amart

Hi all,

This is not a thread about whether or not one should carry a canister... there is already plenty on that out there. Going up north, no trees to hang or attach an Ursack.

Whether, I'm interested to know how you have been carrying one on your bike? Anyone ever fit a canister in panniers?
Particularly interested in ways to attach it to handlebars.

Thanks!

chrisx

(hurry and look at the photo before nophotobucket cuts it off)

I got a $1 cunk of fabric, cut to wrap around the bearvault 500,
""Best Use
Backpacking
Gear Capacity (L)
11.5 liter
Gear Capacity (cu. in.)
700 cubic inches
Material(s)
Polycarbonate
Dimensions
8.7 x 12.7 inches
Weight
2 lbs. 9 oz.""
Sewed on some straps, sewed on some velcro straps for easy attachment to the randonneur rack, added a little green mesh for a pocket to dry my socks in the sun, added some loops to attach a solar panel or something.

Those 2 black straps are sewn in place and go over the handlebars. You want to be able to draw it in tight, as a lose can flops around and throws the stearing off. On the rando rack it sits a little forward and a little more out of balance. Tight is the most important word here, not flopping around.

BigAura

I carried my BV-500 strapped to my rear rack. I cushioned it with a closed-cell sit-pad that I carry anyway. It worked excellently for my trip from Seattle up through the Yukon and to Deadhorse, AK.



Grizzly country with no trees



Especially the tundra:

mev

https://www.scc2ush.com/wp-content/up...3-1024x683.jpg

I put a red stuff sack around it and put it on top of my front rack.

BigAura

Is that a Blackburn Outpost rack? I got one and I'm considering using it with a canister.

WNCGoater

There is this on Amazon that may make strapping it down a bit easier.

https://www.amazon.com/BACKPACKER-Be...=bear+canister

staehpj1

I am curious where you are going that there is nothing to tie an Ursack to.

If I decided that I needed to carry a bear canister or Ursack where there are no trees, I'd be inclined to go with the Ursack and find places to tie it when I could. That might be man made objects, the base of scrub brush, or whatever I could find.

Ursack says:

Won't a bear carry the Ursack away if it is not tied to a fixed object?
Probably not. The SIBBG rangers tested the Ursack Hybrid in both the summer of 2004 and 2005 to see whether a bear would carry it away. They even put a tracking device in it as part of the testing procedure. The results, so far, are that bears are leaving Ursacks very close to where they found them.

Where there are no trees available, try hiding your Ursack under a pile of rocks. If you are using an OPSak and have been meticulous about keeping food smells off the outside, it is unlikely that a bear can find a well hidden Ursack.

How big of a canister do you need? I can generally manage 5 days with a small solo canister like my BV450 (7.2 liters I think). That assumes 4 days of food in the canister and one day of food outside the canister to be consumed before the first night. I have not used one but the Bare Boxer is another small option.

If you can get by with the BV450 or the Bare Boxer, fitting it in a pannier may be an option. I have carried my BV450 in a pretty small backpack (REI Flash 45) and it fit fine, so I think it would fit in a large pannier.

The bigger canisters probably need to fit outside the panniers. The Garcia has a bag available that it fits in. With that bag it would be fairly easy to strap on top of a rear rack. I have fit similar sized bags on the handlebars by using two straps and threading them around the bars and the bag, but threading the straps through some PVC pipe spacers.

fietsbob

stretch net? Again 'Best' is an opinion...










...

amart

Dempster Highway. The comment from Ursack also made me realize: if there is no tree, the bag would be fairly easy to find as long as it's within a decent perimeter.

amart

That's sweet. I'll be traveling a similar route but will stay in Canada.

I see you are using Arkel bags: did you have any issues with them? How do the rain covers perform since technically the wheel side of the pannier isnt protected?

Also, what tires did you use? I'm planning on taking the good ol' Shwalbe Marathon Green Guard (700/37c) my only concern is that gravel Highways up their might not be hard packed enough, which would require a tire with bigger treads.

staehpj1

Sounds like an awesome trip.
That was my thought as well. Whatever you wind up doing I hope it works out well.

BigAura

Thank you!

Nice!


I'm not using Arkels, in those photos. Those are actually Ortliebs with Arkel covers that I used for Hi-Vis. I used the covers for visibility on the road and removed them for stealtiness in the evening. Personally I prefer the full-on waterproofiness of Ortliebs.


The tires were old-school Schwalabe XR's...great tires. The roads can be a rough-mess, I'd recommend fat & hardened tires.

mev

It is a Surly rack.

Fun trip. It has now been a while since I cycled the Dempster (1996). From my memory and blog (The Dempster Highway). there were sections above the tree line and so intermittent areas with/without trees. However, until Inuvik, I think I camped/slept in areas with some trees each night.

