I found the following evaluation/review to be quite enlightening for me:

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Note it is a 2004 review, and I think they have modified the method of securing the top to the canister twice since then, so if you order a new one, it won't be exactly what is described in the article.

So in the navigation bar over on the right side of this page, you have a link to a sequence of pages, "How to Hang a Food Pack."  Between two trees and all the rest. 

But then in a photo above, we see a bear hanging on the wire enjoying your kindness in putting so much food in one spot in order to make all his effort worthwhile.

So my question is, if you do go to all the trouble of hanging it between trees, does it work?  Is your food safe?  In Q, is anyone aware of any time a bear or other critter got into a properly hung food stash?

And thanks, nctry_Ben, for the reminder earlier that you won't always have the right two trees.

I am concerned about bears for my trip in September; I would guess they are wanting to start the fattening up process for winter, and it sounds like some of these guys have gotten in the habit of checking us tourists out.  Several of you emphasize keeping your food away from the main part of your campsite--I would think you want also to keep it away from your canoe and your retreat opportunity.  Hmmm, can we paddle faster than a bear can swim--I mean if we're really scared?

Anyhow, back to my main question:  In the Q, is anyone aware of a bear or other critter getting into a properly hung food stash?   :question

MT; I'm about to give up on hanging packs too.  After the historic wind storm that blew down a lot of trees; the last couple trips it seems harder to find a suitable tree.  On my last trip my efforts with hanging ropes pulled down a number of branches.  Lucky for us we go in October and there isn't much bear activity.  We mainly hang the packs to keep the mice out of the packs.  I'll probably use a combination in the future.

starwatcher

starwatcher wrote on Mar 13^th, 2011 at 7:49pm:


Yes Starwatcher, as many of us know it isn't just bears we have to worry about. From thieving camp foxes at Isle Royale to chipmunks and mice just about everywhere else.

3 or 4 years ago we were in Algonquin in Oct (just spectacular) and we were on Tim lake doing a little lake trout trolling. We were making a pass near our island campsite and my partner commented on all the crows that seemed near our site. Sure enough they had drug several packages of granola/blueberries and milk out of a pack I had left open and had a field day. Fortunately we had plenty of grub but I was pretty surprised at them hopping inside a pack to pull out the foil packs and then pecking them open.

A few tidbits of advice on stashing. Avoid the lakeshore. A natural travel way for any animal including bears. Try and stash low keeping in mind that cool air sinks. If you stash on a hill by midnight or so the cool sinking air is likely to carry any scent downward.

You MUST be able to find your stashed food. Don't laugh! It's easier to forget where you stashed it than you think. Get tired, wander into the woods a little ways and slip it in a little hollowed out spot under some blowdown and by morning you might be a little forgetful. I "mark" my spot with a reflective runners strip. It's bright and reflective (in case I want to find my food in the dark) and is easy to velcro it to a limb above your food. I do suggest this procedure.

Lastly, if you stash you must be very particular with odors. One slip up and you can get hit. I got careless on Sawbill our last night out 20 minutes from the truck. High use area, very habituated bears and a snickers bar tossed in my food pack without any zip-lock protection. It was something to hear that bear crashing through the brush to get to my food pack. I had a false sense of security as I had a motion detector alarm with piercing siren and flashing strobe light. I figured any critter in its right mind would split when that thing went off. I couldn't of been more wrong. It deterred the bear for about 3 seconds. Just a slight pause and then rip, rip, munch, munch .

Thanks, MT, that is good to know.  That is GREAT to know.  Because a good % of our food, by volume, will be freeze dry.  Sounds like we pack similar food--except the Snickers.  Instead, I suck on a lot of hard candies when backpacking; I s'pose I'll do the same thing when canoeing.