Bear Vault BV450 Solo Bear Resistant Food Canister

I do a lot of solo weekend trips or with new groups where I bring everything of my own to make sure I'm well stocked and prepared. I typically use a 65L backpack on most trips and this fits in perfectly where I can still pack clothing and other loose gear around it snuggly. This canister is great for a 3 day trip for one person. It fits everything from my food to my misc scented items so that I still have food in the morning in lieu of me being the food for a bear. I've used it on dozens of occasions and never have had a problem. I recently was in Yosemite where overnight I woke up to hear a bear go by my tent and proceed into my camp toward the canister, it was tossed and turned for a while as I stayed up listening for just a bit. I could only picture a circus bear juggling that blue container around for a while till it got bored. When I woke up the next morning it was about 15 feet away, but still closed tight. The canister beat the bear...this round.

It's like a blue forcefield between my grub and those nasty raccoons! We don't have a lot of bears in WI, but the raccoons are incredibly clever and I hate walking around trying to find the perfect branch for a bear(coon) bag. News flash: It doesn't exist! So I picked this guy up and I'm thrilled. Fits inside my Osprey Aether 70 nicely and works great as my "mountain maytag." It also works nicely as a seat or step stool in a pinch. It does weigh a little more than my old ice cream pail/bear bag setup, but then I'm not a sallywankles and I can handle the extra pound easily. I'm happy considering it's intended use.

I live in the shadows of Yosemite N.P. and spend time there so....a bear container is required for overnighters...this b.c. can be tricky to open but i've found if you hold it like you're giving your little brother a nuugie an then use your index finger to put pressure just above the latch and push counterclockwise it will scoot past without a brain hemorrhage....also using a car key or blade makes it a cinch too...and they are a good stable seat for ur butt..i easily fit plenty of food for a two nighter for two.

Although a self explanatory product, it's praise worthy.
Best intersection of function and weight. Locking mechanism works great, great bonus that you can see where your stuff is. Makes a good camp stool and here's one that I just learned from an REI seminar . . ."Mountain Maytag" since it's water-tight you can do your laundry in it. Haven't tried it yet but sounds like a great plan to me.

Because in some places you just need to lug a bear can...might as well get a smallish one. I can fit about 4 days worth of food in this guy and that's good enough for me. Perhaps not the can to get if you hike in the Adirondacks...as word on the street is that some bears there can open them. For most other places, however, this seems to be a solid choice. I have read that the top can be tough to open...which I didn't necessarily find to be the case. If you follow the instructions it WILL be hard to open because the textured area you are supposed to push on is indeed very very hard to push. Instead, if you push the very corner of the notch in the lid as it meets the catch, you can slip it under the catch with little pressure. Hope no bears are reading this.

I found these canisters much better than the ones they rent at Yosemite. For one thing they're much lighter and they're also transparent so you won't be digging through everything. One thing I have to say is I found them to be a little more difficult to open once I was out in the wilderness rather than in the comfort of my own home. Maybe it was the dirt that was inside the threading or due to the cold and my hands were fumbling. But a coin will do the trick.

After doing the $5 rental at YP, I decided on the next trip to get my own. The rental version is SO bulky and much heavier, and you need a tool to open it. This one I thought was very easy to open (though admittedly you have to try it a couple times to get the hang of it) and I liked being able to see everything in it. I was using primarily dehydrated food, and once I removed it all from the original packaging (then vacuum sealed), it all fit quite nicely. It's a bit fat but it fit just fine in my Arc'Teryx Bora 80. It's a keeper. Notice the goat on the lid in my pic. ;)

Even when not in bear country this is a must have. Keeps you food fresh and dry. Also makes for better packing if you ask me. I got the BV450 and I can fit about three to four days worth of snacks and food.

Maybe Adirondack bears are smater than those in the Cascades & Sierra Nevada Mtns (I doubt it) but this product has been tested and both black bear certified (by the Sierra Interagency Black Bear Group) & and grizzley bear certified by the IGBC, & is approved for use in Yosemite, Sequoia & Kings Canyon Nat'l Parks, for the John Muir and Ansel Adams Wilderness Areas and the Inyo National Forest, and, I believe in Olympic Nat'l Park in WA State.

