L]

Looks like one of the worst designed products I’ve ever seen:

• Similar weight and volume as the BV500, but 58% more expensive
• At 2 feet long, how is it supposed to fit in your pack? Even strapped outside, it would be obnoxiously wide. It’s narrower diameter advantage for fitting in a pack is nullified by it’s long length.
• It’s length and narrow width will make it hard to use. It will more easily tip over in camp. Something fell to the bottom? Good luck ever getting it out without emptying the whole can.

If they made a smaller version (maybe 1/3 as long) and priced it similarly as the BV450, then I could see it being a reasonable option for short trips where it’s narrower diameter could be a real advantage with smaller packs.

[Brad W]

I think the assumption is it can fit in your pack standing up and still allow for decent amount of room inside vs strapping a huge can to the outside. That can should fit easily into larger packs-50+L. I don’t like the shape for storing food though. Have to dump it all out to get to the bottom.

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

How do I get my Candy bar out from the bottom?  Unpack everything?

[Jenny A]

But it was designed by an engineer!

The best thing I can say is that at least it is somewhat innovative.  Maybe someone else will springboard off of the idea.

[Murali C]

Interesting. Spec says 6.5” x 23 ”. Narrow diameter is a plus for fitting inside a backpack. I guess at 23 inches, you will have to place it right at the bottom of the backpack and pack the sleeping bag and all the other things around it. Current popular ones are 8.7 inches to 9 inches in diameter making it a pain to fit in some backpacks.  Most backpacks are 6.5 inches or 7 inches. Arc Haul is 8 inches deep and HMG 4400 seems to have more than 8 inches depth – both of which carry bear cans without barreling. Otherwise it is usually painful to pack BV500 or Bearikades in backpacks. But, yes, agree that 23 inches height is painful. I usually pack my Bearikade in layers – day 1 food (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks), then day 2, day 3 etc. I never have to rummage into my Bearikade for food…..just remove a layer every day. So, I am not worried about trying to retrieve something from the bottom.

[John S.]

nm

[Paul McLaughlin]

My understanding is that the diameter of all the existing bear cans is what it is because that diameter is large enough so that a bear cannot close its jaws on it, either to crush it or to carry it off. So a smaller diameter seems like a bad idea.

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

To me, it’s kinda meh.  Not a real innovative product.  Seeing how much one would need to invest in developing and marketting a new product, this ones seems to be climbing an uphill battle.  It would be great to see a significant innovation in bear canisters.  One that comes to mind is a cylindical cannister that splits in the middle.  That would make access much better.  Additionally, it would be great that for short trips, you could take 1/2 a cannister.  That would be great.  Any other ideas that you would like to see?

[J-L]

A bear can with an oval cross-section would fit into most packs better. Maybe 6-7 inches on the short axis and 9-10 inches on the longer axis. That would give enough volume for a reasonable height (not 2 feet!). I’d guess Bearikade could do this if they just changed the top and bottom of their cans.

Going over Kearsarge Pass, I saw a lot of resupplying PCT hikers who would carry their bear can empty on top of their packs with their food inside the pack. Seems like an annoyance to me to have to repack the bear can every day, but probably half of them were doing this. So a bear can that is rectangular that could be disassembled and flat-packed would have a big advantage. Make it so the lid can only be locked if it’s reassembled correctly. I think this might end up too heavy though.

[David Gardner]

Their website says the Grubcan is “The critter can that actually fits in your pack!” but at 23″ long that doesn’t make sense to me.

[David Gardner]

From their website: “This canister is IGBC certified, but has not been approved for use in Yosemite or Sequoia/Kings Canyon NP yet.”

574 cu. in. vs. BV500’s 700 cu. in. doesn’t compare favorably in terms of weight/capacity or price/capacity ratios.

[Brad W]

@David it’s meant to be in there standing upright. https://i1.wp.com/tuffystuffy.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/20210220_160400-scaled.jpg?w=1244&ssl=1

[David Gardner]

I understand it’s supposed to be upright. 23” is an awkward length to pack in any direction.

[Brad W]

I think with a can that size most packs should be able to fit that height wise.

[Erik Hagen]

Agree with Paul M, your food might be safe but could also be miles away if Bear wanders off with it.  Can’t believe IGBC approved.  They must be only validating the strength of can

[Murali C]

I doubt a bear would be able to open its mouth 6.5 inches wide to hold it in its mouth? But, I suppose wider diameter is better.

Regarding any other ideas – it will be nice to make the entire bear canister out of 2 inch wide rings that can interlock with each other to make bigger or smaller canisters. It would require rods to hold it – but the rods can be built such that each 2 inch portion has a rod that helps interlock. At the top, a bolt or screw tightens or keeps all the rings together tightly. This way, we can change the capacity of the bear canister and we can hang empty rings outside the backpack to make the remaining bear canister fit better….I guess you could keep the food and rings in ziplock and pack it loosely and then assemble it at camp or keep it all together inside the pack like what we do today…..

[John Kays]

This design looks pretty attractive as far as easy attachment to my pack. My Arc Blast has two straps near the bottom of the pack but on bottom face of the pack rather than on the very bottom allowing this can to strap on and rest on the pack without bouncing around with each step. They currently go unused but would rather put a canister there than up on top as I presently do. The can is a tad heavy. Would be acceptable with comparable Bearikade weights.

[Matt S]

Grubcan is on sale at REI right now. Seriously looked into it, but my biggest hesitation isn’t the height, but that I wouldn’t be able to fit my cook kit inside width-wise (1.3L Evernew).

[Sam Farrington]

I carry food in a small Ursack on a shelf on top of my pack with an odor barrier bag around the food.  Because try to avoid food odors in the pack.  This guy moved into the back yard in 2015 and would not stop visiting until coyote urine granules were spread around the yard border:

Suppose you could strap the Grubcan to the side of the pack, using the straps there for skis or the like.  Or you could strap it the guy pictured above.  Is the can made of plastic?  If so, my Aussie would love to chew on a 6″ wide stick.

[YoPrawn]

Now, I was looking at this thing, thinking I knew I once saw a way to turn this into a weapon if I ever happened to be stranded on an alien planet (that happens to look exactly like SoCal) fighting a conveniently-bipedal lizard man.

[David Thomas]

6.5 inches is a smaller diameter than a human skull which clearly can be chomped by larger brown bears.

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