Question:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi, I was just wondering if any one else out there thought that the price of bear canisters is like WAY TOO MUCH!! I will be traveling to the Eastern Sierra in late July. I know that in Yosemite bear canisters are the only legal way to carry your food (lest you be fined by the ranger). HOWEVER, spending 80 dollars on a small barrel of plastic is just crazy! There has got to be a better way. Sure, I could rent one, but that involves precious vacation time that I could be using hiking, climbing, or camping. Now…don’t get me wrong. I think bear canisters are a much better idea than hanging your food (sorry). BUT, some company (that starts with a "G") is making a fortune. The materials in the"G" brand must cost about 10 bucks!! Can’t I make one out of PVC pipe? Or something? A two gallon thermos by Coleman or something might work, and even be lighter. Please boycott and protest the "g" brand. Geez, we are paying so much already to enjoy the wilderness. If anyone has any ideas, I would like to hear them. Thanks signed, Upset in Minnesota
http://12.16.220.8/ursack/ursackweb/home.html — Peter http://members.xoom.com/pecado/peter/pzhome.htm – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – "Consider what you want to do in relation to what you are capable of doing. Mountaineering is above all a matter of integrity". Gaston Rebuffat
Response:
I was just wondering if any one else out there thought that the price of bear canisters is like WAY TOO MUCH!!
http://home.pacbell.net/orbs/bc-homepage.html is an alternative. Prices are a bit less. There is a place that will beat the Portal’s price of $50. If you email me I’ll look up that URL. You think that is bad. Try looking at prices at wild_ideas.com $225 for 2 lbs 2 oz. Holds quite a lot however… You can make them out of PVC. They weigh more. Make sure that you round off the edges so that Yogi, doesn’t get a good tooth hold. A screw on top would work just fine, if you leave a deep enuf slot to put a good chunk of metal into to undo it. They get pretty tough to open after somebody/thing has played with it. The question is whether the NFS Rangers will look with as much loving appreciation on your creation as you will however. Good luck!
Response:
Myths about bear canisters: M: They don’t weigh a lot. F: I don’t care how you slice it, 3 lbs. is 3 lbs. is 3 lbs. M: They can hold six man days of food. F: If the man eats dehydrated food only and is only doing moderate exertion. Add anything of substance and that curve dries up or if you are needing 4,000 to 6,000 calories due to extreme effort. M: Bear bags and hanging is just as effective. F: In some parts of the world where bears are very habituated to human food hanging from a tree is not a 100% guarantee of success. M: The bear canister covers all of your needs. F: If you are camping in an area with extreme bear activity or where the risk of a brown bear encounter is very real, a bear canister will not store your cookware, your dishes or the clothes you cooked in as recommended in these regions. If you follow bear protocol to the LAW you will just end up hanging 3/4 of your stuff anyway. I forked over the $78 at REI for mine as they are all but required at Olympic National Park if you plan to camp at Ozette. Not because of bears – because of raccoons who are so darn smart and habituated they are now prying the lids off of 5 gallon containers which if lug one of them down three miles they now strongly recommend to duct tape shut. Clever little critters – can’t blame them – chocolate brownie Clif bars taste much better than beetle grubs. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi, I was just wondering if any one else out there thought that the price of bear canisters is like WAY TOO MUCH!! I will be traveling to the Eastern Sierra in late July. I know that in Yosemite bear canisters are the only legal way to carry your food (lest you be fined by the ranger). HOWEVER, spending 80 dollars on a small barrel of plastic is just crazy! There has got to be a better way. Sure, I could rent one, but that involves precious vacation time that I could be using hiking, climbing, or camping. Now…don’t get me wrong. I think bear canisters are a much better idea than hanging your food (sorry). BUT, some company (that starts with a "G") is making a fortune. The materials in the"G" brand must cost about 10 bucks!! Can’t I make one out of PVC pipe? Or something? A two gallon thermos by Coleman or something might work, and even be lighter. Please boycott and protest the "g" brand. Geez, we are paying so much already to enjoy the wilderness. If anyone has any ideas, I would like to hear them. Thanks signed, Upset in Minnesota
Response:
<good stuff snipped Clever little critters – can’t blame them – chocolate brownie Clif bars taste much better than beetle grubs.