I'm a huge fan of the Bear Vault brand. I've used others that require tools and these are by far the lightest and easiest to pack. As long as you follow the recommendations by the company on how to store it at night, it should keep your food safe from bears and other animals. So far I've had no leaks and they work great as camp chairs. The BV450 is perfect for week long solo trips and fits great in a 3000+ cubic inch pack.

Haven't had any bears test mine yet, but I like this cannister just fine. I think most complaints directed at bear cannisters seem not to complain about the function of the product, only at the hassle of having to use one of these. They aren't very convenient and bulky, that's for sure, but that's the nature of the beast.

This one holds plenty of food and the transparent walls are very, very useful. Definitely handy as a seat at camp or for fetching water. The latches are easy once you learn how to do it, though they do get stiffer in cold weather.

We had bears play bear soccer with them in the HIGH SIERRAS last summer - they were all brand new and we all went home with claw/teeth marks (ie THWARTED BEARS) on them.

If you stack them up at night so they come crashing down when they go after them, its kind of fun to watch the futility.

So i don't have any kind of rave review for this cause I was unable to find any bears to let chew on this but it seemed to keep all the chipmunks out that were eying our food longingly wishing they could get to the granola. I thought the lid was a bit difficult to twist off for one person, which I suppose this is the case with a bear canister. If your packing food for more than 1 person on a multi day trip your gonna need a bigger canister. Managed food for an over niter with my wife but that was all. Other than that it worked.

i like to travel lite, lite, ultra-lite. since a can is required & i'm trying to set a good example in the back country for that ever growing crowd of under 50 kids out there; i bought the smallest one i could find on short notice. i've used some that are easier to get into (but larger). this one works well, holds not only enough food for a solo week in the wilderness but my entire kitchen also (sans fuel).

Maybe Adirondack bears are smarter than ours here in the west, but this canister has been tested and certified against both black bears (by SIBBG, Sierra Interagency Black Bear Group) & grizzleys (by IGBG) for use in Yosemite, Sequoia & Kings Canyon Nat'l Parks, for the Ansel Adams and John Muir Wilderness Areas, & the Inyo National Forest. Sooooo-go for it!!

Like most bear vaults, this one worked just fine in the high country. But like most bear vaults, it doesn't fit very well in a backpack. Someone ought to design a vault that packs well inside or even outside a modern backpack. My only major gripe with this product is that it's very difficult to open without a metal lever of some sort--a spork works fine, for instance. Very tough on the fingers to open without that lever. But considering most vaults also require a metal tool to open, I guess this is wash in the long run.

This bear canister is exactly what it should be... easy to use, transparent sides allow you to see what you packed. Nice wide opening to get stuff in and out. It also makes a great basin for washing back at the campground.
You can see some photos from my packing of two of these canisters here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/i4mac/sets/72157606445652602/
Photos from my trip with them here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/i4mac/collections/72157606739022805/

If you are looking for a canister, just by this one and be done!

Got one of these for a weeklong trip to shining rock wilderness. This functions well, is easy to open and also doubles as a seat. can store a max of 4 days worth of food if you repackage. did not come across any bears that we know of, but it is nice to have the peace of mind that your food will be intact after a dayhike. I would recommend this product to a friend.

Plenty of room for 1 person-4 days. Probably as small as something like this can get without a bear being able to carry it off. Not as light per square inch of space as the Bearikade, but much easier to pack. Hope it stays on the OK to use in the Sierra's list. Apparently it failed in one area on the east coast somewhere.

Let 'er rip.The canister works great after you figure out how to use it, the lid. A bit heavy and will not fit in some packs. Overall is does the job.

The evidence of this vault being broken into by bears in the adirondacks is unclear. NYDEC has said that the bear that broke into this version was a rouge bear and that other bears had not figured out how to get into the two snap top BV450's.

However ADK bears are crafty and sadly trained that it's easier to play with one of these plastic food filled toys than to hunt their own food. Therefore the best thing you can do is not to rely on the BV but rather camp OUTSIDE of the bear prone Flowed lands-Marcy Dam corridor.

