Lightweight Bear Canisters
Bear Canisters are an indispensable, and sometimes legally required piece of backpacking equipment when heading in to bear country, but they can also be heavy pieces of equipment, which is why it pays to do your research on lightweight bear canisters.
To get a better idea as to where bear canisters are required in the Sierras, visit the Sierra Wild website. Note that bear canisters are also required in some Alaskan parks, such as Denali.
Though bear canisters are not required in most other parks in the United States, black bears are still prevalent throughout much of the wild places of the United States and Canada, and taking a bear canister along, and especially a lightweight bear canister, is never going to be a bad idea.
Lightweight Bear Canisters List
- Counter Assault Bear Keg - The Bear Keg from Counter Assault is one of the heavier bear canisters currently on the market, weighing in at 1.9 kilograms, or 4 pounds and 4 ounces. Still, it's large enough to store 6-8 days worth of food and meets the U.S. Forest Service specifications, so it's not going to be a bad choice in that regard. It also helps that it gets good reviews.
- BearVault Bear Canister BV450 - The BV450 is one of the most popular bear canisters on the market, no doubt in part because it is also one of the most lightweight bear canisters on the market. It weighs just 935 grams, or 2 pounds and 1 ounce, which is less than half of the Bear Keg above. It also only has capacity for about 4 days of food, but that's fine if you're looking for a lightweight bear canister for a shorter trip. It is black bear approved by the Sierra Interagency Black Bear Group, which handles the specifications for the Sierras. It is also grizzly bear approved by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee, and it gets plenty of 5 out of 5s too.
- BearVault Bear Canister BV500 - The BV500 is the bigger version of the Bear Canister built by BearVault. It can carry somewhere around 7 days worth of food, depending on how much you like to eat, and weighs just 1162 grams, or 2 pounds and 9 ounces, which is considerably less than the comparable Bear Keg, making it the best choice if you're looking for a lightweight bear canister for a longer trip. Like the BV450, the BV500 is black bear approved by the Sierra Interagency Black Bear Group, which handles the specifications for the Sierras, and is also grizzly bear approved by Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee. There are lots of good reviews too.