The jury is still out on that one. -MWP
Response:
: Above 9600 feet, there are few trees with good : branches, so the bear bag method is not approved there. That : almost forces you to the bear cannister, but that is only above : 9600 feet. When I was there I scrambled up a big boulder and hang my food on the overhand part of the rock. Expensive, let’s see. You come to California from Minnesota spending $600 in airfare and another $1,000 in food lodging and a car.
where do you come up those numbers? $600 airfair? is that flying from London? $1,000 in food lodging and a car ? I spent way less than that when I traveled for 2 weeks in a rental car. The lodging in the backcountry sure is expensive. The californians must be rich. gotta move west. -mh
Response:
Hi, I was just wondering if any one else out there thought that the price of bear canisters is like WAY TOO MUCH!! I will be traveling to the Eastern Sierra in late July. I know that in Yosemite bear canisters are the only legal way to carry your food (lest you be fined by the ranger). HOWEVER, spending 80 dollars on a small barrel of plastic is just crazy! There has got to be a better way. Sure, I could rent one, but that involves precious vacation time that I could be using hiking, climbing, or camping. Now…don’t get me wrong. I think bear canisters are a much better idea than hanging your food (sorry). BUT, some company (that starts with a "G") is making a fortune. The materials in the"G" brand must cost about 10 bucks!! Can’t I make one out of PVC pipe? Or something? A two gallon thermos by Coleman or something might work, and even be lighter. Please boycott and protest the "g" brand. Geez, we are paying so much already to enjoy the wilderness. If anyone has any ideas, I would like to hear them. Thanks signed, Upset in Minnesota
Response:
I know that in Yosemite bear canisters are the only legal way to carry your food (lest you be fined by the ranger).
This is not exactly true. The rules require that all backcountry travelers store their food so that the bears can’t get it. That means using a bear locker (in the few places where those exist), or it means using a bear bag in the tree, or it might mean some other obscure technique. However, the rangers have just added a new phrase. Above 9600 feet, there are few trees with good branches, so the bear bag method is not approved there. That almost forces you to the bear cannister, but that is only above 9600 feet. I’ve already discussed this with the head bear ranger of Yosemite, but I did not make any headway. —Bob Gross—
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi, I was just wondering if any one else out there thought that the price of bear canisters is like WAY TOO MUCH!! I will be traveling to the Eastern Sierra in late July. I know that in Yosemite bear canisters are the only legal way to carry your food (lest you be fined by the ranger). HOWEVER, spending 80 dollars on a small barrel of plastic is just crazy! There has got to be a better way. Sure, I could rent one, but that involves precious vacation time that I could be using hiking, climbing, or camping. Now…don’t get me wrong. I think bear canisters are a much better idea than hanging your food (sorry). BUT, some company (that starts with a "G") is making a fortune. The materials in the"G" brand must cost about 10 bucks!! Can’t I make one out of PVC pipe? Or something? A two gallon thermos by Coleman or something might work, and even be lighter. Please boycott and protest the "g" brand. Geez, we are paying so much already to enjoy the wilderness. If anyone has any ideas, I would like to hear them. Thanks signed, Upset in Minnesota
Hmmmm….they rent the cannisters at the ranger stations and you have to go there to pick up your permit. So much for the precious time argument. Expensive, let’s see. You come to California from Minnesota spending $600 in airfare and another $1,000 in food lodging and a car. Now two days into the eastern Sierra backcountry a week long trip a bear takes your food which has been nicely counter balanced in a tree. Now, is that Garcia Bear Resistant Cannister you can rent for a couple of bucks a day so expensive? They are a pain in the ass and heavy but effective. Bill
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