In some places, a locking metal box is the only way to keep your food safe.  In others, you can do nothing special at all and still wake up to your peanut butter & jelly bagels with a side of salmon jerky.  Let’s talk about the options for everyone not in that last camp:

Hang it!

The classic method is to put your food in a bag (dry bag if weather requires) and hang it far off the ground and far off from any nearby structure.  You can throw rope over a tall branch or over a bar installed at some camp areas.

This method apparently works for some people, but I frankly think it’s mostly luck.  Bears have learned to just cut the rope that is tied off to a tree somewhere, and their tasty treat falls to the ground.  Some animals don’t even need to go to that level of effort.  Small animals (think rodents) can just use that cord of yours as a highway to free food.  It doesn’t take long for them to gnaw through the stuff sack and at least spoil your appetite.

You can step up the game with a gnaw-proof food bag to delay or scent-free bags to prevent the attraction in the first place.

This method is lightweight, inexpensive, and apparently works in areas that are not heavily traveled.

For everyone else…

Can it!

I initially resisted a bear can when I camped in places that had the option.  But after a short time, I’ve come full circle and very much appreciate the solid protection of the bear can.

Here’s why: this thing is bulletproof.  Nothing is going to get into it, even if I walked over to the bear’s den and asked it to hold it for me.  No chipmunk is going to poke a hole through and open it up for all the natural world.  And I don’t have to throw ropes over trees or go searching for that perfect tree to get it off the ground.  I just walk away from camp, find a memorable spot, and wedge it somewhere.  I try not to put it uphill from my camp, and I try not to perch it precariously so that wind or a small animal could send it rolling.

When sitting around camp, this is my chair.

At night, it’s my stress relief, knowing that our food will be safe.

And while the 2.5+ lbs weight seems outrageous, it’s worth every ounce.  I now carry a Bear Vault BV500.