[BULK] - [pct-l] BearVault status in a portion of SEKI

[amr10009 at yahoo.com (alec)]

i'm just back from a 25 day trip on the JMT and it's interesting to see read about all of these developments.  it became apparent to me and others while on the trail that the bearvault cannisters are not working.  a friend met someone last year in the sierras who had lost all of his food in a bearvault that didn't live up to its name.  i chalked this up to "user error."
 
last week, while meeting this same friend at the top of kearsarge pass for a resupply, we ran into a charlotte lake ranger (a tall skinny guy with the longest legs i've ever seen) who asked us what type of cannisters we were using.  when we replied that we were carrying garcia cannisters, he replied, "good."  he said that there had been 10 bearvault failures in the last 2 weeks.  i can't substantiate the truth of this assertion, but this is what the ranger said.  
 
i understand that there are some technical manufacturing anomolies with the bearvault cannisters and i understand that some of these purported failures may be due to user error.  when i broached the issue of user error with the ranger, he said that in the past he had found it easier to accept this explanation, but that now the rate of failure seemed to indicate otherwise.
 
in my opinion, a high rate of user error leading to repeated failures indicates a serious overall problem with the product.  if so many people are failing to properly secure their bearvaults, that says to me that there is something wrong with the design of the cannisters.  i've never heard of a user failing to be able to open or close a garcia cannister.
 
perhaps the folks at bearvault should go back to the drawing board.  i think they have a great concept with a lexan cannister, but they need to rethink the lid/locking mechanism.  when they do so, i will be the first to purhase one.
    
 
   


Mike Saenz <msaenz@mve-architects.com> wrote:
Great.
I'll be in this exact area week after next...

And my new BV300 is grizzly approved???
(maybe the Rae Lakes Loop yogis are just "smaaarrrtter than the average
bear!")

To BearVault: Send me an extra BV300 and I'll stuff it with smoked
bacon, slather steak sauce on it and leave it out to see just how well
it performs... Of course, I'll follow the directions and secure the lid
properly...

I better catch a lot of fish.


Michael Saenz, Associate Partner
McLarand Vasquez Emsiek & Partners, Inc.
A r c h i t e c t u r e | P l a n n i n g | I n t e r i o r s
MVE MVE Institutional MVP International
w w w . m v e - a r c h i t e c t s . c o m

-----Original Message-----
From: pct-l-bounces@mailman.backcountry.net
[mailto:pct-l-bounces@mailman.backcountry.net] On Behalf Of bearvault
Sent: Tuesday, August 23, 2005 8:48 PM
To: pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
Subject: [BULK] - [pct-l] BearVault status in a portion of SEKI

We wanted to let you know of a development that affects the use of the
certain bear canisters in a specific area of the Sierra. The Kearsarge
Lakes/Charlotte Lake/Upper Bubbs Creek areas have had several BearVaults
and Bearikades broken into by a bear(s). At this time these incidents
are isolated to this specific area and possibly one or more bears. Due
to the local and specific nature of these incidents the enclosed
document was sent out by the Whitney Ranger Station concerning this
area. BearVault is obtaining several of the canisters from the
incidents in this area in an effort to determine the cause of the
failures. 

The Sierra Interagency Black Bear Group has pointed out that at this
time this does not affect the approval status of any BearVault models.
The local rangers will attempt to tag the suspected bear(s) and observe
its behavior during interactions with bear canisters put in the area to
observe what is happening.

Thank you.

Jamie


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