Originally Posted by
cyccommute
No, I don’t use one of those. First because it is a relatively new product and I’ve been backcountry traveling for a fairly long time. I carry paracord and hang my food or use bear vaults in campgrounds if there are any. Much easier than trying to find space for a 3 gallon jar. My first sentence means that I do not…under any circumstances…carry food or cooking gear with my clothing. They are carried in completely separate bags…either front pannier for road or some other way for bikepacking…so that they never touch. The front panniers or the easily detachable bikepacking bag are what get hoisted into the trees.
New product? You must not have been paying attention because these things have been around since at least the 1980s. The brand I use, BearVault, has been making canisters for over 20 years. Hanging food has been obsolete for many years and in fact is now illegal in many places in the US. The following parks require canisters as MANDATORY. Getting caught hanging food will get you a heavy fine and a prompt escort out of the park. You claim to be an outdoor person, but have you actually gone outdoors in the last 15 years? Or do you only ever engage in armchair typing? The world wonders.
Popular US parks where hanging food is illegal and bear canisters are mandatory:
- Yosemite National Park
- Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Parks
- Grand Teton National Park
- Rocky Mountain National Park
- North Cascades National Park
- Olympic National Park
- Denali National Park
- Glacier Bay National Park
- Gates of the Arctic National Park
- Inyo National Forest, eastern and central Sierra Nevada, California
- Eastern High Peaks Wilderness Area, Adirondack Mountains, New York
Originally Posted by
cyccommute
But, more importantly, I don’t know how I would carry on of those on a bicycle. The one you linked to is 8.7” wide. An Ortlieb Back-Roller Classic is only 6.7” wide. It won’t fit. And if I’m using bikepacking gear, there isn’t anywhere to put it at all. That seems to be a good thing for car camping but for any activity where you have to carry your own gear, not so much. You must be using a large pannier for your front pannier or using a much smaller canister. That bear canister is way too large for just about any front pannier I’ve ever run across.
God damn you're ******** obnoxious. I'm the one who uses these things. You, by your own admission, have never handled one of them; yet for some reason you have enough ego to come around claiming what is possible or impossible, in "any front pannier you've ever come across". Here's a freaking picture of my canister in my Arkel front pannier. Gee, I wonder how I was able to tour all these years, and how I was able to create this magical picture, since Cyccommute has already decreed that it is impossible. Please sit down now and try to work on reducing the size of your head.
For anyone else who wishes to tour through the yearly increasing parts of the US where camping without a bear canister is illegal: these canisters come in varying sizes. If you are not big on cooking like me, you can get a smaller one that only holds one to two days of provisions. Don't forget to put all your other aromatics inside too, like your toothpaste and personal hygiene products.
