Canister for Backpacking. 4 Sizes: BV500, BV475, BV450, BV425. Bear-Resistant Food Container for Camping, Hiking, Fishing, Hunting, Bikepacking. BearVault is Bear Safe!

Durable, works as designed. Was able to pack food for two people on a 3 day trip, although space was tight. I have a difficult time opening it with my small, weak hands so there were times I thought I would probably starve if I didn’t have a hiking partner who was better at opening it than I am. It did seem to get slightly easier with time…

Arrived quickly. Quality is as presented. Brand new and all parts working. Immediately used for a 3 day trip in bear prone country. Worked well. Held up exposed in 2 nights of heavy rain. Easy enough to open. Very pleased!

I used these for a canoe camping trip. I bought two of them for two people and a dog for a four day camping trip. Everything including dog food, our food, snacks, bug spray for us and the dog, sun screen, and medications all fit. We could have probably just done one for the two of us without the dog, so they have a decent amount of room. The locking lid is a little hard to figure out at first. I found it is easiest to push the locking piece down as you spin the lid toward it so that it is already down when the piece reaches the lock. The lock will also be stiff at first, and it will get easier with time. It is also relatively easy to clean. My fishing bait spilled in it, and I was able to wash it up and remove the odor of the synthetic bait. I would not use it for a stool though. It is durable enough, but it really isn’t comfortable to sit on, and I ended up sitting on the ground. I didn’t buy it to be a stool as its primary purpose though, so that’s okay. I can’t say how it would hold up with a bear. It seems durable, and based on the way bear barrels are certified using problem grizzlies from Yellowstone at a facility to test and certify them, I think it would do rather well with the black bears I have in this region. It is heavy to carry in a backpack, but I prefer that over hanging my food because its hard to find a good enough tree to follow regulations in the Boundary waters to secure the bag. The bear barrel follows all regulations and makes sure you aren’t accidentally feeding bears and other wildlife, causing them to become a problem and require removal. These bear barrels will make sure you are keeping you safe, other campers safe, and wildlife safe. I will buy again in the future if I need more for a larger group. I will also add that they do somewhat mask the odor of your food. I had gulp bait spill in it, and I couldn’t smell it until I opened it. Obviously a bear would likely still smell it, but at least it seems to dull the smell a little.

I dislike having to put one of these in my pack, they add weight and take up space, but I suppose the forest service doesn't want bears to associate hikers with an easy meal. You could always take the chance of hiking without one in areas where they are required, but then you run the risk of getting pulled off the trail.Gripping about the rules aside, this is a great canister and I've used it on countless trips now. It's easy to get your food in and out of since the lid is about the same diameter as the canister. I have friends that use the backpackers cache canisters, and they are constantly stuffing and ripping packaged food trying to get it through its smaller opening. Or they are asking to borrow my leatherman to undo the lid screws that eventually get clogged with dirt or other foreign particles, which can make it nearly impossible to open without a tool.This canister is relatively lightweight, easy to open and close, provides easy access to food, packs as nicely as any other canister, and has provided me with a decent seat on many occasions.If you are forced to pack a canister, then get this one, although I dislike all bear canisters this one is the least objectionable.

Just took my BearVault on a two-week trip down the John Muir Trail.First things first. This product was completely unnecessary, because there are only smallish black bears on the JMT. For some reason, the rangers insist that you carry a bulky, heavy bear canister to do a job that a well-hung bag would do just fine.Now that that is off my chest ...This product works exactly as advertised, with three major problems.1) The reviews stating that it can be difficult to open on the trail are correct. I had dismissed these reports soon after my vault arrived, because I found it to be very easy to open .... at home. Turns out there is a big difference between opening one of these things at home and opening one on the trail with cold, dried-up hands. I found that I needed to have a small, strong stick of just the right dimensions on-hand, and even then it was a pain each time.2) Use as a seat. It can be used as a seat, but it specifically says not to do this unless it is fully closed (to protect the threads I guess), and because of problem 1, I tried not to close it completely unless I really needed to. So it ended up being sat on much less than I would have liked.3) sheer bulk. This is probably a problem with all of these cylinders, but the BearVault seems especially big around. There seems to be no good comfortable way to fit it in a standard backpack. If it is empty you can carry it on top easily enough, but when it is full of food this causes an enormous weight imbalance that I cannot tolerate. Same situation for strapping it to the outside. So down it goes in the bottom of my pack, but then, even with a well-padded waist belt, I was still getting painful pressure on the small of my back. I was able to compensate by stuffing some clothing articles in between, but this was an annoyance throughout the trip.So, for its primary mission, keeping out critters, I guess it did just fine, although I was unaware of any critters trying to get in. It does hold (with devoted cramming) at least 7-10 days of food for one person. But the other annoyances keep me from giving it a full 5 stars.