What is a bear vault?

A bear canister is a bear-proof container designed to safely store food, scented consumables, and trash when camping overnight in the backcountry.

What do you put in a BearVault?

All food, trash, toiletries, and other odorous items must be stored inside an Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee (IGBC) approved bear canister. This includes but is not limited to all sealed or packaged food, sunscreen, soap, mosquito repellent, lip balm, deodorant, medications, and feminine products.

Do bear vaults work?

Upside: Canisters offer backpackers peace of mind by providing a simple, effective way to keep human food safe from animals. They can also double as a camp stool. Downside: They are heavy (2-3 lbs.), bulky and a tight (or insufficient) fit for all the food and scented items you aim to carry on a lengthy trip.

Can you sit on a BearVault?

If you sit on your BearVault®, ensure the lid is fully closed to reduce wear and strain on the threads. Keep scents out of your tent, always.

Where are bear vaults required?

Bear canisters are required in parts of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, Inyo, Sierra and Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forests, and in all of Yosemite and Lassen Volcanic National Parks.

How to Choose Bear Canisters || REI

Why dont parks let you feed bears?

Sadly, bears that obtain human food may lose their natural fear of humans. Over time, they may become bold or aggressive in their attempts to obtain human food and become a threat to public safety. When this happens, the bear pays the ultimate price–it is destroyed.

Do I need a bear vault?

Protecting your food from bears is recommended in any area that is inhabited by bears, and using a bear canister is required in many state and national parks, national forests and wilderness areas, and a number of other public lands.

How much food does a BearVault hold?

Remembering from above that bear canisters hold roughly one person-day of food per 100 cubic inches, these canisters will carry between 2-3 person-days of food (for the Bare Boxer Contender) and 5-6 person-days of food (for the Bearikade Scout).

Why is a bear box important?

Its main purpose is to protect your food from bears, rodents, and other wild animals. Bears have an incredible sense of smell and can pick up scents from up to 2 miles away. If they smell food or toiletries, their noses will lead them straight to the source.

Are bear vaults rodent proof?

At least most of the time, hard-sided canisters, like the BearVault BV500, protect food in the backcountry from bears and “mini bears” (mice, squirrels, gray jays, and other small scavenging animals). But it turns out that they're not 100 percent bear- or idiotproof.

Is it worth buying a bear canister?

Bear canisters are easier to set up and retrieve than a traditional counterweight or bear bag. Bear canisters can be used even where there are no suitable trees for hanging a bag. Canisters provide better protection than other methods. Many campsites require them.

Do moth balls repel bears?

Due to bears' highly developed sense of smell, they find the pungent odor of mothballs unique, which actually piques their interest. Placing mothballs in or around your camp (or vehicle) may attract bears to your location, thus increasing the chance of bears raiding your food cache.

Does used toilet paper go in bear canister?

I save space on top for the next morning's breakfast, as well as any scented toiletries. Side note: Used tampons, toilet paper, menstrual cups, and so forth should not go into your canister – bears aren't interested in munching on this stuff, so it doesn't need to be contained in your personal Food Knox.

Can bears smell food in a bear canister?

Bear Canisters. Bear canisters aren't designed to mask the smell of their contents, but they're designed to keep bears out if found. The best way to protect your food from a bear is to put the food in a smell-proof bag and then put that bag in a bear canister.

Can bears smell food in cars?

The reason a bear will smell food in your car is because out of all animals, bears have the best sense of smell. On average, a bear has a sense of smell 2,100 times better than a human. So, again, no matter what type of car you have, a bear will smell food in it. Bears are also smart.

How does a bear box work?

Bear boxes are locked containers that campers uses while sleeping in proximity to bears. Since bears are smart, other methods for protecting food tend not to work as well as these boxes do. For example, storing food or a cooler in one's car may mean the bear simply breaks into the car.

Can I keep food in my car while camping?

Yes, you can typically keep food in your car while you're camping. However, keep in mind that it may draw animals to your campsite. You'll need to know how to keep the scent of your food locked in. Additionally, some campgrounds may have rules requiring you to keep your food in a locker at night.

Can bears smell sealed food?

Bears have an insatiable appetite and an amazing sense of smell, and they consider anything with a scent to be "food." This can include canned goods, bottles, drinks, soaps, cosmetics, toiletries, trash, ice chests, sunscreen, bug repellant, fuel, items used for preparing or eating meals, etc.

Can you use a dry bag as a bear bag?

To be completely safe, hang smell-proof and dry bags. The bag should be 12 feet off the ground and 4 feet away from the tree trunk.

Are bears attracted to beer?

“Pretty well anything that has an odor and digestible calories, bears will be attracted to,” says Stephen Herrero, a Professor Emeritus at the University of Calgary and the author of Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance. “Beer—once it's open—has its own odor, and that odor could certainly attract bears.”

Does a car work as a bear box?

A bear-proof container is great, but even a heavy-duty storage container will work, as the car itself acts as a secondary scent barrier. Keep the windows closed when you're not in the vehicle. If you're sleeping or otherwise hanging out in your car, you can keep the windows rolled down slightly for ventilation.

Does human food hurt bears?

Because human food is often calorie-dense, if the animals get access to it, they can quickly learn to prefer it, she says. Grizzly bears wrestle at the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center, which takes in bears that have become too comfortable around humans or otherwise couldn't survive in the wild.

Can bears eat human food?

Bears are scavengers. And they'll eat human food when it's available. But in a new study, the more sugary, highly processed foods that 30 female black bears ate, the less time those bears were likely to spend hibernating.