I would like to explain the situation surrounding the Bear Vault cannisters and their clear inadequacy in the High Peaks Region of Adirondack Park in NY State. What I am about to say was posted in a forum by a representative of the Bear Vault company, and they themselves do not recommend using their 2008 or earlier models in this region, and here's why...

Rangers from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation have concluded there is a bear active within the Marcy Dam area and the John's Brook Valley (i.e. the High Peaks Region) that has a clear genetic attribute which allows it to bite these containers open at the lid. The plastic locking points do not hold up against this specific bear's jaw, and there are several reports of this cannister failing in this region, including one which I know about first-hand (I've seen the cannister, teeth marks and all). This bear ripped it open and ate all the food with relative ease.

AGAIN...I want to stress that this is literally the ONLY place where the Bear Vault cannister has failed during tests...even ones conducted by the Bear Vault company. It is certified basically everywhere else, as noted in other posts, so if you are NOT venturing into the Adirondack High Peaks Region, go ahead and buy this cannister (unless it doesn't fit your fancy).

I just think it's funny that all of this commotion is being caused, they think, by one single bear.

It seems to work well, and passed testing for western bears (those NY bears sound like they were raised up in some pretty bad 'hoods and are not to be trifled with). My only complaint was pinching the lock tabs with cold fingers on cold plastic (temps in the teens). But it worked and nothing broke. Now, just to find a western bear with attitude to test it on! just kidding.

My BV 500 was compromised on 8/28/09 at Marcy Dam in the Adirondack High Peaks region--all the food was taken. There was a deep tooth-mark right where the two locking tabs are on the lid--the bear knew exactly how to take the lid off. I was skeptical that the bears at Marcy Dam could actually get in the container--I figured it was a freak occurrence or someone didn't put the lid on properly. It turns out though that this container is not safe in this area. On the bright side, the container can hold a large amount of food and will still be great for keeping rodents out of your food in the winter, regardless of where you are. If ermines or squirrels start breaking into these, then we're all going to be in trouble:-)

The looking mechanism quit working on mine. Spins off easily without engaging the lock. Maybe it broke somehow, i dunno, but if it can break easily enough that I didn't notice when it happened then how well is it going to stand up to a bear, eh? I wish I had not wasted the money on this thing.

The product is very convenient, as it saves you the time and trouble of putting all your food in a stuff sack ang hanging it. I also believe it's more effective protection against bears than hanging. It looks very sturdy, and can be used as a comfortable camp stool.

However, I decided to return it after one trip, because it is a nightmare to pack. I had a big backpack (70 liter), and couldn't fit it inside. Even on the outside it's a pain to strap, because of the diameter. I ended up strapping it in a way that appeared very clumsy to me, but I couldn't find any other. It bothered me all the time.

Next time, I'll just hang my stuff instead...

Just like government approval of drugs that kill people (FDA), park approval doesn't guarantee anything. There are numerous documented cases of bears feasting on food stored in these containers. (hanging of food is still approved in many parks, and I recall how well that worked the last time I encountered a bear). If this item works so well, why is a redesign currently in production?

Be aware these are NOT allowed in NY, Adirondacks, the bears get them on the sides, get bouncing on them and the top pops off. The rangers will turn you back.

Much lighter than those issued by the National Park Service, this canister held enough food for four of us for a one night trip...barely. I wonder if BV makes a vault in any other shape but round? As we were storing the container for the night I couldn't help but envision it rolling down the mountain.

i purchased this item thinking that i was protected from bears gaining access to my food. it was a false sense of security as i discovered in my recnt trip to the adirondack high peak region on 8/20/08. the bears easily opened the canister and ate all our food on the first night of a planned four day trip. we contacted bear vault and had a less than useless conversation with them about the poor performance of their product. if you want to keep your food safe, DO NOT BUY THIS CANISTER. IT WILL RUIN YOUR TRIP IF YOU ARE IN BEAR COUNTRY!

Good product, rugged and appears to be well engineered. It's nice to just leave the vault on the ground instead of fighting to hang your food. It's also nice to be able to see your food in the vault as compared to the black keg type that you can't see into. Bear proof containers are now mandatory in parts of the Adirondacks. Back at the trailhead a ranger informed us that some bears in the park have figured out how to get into the Bear Vault. We had no bear activity so ours is untested.