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HOW TO MASTER PACKING A BEAR CANISTER

Hiking and traveling make one's life fresh. But while hiking in the backcountry or in the bear's area then carrying a bear canister is a must. In some parks in the USA, it is mandatory to use a canister. You need to be wise while pack your bear canister. Follow these tips to become master packing your bear canister.

Choose Wisely

At your home, you can practice how to pack a bear canister. While packing bear canisters, choose foods and other goodies wisely.  Choose goodies that fit perfectly in the canister. Generally, bear canisters are heavy and bulky in size so do not make the canister heavier. As you will put the canister down at night and until it will be in your back. So while choosing goodies and foods make sure they are light in weight.

Minimize

To save the space in the canisters, minimize your food packets. You can keep your packet foods in a Ziplock bag. A Ziploc bags keep your food airtight. You can carry a soft flask while hiking. It is natural that hikers carry many plastic bottles for water. If possible, make it short. For the bear canisters, use powdered milk, butter, and cheese and use travel-sized toiletries. Use tiny containers for sauces and oil. Buy the mini version of the trash bags.

Repackage

Before hiking check your bear canister again. If it needs repackage it. You can use foil paper to make your bag light in size. Use foil packet to store food in the bear canisters. Repackaging will reduce waste. In the zip-top freezer bag store your dehydrated or dried foods. Food that comes with excess packaging this zip-top bag works best. And you can also reheat your food in this bag.

Let The Air Out

You may be familiar with the phenomenon of “altitoots" if you've ever spent time up high.  To let the air out you can use a safety pin and poke a tiny hole into pre-sealed bags - this is a simple space-saving solution. And you can use a tape to reseal the hole. This is useful because your food packaging is having a similar while you’re breaking wind up the trail. You can invest in a vacuum sealer if you want to blow more money on gear. Air out from the food packet will make your backpack easier to carry.

Think Spatially

Keep the foods and other toiletries in the bear canisters separately. Keeping them separately makes it easier to find out. Always keep breakfast at the top of the canister for the next morning. And you can also keep your breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner together separately. A bear canister is for carrying foods, so do not keep your used menstrual cups, toilet paper,  tampons, etc. in the canister. Also, keep in mind that bear canisters can keep toiletries 1 day and food for 3-5 days for one person.

Now that you know how to master in packaging bear canisters so you can make your next trip in the backcountry. Also, keep your bear canister in the middle of your backpack. For more in-depth information about Bear Canisters follow their post.