Nunatak Bears Ears 50 – White Insulating Paint for the Bear Canister?

[David Gardner]

Just picked up a Nunatak Bears Ears 50 pack, which carries a bear canister outside the pack bag, and about 1/3 – 1/2 is in the sun all day. Keeping my food cool and preventing melting or premature spoilage wasn’t a problem when the bear can was inside the pack, but I’m thinking it might be more of an issue with the can outside the pack. I have a clear BV500 and a black Bearikade Blazer will arrive soon.

So I’m considering several options for ways to keep the can contents cool. One is to line the inside with my GG Thinlite CCF pad, but that reduces the volume considerably and I need to be able to carry at least a week’s worth of food. I’ve thought about wrapping the outside with some white sticky shelf liner or similar material, which would add a bit of weight but also some durability against scratching the can. Then I remembered reading recently about invention of a new “ultra white” paint that reflects 98.1% of all sunlight and is being looked at as a way to dramatically reduce the cost of keeping buildings and other structures cool.

Internet search turned up a few things, among them Epoxylite 7001-15 White Single Component Air Dry Insulating Enamel Paint 155°C, white, aerosol SPRAY can (354 g) insulating paint, $20 for a 12 oz spray can.

Thoughts? Other options?

[Michael B]

Why not wrap the outside with CCF or some Reflectix? Minimal weight. It sounds like you might have already been thinking to take a CCF anyway?

[David Gardner]

I don’t want to wrap the outside with my CCF because it’s what I put under my Uberlite sleeping mat and I don’t ANY micro anything getting on/in the CCF that might poke the mat. And the CCF is not that durable for picking up and setting down on rocks all day.

But the Reflectix is a great idea. Doh!

Increases the diameter of the canister a bit but well within the limits of the straps on the pack. Practically free and a better sit pad than the CCF for the reasons mentioned.

[Michael B]

Or wrap the whole can with your CCf and just use a small piece of reflector for the area where the can will be touching the ground when you put your pack down.

[Dustin V]

Maybe line the inside with space blanket? Or foil, if you need that for any other purpose?

[David Gardner]

Inside the clear BV500 with space blanket makes sense for reflecting radiant sun heat, although I’m not sure it really work as insulation per se. Pretty sure it wouldn’t help inside the black Bearikade, but would on the outside. I’m pretty sure it needs something on the outside so the sun doesn’t hit that black CF.

[Rex Sanders]

Very soon after I bought my Bearikade, I spray painted it white with something not special from the hardware store. I think it helped, but no comparison or hard data. Makes it easier to find, which is good for me, and maybe good for bears, too :-( No problems in that department, but I’m rarely in bear country now.

Some of the paint is chipping off after almost 20 years(!), which gives it character. Might be time for a refresh.

Paint is probably lighter than Reflectix, … but no data.

— Rex

[David Gardner]

It will be interesting to run some tests. I’ll try the other various options before I try paint. I can do the BV500 tests now, and the Bearikade tests when it arrives.

[Marcus]

When I was researching radiant insulation I decided on SmartFoil

https://www.insulationmarketplace.com/store.html

I got the aluminum sheet with no CCF sandwich, but in your case you may consider the 3mm or 5mm CCF version. This would provide both radiant insulation and conduction/convection insulation. They claim to reflect 97% of radiant energy with the 100% Aluminum version (its actually a coarse woven poly fabric similar to walmart tarp material with a coating of reflective aluminum. Its relatively beefy, but not heavy)

If you just want a 2′ x 4′ piece of the aluminum foil-only style sheeting, I have some extra and will send you a couple feet for just the cost of shipping if you want to try it out.

This would have to be on the outside of the container. Inside would not help nearly as much.

[David Gardner]

@mcimes: That would be awesome. I’d love to try it. I only need a piece 16″ x 48″. I’ll test it along with the others. PM sent!

And thanks everybody, many good ideas.

