I am fairly new to backpacking, but I have hunted/fished/camped all my life in East Texas, Colorado, and California. The majority of the hunting has been done from a well established basecamp, venturing out from there for the day. Because of the young kids I have (2, 8, 10), I mostly do weekend overnight camping trips, or day hikes Geocaching anywhere along the central coast of California. I am also an avid mountain biker. My two oldest kids are boys and are getting to the point where they can come out more hiking and camping with me. I am looking forward to this in the future. For now I live in the Central Coast area of California (Lompoc, Santa Maria area), and am surrounded by many different areas from beaches to mountain regions ranging up to 5,000 feet (1,500 m), with the temperatures averaging about 60 F (16 C) degrees year round.

Product Information:

Manufacturer: BearVault
Year of Manufacture: 2004
URL: http://www.bearvault.com
Mfg Weight: 2 lbs 6 oz (1.08 kg)
My weight: 2 lbs 5.75 oz (1.07 kg)
Dimensions:
12.5 inches (31.8 cm) tall
8.5 inches (21.6 cm) wide
MSRP: $79.95 US

Field Locations:

The locations of my test will be varied from the beaches located in Central California, (Lompoc, Santa Maria area) to the National Forest just east of here ranging up to 5000 feet (1500m). We are getting into summer now, so temperatures will be around 70 degrees (21 C) by the beaches to 80 - 90 degrees (26 C - 32 C) inland.

My initial thoughts and description:

The product arrived on 19 May 2004 in a white box with the company's marketing information and instructions all over the box. I like how BearVault printed all the information about the canister on the outside of the box. I can read everything about it before I buy it.

My oldest son looked at the canister and said "it's just plastic?" which were my thoughts as well. It reminds me of an oversized wide mouth Nalgene bottle just bigger at 8.5 inches (21.6 cm) wide. The canister is a see-through blue-tinted "super rugged polycarbonate housing." It has a black plastic lid with the company's web address on the top along with a warning to close lid fully before using as a chair, and a few simple directions to "close tightly" and "snap quickly past tab".

The built-in guides were not what I was expecting at all. I had envisioned some built-in openings to pass webbing or straps through. Instead, they molded what they call dimples into the outside of the canister. The straps are positioned inside these dimples, which are about an inch wide. The theory is these dimples will keep your straps in place, eliminating the need for a carrying case.

The top of the canister has two tabs molded into the edge. There are also two tabs molded into the lid. According to the directions you must screw the lid on until the bumps on the lid snap quickly past the canister tabs to lock the lid down. Will any of the tabs strip out over time and be less effective than when it was new?

The lid also should have some directional arrows molded to the top to show which way to open and close the lid. My kids don't always remember which way to turn things to get them open. Heck I don't always remember. There is a warning on the lid that says close lid fully before using as a chair. That makes sense, you don't want the threads to get stripped out.

The lid screws onto the canister, and like anything else with threads, it can get screwed on wrong or cross-threaded. Will the threads strip out over time? The lid also seems to be made out of a weaker plastic than the rest of the canister, will this be the failing point for this canister?

Some of my questions and concerns:

Will the dimples hold the straps in place?
What straps work the best?
The web site says it can be opened and closed without tools, but what about with gloves on?
How well does it resist impacts?
How will it do when frozen?
Will the lid open easily, will it freeze shut?
The lid looks like it just screws on, seems like it would just unscrew as well, how easy is it to come undone?
The lid is a child-proof type lid, Can my kids open it? Ages 2, 8, 10.
Is it easy to strap to an external frame pack, internal frame pack?
How scratched up will the outside become?
How much food can I fit in it?
Will the lid get cross-threaded and strip out?
Will the lid be the failing point?

I have never owned a bear proof canister before, so this test is going to be very interesting. Where I hike and camp in the National Forest there have been a few reports of bears roaming around, but I have not heard of any coming into camp. Like I stated in the application I will not go searching for a bear, but it will be nice to have this canister when I go into bear country.

Brian

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Initial Report

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