Posted by Michael Doleman
on 7/18/2005, 6:21 pm
128.223.124.147
I have a bit of a long-ish/involved question about food storage and ultralight packs.
I've been trying for about 2 years now to really get my base pack weight down, and have it to about 14 pounds, including pack (Granite Gear Vapor Trail) and Solo "Bear Valut" canister.
I note that almost no ultralighters seem to use a bear canister, and I am starting to wonder about this issue.
My basic response has always been that it makes infinite sense to use one, for a variety of reasons. I hate to bear bag--it always seems like such a hassle, and I have camped in areas where it would be darn near impossible. Also, the bear canister seems to me such a nice convenient way to store food and keep it from getting squashed.
But as of late, I have been thinking of going to an even smaller/lighter pack, perhaps the Granite Gear Virga. A pack of this size would preclude even my small bear canister.
So I am curious as to what solutions are currently in vogue. I've used the canister for so long that I can't even recall "best practice" for bagging. Is it such that above certain elevations, where there are few or extremely sparse trees, people don't even bother?
In all my years of packing in the Sierras and Cascades, I've seen a bear all of one time, and then it was only his butt, because he was running to get the hell away from me. So I have to wonder if I ought to be looking more toward a solution that combines stealth practices with bagging when needed.
What is the prevailing opionion out there? My main criteria, I suppose, hinges on the real efficacy of the superlight (i.e., sub 1 pound) packs. I'd save almost three pounds by going from the Vapor Trail/small canister to the Virga and no canister. My base pack weight for 4 night/3-season trekking would be about 11 pounds. That sounds pretty enticing, honestly.
Just fishing for opinions--any angles appreciated. Thanks.
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