The design of the Bearikade might actually make this a reasonable option. The two ends of the Bearikade are nearly identical. The exception is that the metal "band" that is on the "top" has a removable inner lid where as the "bottom" is practically the same band welded together as a solid piece.
Either that, or they've tried it and BOTH ends not being solid changes the strength of the canister and no longer able to resist crushing forces (hence the reason a design change like this would need additional testing... the sort of things you have to keep in mind when designing).
Last edited by HooKooDooKu; 04-16-2018 at 09:30.
The idea has some merit. Anyone who has crammed a week's worth of food in a canister knows how important it is to plan the sequence in which you will eat food so that you don't have to dump the contents of the precisely packed canister and repack, especially early in the trip. Later in the trip, the canister has less in it and it's easier to get to the bottom. Not the case at all with a fully packed canister. Not a huge deal for me because I have a lot of experience knowing how to pack in such a way that what I want and need is always at the top as I work my way down. But lots of people don't do that.
One thing about the Bearikade is that I've never found mine to be totally waterproof if I place it with the lid facing up. I flip it around and place it with the lid down. If both sides had the same lid, then I think rain incursion would be a problem. Some people report that their bearikades are waterproof but mind never has been.
Not really. If my drawing skills were better I could show what I mean.
Originally Posted by Leo L.
You mean something similar like this?
If you're pushing the limits of what your bear canister can hold, I found the opposite approach to be much easier.
After picking up 10 days worth of supplies at MTR during a JMT thru hike, I spent well over an hour trying to figure out how to get all my supplies in the canister.
Finally, the process that worked was to pull 1 day's worth of supplies to the side, and then pack everything else without any regard to any organization other than placing items together that packed as tightly as possible without wasting any space. Then place the one day supply on top.
Of course at the end of that one day, I had to do it all over... dump the entire contents, pull aside one days worth of supplies, and repack everything else in an unorganized fashion. But the process really didn't take that long and became even easier and quicker with each passing day.
Last edited by HooKooDooKu; 04-16-2018 at 11:58.
Ya there is no reason to sweat packing a canister. If it is a long haul you need to do whatever to get it to fit. It's not like you don't have a few minutes in your day to sort it out. I'm actually ambivalent to this subject as my days having to use a canister or so small relative to days I don't have to use one that I'm fine with what I have. The condition in which I would consider getting a new canister would be if it was significantly lighter and cheap. Those two don't usually correlate either so I'm probably stuck with what I have until I check out.
Bear barrel.jpgThis is What I meant, crudely drawn. You would need anti-unscrewing pins or some such reachable from inside.
I just filed a patent using your drawings....Thank you!
I've found that with proper planning I can place each day's worth of food at one "level" in the canister. As I consume food, the next "level" appears without having to repack.
Pretty similar to what I had in mind.
Aside of the added weight, the biggest task would be to get the threads waterproof. Threads that size need to have lots of loose play to be able to operate it, then to make it waterproof you'd need a seal that should fit tight at any placement.
OK, maybe we could connect the bottom and top pieces by means of an internal elastic bellows that could take care of the waterproofness.
A trash bag will deal with waterproof, if its really that important.
I'll file this post, just in case.
Your ok. Turns out they want money to file a patent.
I hereby donate the modular bear canister public domain, for the benefit of the bearophilic/beariphobic communities.
OK thanks, now for the next steps.
I suggest we take two of the existing non-modular models, cut the top thirds off, weld/glue a short external thread section to each, and add a middle section that has an internal thread.
Then someone should collect some little money and show up at the authorities.
I so sari, you server on a 14 hour de-lay, China beat you to it.
There is one bear that has learned to kick the canister to its side and then he sits on it popping the opening end. Having a modular system and or two opening ends could make the job easier for that bears and others that have learned the trick.
I should have added that the hard part is not so much in designing a canister but in getting it approved.
And then...getting people to buy it.
A 41 oz cannister can sell for $70, while a same size 31 oz cannister can sell for $300.
Easy to see where buyer is willing to spend $.
Last edited by MuddyWaters; 04-20-2018 at 22:32.