Product Description

The old standard in bear cans, approved for years by both the SIBBG and IGBC for all parks and forest areas where a bear can is required. All black with a ridge to keep the can from rolling away down hill. Reduces food odor transmission and keeps bears OUT. 8.8" dia. X 12" long, weight 2.7 lbs. Designed to slip into camper's backpack; holds approximately 6 person-days of food.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3990 in Sports & Outdoors
• Brand: Backpacker's Cache
• Model: MODEL 812
• Dimensions: 12.00" h x 8.80" w x 8.80" l, 2.70 pounds

Features

• Model 812 Backpackers' Cache will keep your food and the bears safe!
• Designed to slip into camper's backpack
• Holds approximately 6 person-days of food
• Dimensions: 8.8" dia. X 12" long
• Weighs: 2.7 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Not Just for Bears
I've used bear canisters for hiking since the early 1990s. Indeed, in the summer of 1990, I was one of several hikers who volunteered to use them in Sequoia/King's Canyon National Parks to help the Park Service decide if they were useful. I was so impressed I immediately purchased one, and recently my father got one as well. The Park Service, for its part, mandates their use in Yosemite and Sequoia, but these are recommended anywhere there is a sizable black bear population.

Garcia was the first of the canisters and is still the most popular. The new model, with the bowed out middle can hold almost 6 days worth of (dehydrated) food. My older model holds more like 5, but fits better in a pack. The top is clasped tight by two locks which can be easily opened with a small coin like a dime or a penny, but not a fingernail, or claw. The one downside is that it is a little unwieldy in an exterior frame pack, especially the newer model. You may want to purchase the carrying case that attaches easily to a pack.

Of course, the main purpose of these canisters is to keep bears from your food. And they do a decent job of that. Indeed, in my experience bear encounters in the back country have declined as canisters have become popular. But any experienced hiker will tell you that bears are the least of your food supply problems. Squirrels, porcupines, and any number of smaller rodents are also food thieves. My best guess is that my Garcia canister has done far more to protect my food from these denizens of the woods than it has kept the bears away. Of course, keeping animals from your food in the long run does them a favor as well. All in all, this is a useful, and increasingly required, piece of backpacking gear. Get it and hit the trails.