High Sierra Topix

Oldranger-
I haven't an knowledge of or experience with a "Bearikade" canister.
I have always just rented the standard canister from the Forest Department
(in Bishop). Last season was my first season with my Deuter Act Lite 65 + 10 &
on the way in I packed that canister vertically & horizontally on the way out.
Must say I preferred it horizontally for a multitude of reasons. Acutally been
debating about buying a canister, just not too sure whats out there, pricing,
or what the best "bang for my buck" is. Any suggestions? Hope my two sents
helped! Thanks!
-Evan

If you are one of those who goes out on a lot of 2-3 night outings with an occasional weeklong (or longer) outing, the way to go IMO is the smaller Bare Boxer (the smallest and lightest canister, anywhere, also the cheapest, also fits anywhere in the pack, on any axis) and an occasional rent/borrow of a Bearikade (best volume-to-weight ratio of any of them). For a very long trip, buying the Bearikade starts to make more sense.

Bare Boxer canisters are on many of the approved canister lists (Yosemite and SEKI are my primary concerns) but are not on sale in box stores very often... I have seen them in the grocery stores in Yosemite tho.

I carry snacks outside the canister all the time, usually in ziploc bags, but I am not in grizz territory. The worst bears I deal with, the ones in Yosemite, don't go after things like packs because of the smell. They go after things on sight. They will look in a car, see an empty, clean ice chest or bag of shoes, and break into the car to investigate. So when in Yosemite I make a point to put the pack somewhere close by or inside the bear lockers if in backpacker camps (signs instruct you to do this in Tuolumne backpacker campground, specifically) and never leave the pack when taking a short break on the trail (had four people last year tell me stories of taking off the pack to go have a "tree watering" break and come back to find a bear dragging the pack away).

Wow this is an old thread! Ultimately I got a Weekender after looking at the Expedition. I probably should have done what rlown did and have a custom container made that is an inch longer--one more day capacity.

Mike

oldranger wrote: Ultimately I got a Weekender after looking at the Expedition. I probably should have done what rlown did and have a custom container made that is an inch longer--one more day capacity.

Mike

Had occasion to compare my Weekender to Russ's custom "1-inch-longer" Bearikade at Saddlebag. Took me a moment to realize that his was slightly longer, but not even close to as gargantuan (read almost unmanageable in today's lightweight packs) as is the Expedition.

Almost amazed that Russ did something right on his custom order bearcan strategy. Probably did not cost significantly more too...Good call Russ!

I wonder if backpack designers take bearcan dimensions into account when they design their latest models. Many a promising backpack has been tried on and discarded for want of the ability to carry a can comfortably.

I like my kelty tioga pack, and i like to carry my can in the lower compartment. So, i measured what i could get in there. Expedition is 14"; Weekender is 10"; The garcia i used to rent was 12".. So, when Wild-Ideas told me about custom sizing, I ordered a 12" (same height as the Garcia).

I went custom for 2 reasons: 1) biggest I could get in my pack for extra space. 2) I'm tall, and sitting on a weekender around the fire would be too short. 12" was just right.

They split the cost right down the middle between the Expedition and the Weekender.

For all trips, my snack food is in my daypack in the top compartment right on top. For long trips, my first meal will also be in that daypack. I don't think the ranger will bust you for that, based on what i read in the regs.

Russ