So it seems reasonable to expect some nights camping w/o trees but in contrast to the Dalton, I don't expect as long a stretch w/o trees. I also cycled the Dalton (2005, 2016). On my most recent trip, I used an Ursack on the Dalton mostly because I was running short of space and wanted extra warm clothes as well as 7 days of food. Once I got to Fairbanks, I picked up the bear canister and used it from then until Colorado.

The road only recently continues to Tuk, so not as sure on that area.

chrisx

Wild Ideas Bearikade: Wilderness food storage bear canisters for backpacking, camping and hiking

Even bear cans have a way to charge extra,

Ursack does not close all the way, rats out number bears a million to 1, mice and bugs can crawl in the top of it.


Tuktoyaktuk?
Many mosquitoes up there?

mev

Yes, Tuktoyatuk. The road opened just this past year making it easier to start with a wheel dipped in the Arctic. Prior to this road, there was a winter ice road that was occasionally cycled.

My trip was at end of June and I took a one day flightseeing trip to Tuk. There were areas with considerable mosquitoes (as I recall a guide said something like 76 species cataloged). I would expect them to be particularly intense in some areas, though if there is open tundra a slight breeze might keep some at bay.

I'm tempted to go back to Inuvik to cycle this new all-year all-weather road to the Arctic...

Chuckie J.

I've done it on a front rack. I believe the rack is an Old Man Mountain Sherpa.

I'm digging out a picture... My "baseball card" shot. : )

3speed

I use a motorcycle helmet bungee net to strap a canister to the rear rack. Absolutely no problems over ~1,000mi. traveled with that setup. The handlebar mounting idea sounds interesting. Now that I'm getting more into bikepacking, I may try that sometime in the future.

Mountain Mitch

Try this: Sabrered. It has an insert that goes into a standard water bottle cage to hold bear spray.

chrisx

Does bear spray have a shelf life? Mine has been sitting around a few years.

Think about keeping your spray on your person instead of your bike. Can you guess why?

CliffordK

Oh... time to re-up my old Colnago photo



Yep, a bear barrel hidden under the sleeping pad.

I didn't actually get to use it, other than carrying most of my food. I couldn't convince Crater Lake to allow me to wild camp. I have some more ideas to discuss with them the next time I head back up there. So, I stayed in a campground that had a steel bear vault.

Outside of Crater Lake National Park, I just kept my food close.. perhaps not the best of ideas, but the risk seemed low enough.

I really didn't like the bear barrel idea. I had two complaints. If a bear was to attack it, if I was camping near a ridgeline, then the bear could abscond with my barrel down into the valley. Even if the bear didn't get it opened, I might never see the barrel again, or have a hard hike to go get it.

Likewise, if I was near a river... it could very well end up in the river... and again, bye-bye food.

And, wild camping, I'm not sure about putting my food 100 feet outside of my campground.

I may look at the bear sack. That may take care of some of the rolling issues. Perhaps also look at hanging food, or simply hanging my panniers (thus food and trash, and anything that has touched food or trash could be easily hung).

Chuckie J.

I definitely hear you on your complains. I questioned the barrel as well.

Here are some things I like about the bear canister: 1) If needed, you can put your food in it to keep out bears but also (the real problems...) chipmunks, raccoons, squirrels, insects, etc., 2) it's waterproof so you can throw electronics or other must keep dry things in, 3) you can use it to transport water from a creek/river for things like washing or putting out a campfire, 4) you can sit on it!, 5) it looks badass, like you're about to go face-to-face with a man eating bear.

BigAura

+1 And canisters are extremely easy to use just put all food, cook-stuff, and garbage in it, then walk it out from your site. Simple.

longtemp

The (7.5 inch diameter contact surface) 8.5 inch diameter clear BV Solo 7-day cannister will fit in my rear panniers. I may decide to fill my panniers more efficiently and attach the empty barrel to the rack top. A trash bag may seal my food within my panniers before setting camp.

I have experience with small animals. They will rummage through bags and tents to find food. These small animals are a nuisance, as bears.

Vegasclimber

Some great tips here on bear cans and carrying them, for sure. I hate having to use them, but when I have needed them, I REALLY needed them. My wife considers it the bane of her existence when we back country camp together

Carrying an empty barrel is going to defeat the purpose, IMO. If you load it up at nights, for instance, your pans are still going to have food smell and they will get torn up, even if they are empty. A trash bag will not be enough, bears have an incredible sense of smell and will tear into vehicles for crumbs under a seat or other scented products, like sunscreen, baby wipes etc.

Someone upthread mentioned the possibility of a bear rolling the canister down the hill...yep, they will do that, or drop it off a cliff if one is nearby. They can get real determined. But a bear can is the only way to go and be secure for the most part - in my experience, they usually don't carry it very far. Once they figure out that all the locks are engaged, the smart ones drop it and move on. Except for the cliff trick, that is...don't camp near those

Tourist in MSN

Great job of getting your bike and pannier color to match so well.