Bear Vault Bear Canister Solo 450
Bear Vault Bear Canister, Solo 450
Do you backpack in bear country? Then hopefully you know that you are required to have bear canisters for your food and any scented items. I love the Sierra Nevadas in California, and during the summer I always have a bear canister when I backpack. In many areas, such as Yosemite, the old-fashioned method of hanging food and scented items is illegal. Therefore you’ll have to pay up and get one of these expensive plastic containers. Why is a plastic box so expensive? They’re highly engineered, approved for use in the backcountry (the zoo bear testers have been unsuccessful in opening the canisters), and the plastic is shatterproof. So when you or a bear drop it on a rock, you don’t have to worry about plastic bits flying everywhere.
There are a few different types of bear canisters, but the Bear Vaults are the best quality for the price. The top can be opened without using tools (all you need are strong fingernails), and the plastic is extremely rugged so that bears can play with your canister, bang it on rocks, and it won’t break.
What I like in particular about my Bear Vault Solo 450 is that the plastic is transparent, so I know where to reach for my toothbrush or favorite granola bar without unpacking all the contents. Plus, the top is very wide. I have friends who have an older style bear canister that requires a coin to open, is solid black so you can’t see the contents, and has a very small opening at the top so they pretty much have to unpack everything to get what they need.
If you are backpacking for more than a long weekend, or if your sharing a bear canister with a friend, you’ll want to get the Bear Vault 500.
Hiking Lady tip: Bear Vaults make fantastic chairs!
One other thing: a female bear in the Adirondack Mountains named Yellow-Yellow has apparently figured out how to open Bear Vaults, but so far she’s the only one in the bruin world who currently has the smarts to figure it out. As long as you don’t encounter Yellow-Yellow, this is my top choice of bear canisters.
Bear Vault Bear Canister, Solo 450
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