Originally Posted by
HardyWeinberg
The website for olympic national park says canister only but the friend who had an ursack got a verbal OK and brought it. I had one of those garcia containers, borrowed. While it doesn't compact with use, you can pack other stuff into it as space becomes available. No fan at all of the weight/bulk though. Another friend had a ratsack, we had no hope that velcro closure would keep raccoons out.
From what I can gather, Ursacks are often allowed places where canisters are required, but there is no explicit rule against Ursacks. I've never had a problem when I've asked, but I've often had to explain what an ursack is.
More generally, it seems that bear canister approval is a slow and bureaucratic process, and that individual enforcement comes down to the ranger on site.