Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board The bear cannister

Folks:
Rookie questions...
What are you finding is the best way to carry this? Strapped outside? Best way/place to store/hide at night?
Thanks.

I carry mine in the pack, trying to keep it out of the sun so that my food is not supper heated during the day. At night I place it where i can see it 20-30 feet form my tent. Think about where it can roll to if a bear "plays" with it.

Definitely inside. Those things are slippery and squirrely, difficult to strap on. And the clear ones, the BearVaults, act as quite the cookers in the sun. We inadvertently roasted garlic in one one day. No joke! As for at night, I like to put it out of sight and sound- let the bear kick and paw and slobber all over it without interrupting my beauty sleep. And they will kick 'em around...

anything extra needed at night to "strap" it down to prevent said roll???

NPS website says,
"the bear canister only works if it's closed and locked! Be sure to keep it closed and locked, even while you're around your campsite. Place the canister on the ground in a flat, level area 100 feet or more from your campsite. Take care not to place it near a cliff or any water source, as a bear may knock the canister around or roll it down a hill. Do not hang or attach anything to the canister (ropes attached to the canister enable a bear to carry the it away). You can place pots and pans on top of the canister as a bear alarm if you like."

part of the idea is to significantly separate the THREE areas: food cooking area, food storage area, and sleeping area, for the benefit and safety of the humans by reducing potential for close encounters.

I strap mine on top outside the pack. Especially since going to a smaller lighter pack. The cannister just takes up too much room inside a pack IMO.They are slippery and need to be stapped down tight especially the carbon composite Bearikade.

There was, and I don't know if there still is, a cover for both sizes of the Garcia canister. It has loopy things that will allow for tying down to the outside of the pack.

I just found this:
http://www.scoutgear.com/gmc12.html

Can't say it's still available though but it seems to be.

Found this at REI
http://www.rei.com/product/633066

I don't use it; instead I put my canister inside the pack. Don't want it to fall off when I'm enjoying the view of a canyon or stream and see my canister floating merrily along.

It's not a bear resistant canister. According to the Inyo National Forest it is, "A container designed to prevent access by bears..."

Done both, inside and outside of pack; inside internal frame pack and outside external frame pack. The cover I have was purchased from REI many moons ago but looks lighter than the one referenced in the thread above.

Both locations worked fine, my preference is the internal frame pack, things don't "move around" as freely on my back giving me the sense of more stability on more difficult trail situations where the footing is not the best.

I have carried a bear can a couple of different ways on backpacking trips. One is to put the can inside a compression stuff sack as the straps facilitate strapping it to the top of the pack. The other is inside the pack.

At camp I wedge it in between rocks/a stump etc in an area away from where I sleep with some consideration for where it may roll if a bear slaps it around in the night. My bear can is black so I spray painted some orange on it so it would be easier to spot if it rolled away.