[SIMULACRA]

Maybe not the most practical these products but..

https://www.lowes.com/pl/Reflective-roof-coatings-Roof-coatings-Roofing-Building-supplies/4294524367

[J R]

I had a similar problem with my Bearikade inside my 52L cuben pack, it’s a tight fit so the canister is pressed firmly against the pack fabric and I found that the sun was warming my canister through the pack fabric. I found this out because on the trail I like some dark chocolate after dinner and the bars pack well pressed up against the inside wall of the canister, but I would find them melted. I carry some pieces of reflectix to make an insulating cozy for my meals, and I now wedge the reflectix inside my pack between the canister and the fabric — no more melted chocolate bars, and no added weight for me since I was carrying that reflectix anyway.

To save weight you could cut a piece of reflectix that only covers about half the circumference of your canister, you probably don’t need to insulate it all the way around, only the areas facing up and out that will get direct sun exposure.

[David Gardner]

One option: 2.3 oz of Reflectix to cover a BV500.

Probably only need about 1/2 of that to eliminate sun exposure, but a full wrap insulates well, makes for a luxurious sit pad, and I can use it under my legs with my short Uberlite air mat.

[Ken Thompson]

A pack large enough to hold the canister would be lightest, easiest

[jj]

kilz spray paint would probably work just as well at less than 1/3 the price of the aerosol spray you posted

[PaulW]

If you’re thinking about applying a coating (painting), how about trying a white trash compactor bag first? Not a great deal of insulating ability, but somewhat reflective.

[Denis Hazlewood]

I’ve got an original Garcia, and two sizes of Bearikade.  The only thing I carry where heat would matter is cheese, which gets a little ‘melty’, but not a deal breaker.  If it’s really a problem I’d go with Reflectix.  I use it to keep y water cool, and it works very well.  And light as a feather.

[Nate F.]

Hello! I have my eye on a bears ears and am wondering how you’ve liked it and what you decided to do to keep your bear can cool? If you found you needed to do that at all?

thanks

[David Gardner]

I love it! I put a single layer of Reflectix around it and a round piece on each end, and it worked like a charm. Chocolate didn’t melt, cheese sticks didn’t turn into mush, extra water was still cool at lunchtime, even after hours in direct sun above tree line. Nice too that rangers could verify bear can visually even at distance.

[David Thomas]

Yeah, but the bears can see it at a distance, too.

[jscott]

“A pack large enough to hold the canister would be lightest, easiest”

the whole point of the bears ears is to accommodate a canister without hassle outside of the pack. Canisters can be a drag in a pack for several different reasons.

that said, for 5ish day trips or less, the Bearikade Scout packs very well inside a pack. Bears ears states that the Scout doesn’t work with their packs.

“Yeah, but the bears can see it at a distance, too.”

after feasting on the contents of the canister, the bears consider the backpacker as desert.

[David Gardner]

“A pack large enough to hold the canister would be lightest, easiest”

I doubt both of those assertions. The weight of additional pack fabric to enclose a bear can is likely more than the tiny straps and buckles on the Bears Ears. And the hassle of accessing a properly packed can – low and close to your back – is much greater.

“after feasting on the contents of the canister, the bears consider the backpacker as desert”

That’s why I don’t go solo. I don’t outrun the bear, just my dessert hiking companions.

[Nate F.]

how heavy of a load have you carried with it? Thinking about the hybrid as I desert hike quite a bit which requires heavier water carries.

[Brian]

I usually just keep my food in my food bag inside my pack and carry the empty container on the outside of my pack. It actually helps with balancing the load also. Simple solution.

*Edit* I just looked at the link to the pack you’re talking about. You could use some adhesive spray and ‘glue’ space blanket to the outside, reflectix isn’t very heavy either.

[David Gardner]

@Nate: just under 30 lbs

@Brian: I now make it a practice to carry all my food and other bear attractants in a sealed “odor proof” bag inside my bear can at all times, and never outside, on the off chance of a random daytime encounter with a bear. I have had several of those, but fortunately none required me to drop my pack or retreat. The odds of encountering hungry and displaced bears increase every year with climate disruption and I don’t want the bear to smell anything on me that it might want to eat. That’s just my personal opinion. I left a voicemail with the Rangers for Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park about this question and will post when/if they get back to me.

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