High Sierra Topix

this is a longshot--anybody in SF Eastbay (Oakland, Berkeley, Albany etc) or 680 corridor own a Bearikade Expedition and willing to have a guy come by and put it in his (ancient, external frame) pack to eyeball the fit? ulterior motive--to see if there's extra room to custom order a larger size. if amenable, can e-mail me at mk1122@sbcglobal.net. thanks in advance. oh yes, Kelty Sonora circa 1977.

A Bearikade is 9 1/8 inches in diameter. He can just build a model out of heavy plastic or construction paper to see what might fit. I have a 12" tall can, as I went customized based on a model i fit into my Kelty Tioga.

He must be going horizontal, as vertical doesn't sound like a problem. I do wonder if they are still legal if they extend past tested lengths in a national park, but that would be a real stretch. Rangers don't know how to measure.

Russ

I'm not in the east bay, I'm in Marin, but I have both sizes of Bearikade if you get desperate. PM me.

I agree with rlown even cardboard model. You could also get a section of sonotube at a local construction supplier for a few $. The 10" tube would give you a good representation, plus it is strong so you could load your pack up without crushing a model.

May we get a pic of his pack with a ruler or some measuring thinggy about where he wants to put his bearikade?

I know i have to finagle my can in horizontally into the lower area.. But she fits. and i stuff sundries around it to fill the voids and leave the top of the pack for everything else. Not really a vertical guy, but it really depends on weight distribution when hiking. I'm happy with my config..

Just want to know where your friend is putting it.

The Expedition is pretty big - I've seen them but not used one. I have a Weekender and a Scout. I can fit a week's worth of food in the Weekender. I can fit four or five days food in the Scout. We all carry different amounts of food; so that will make a difference in the size you need.

I think you can rent one to try it out if you can't find someone close by with one that you can look at.

thanks to all for your suggestions. I did cobble together a cylinder of approx the right size--but approx is the rub. the fit would be tight indeed, I probably need to use one of the two offers to test drive one, or rent one for a single day and send it back. you might guess that a guy who drives a 2000 toyota echo and carries a 1977 kelty sonora is a cheapskate, and you'd be right, so any complication makes it easy to forget the whole thing. thanks again for the responses.

I drive a '97 dodge, but my Kelty Tioga is a 2006ish. He's dropping $275 approx anyway. Why try and go bigger than an expedition? What is he putting in there for how many days?