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.

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.

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.

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.

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...

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.

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!

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!!

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?

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.