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BearVault BV500 Food Container

$59.99
$79.95^*

REDUCED PRICE You Save 24%

(57)

Item # 768902

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Keep bears from inviting themselves to your feast! The BearVault BV500 container features simple access, light weight and large volume.

Durable polycarbonate construction keeps the weight light and the inner volume high
Large rainproof lid features a snapping bump/tab locking mechanism and screws on and off easily without the use of tools
Dimpled exterior keeps tie-down straps from shifting and eliminates the need for a carrying pouch
Translucent vault makes finding your meal selection easy
Container helps suppress strong odors from food, sunscreen, insect repellent, soap and toothpaste, lessening the chance of bear vs. human conflict
Hand wash in warm water with a mild dishwashing detergent
With the lid fully closed the BearVault also makes a great camp seat
This BearVault model has approval from both the Sierra Interagency Black Bear Group and Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee
Store BearVault at least 100 yards downwind of campsite, preferably in the shade to keep contents cool
Never keep a bear canister inside your tent!

There is a bear in the Marcy Dam area of the Adirondacks in upstate New York that has learned to open BearVault food containers. BearVaults are approved for use everywhere except the area encompassing the Lake Colden/Marcy Dam corridor and the Johns Brook valley in the Adirondacks.

Made in USA.

Item 768902

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BearVault BV500 Food Container Customer Reviews

REVIEW SNAPSHOT®

by PowerReviews

BearVault BV500 Food Container

3.9

(based on 57 reviews)

77%

of respondents would recommend this to a friend.

Pros

Durable (43)
Easy to use (28)
Good design (22)
Good capacity (15)
Lightweight (13)

Cons

Heavy (13)
Heavy / bulky (13)
Not durable (4)
Difficult to use (3)

Best Uses

Backcountry (32)
Backcountry camping (14)
Camping (9)
Winter (7)
River (4)

- Reviewer Profile:
- Avid adventurer (31), Casual/ recreational (16), Casual adventurer (3)
- What Is Your Gear Style:
- Comfort driven (17), Survivalist / minimalist (16)
- Was this a gift?:
- No (27)

Reviewed by 57 customers

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Displaying reviews 1-10

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May

2013

4.0

great bear canister for the money

By trail-rambler

from SoCal

About Me Casual/ Recreational

See all my reviews

Pros

Durable
Easy To Drain
Good Capacity
No Plastic Taste

Cons

Best Uses

Backcountry Camping
Campgrounds

Comments about BearVault BV500 Food Container:

I've carried 6 days of food + emergency kit without any problem. And because of the clear walls you don't have to turn it upside down to find your power bars.

Comment on this review

May

2013

4.0

Keeps food safe from critters

By peaceful hiker

from Lacey, Washington

About Me Casual/ Recreational

See all my reviews

Pros

Durable
Food Safe From Critters

Cons

Hard to open
Water Gets In Top In Rain

Best Uses

Backcountry Camping

Comments about BearVault BV500 Food Container:

This is good for backpacking in areas that require you to have a hard, bear-proof food container. It slips easily into your backpack (even my backpack which is pretty small). It keeps your food safe from "mini-bears" rodents, raccoons, too. I had it sitting upright out in the open during a rain storm and the water managed to get inside. I make sure to keep food in ziplock bags now. Be sure to keep the rim of the lid and the rim of the container clean because if it get dirty or scuffed up, it is hard to get the lid on and off.

Comment on this review

Apr

2013

4.0

Works great, sucks to pack.

By macawmatt

from Pittsburg, KS

About Me Avid Adventurer

See all my reviews

Pros

Durable
Good Capacity

Cons

Best Uses

Backcountry Camping

Comments about BearVault BV500 Food Container:

Got this given to me as a gift in preparation for a hike in Colorado this summer. Used it a few times so far and for storing your food and other items it works great. Also works out as a great seat too. My big problem, and maybe its how I am packing it, but it sucks to pack in my backpack. Can't comment on how well it keeps out the animals yet, but I expect it to handle that well.

Comment on this review

Dec

2012

5.0

Works EVERYWHERE now!

By Trek8500

from New Hartford,NY

About Me Casual/ Recreational

See all my reviews

Pros

Durable
Good Capacity
Good Grip

Cons

Best Uses

Backcountry Camping

Comments about BearVault BV500 Food Container:

My Bear Vault has served me well (Even in the Marcy Dam area of the Adirondacks!) The Bear known as yellow yellow(due to the yellow tags on each ear) who was known to be able to open these Bear containers is no more. She was shot and killed this past season.

Comment on this review

Oct

2012

(0 of 1 customers found this review helpful)

1.0

Not as good as the Garcia

By Wakatipu

from San Diego, CA

About Me Avid Adventurer

See all my reviews

Pros

Cons

Difficult to Use
Not Durable

Best Uses

Backcountry

Comments about BearVault BV500 Food Container:

I hiked in the Sierra wilderness with my son. I had a BearVault and he had a Garcia, which we rented. The Garcia is a piece of cake to open and lock. But the screw top of the Bear Vault was a real pain, and became very difficult to open from a full lock position after we slightly burred the thread - which is very easy to do. The transparency is nice, but in addition to seeing your food, you want to be able to get at it!

Comment on this review

Aug

2012

(1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

Great Product

By jordan999

from Santa Barbara, CA

About Me Casual/ Recreational

See all my reviews

Pros

Durable
Easy to Use
Good Design
Lightweight

Cons

Bulky
Difficult to Use

Best Uses

Backcountry

Comments about BearVault BV500 Food Container:

Much better than the big black barrels. Being clear makes it really easy to find stuff in a group. The tabs can be a bit tricky early in the morning or when its cold, but are really not that difficult, better than having to screw and unscrew. Expected the product to be a bit lighter, but great design, uses the space to its maximum.

Comment on this review

Aug

2012

(3 of 3 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

easy trick to open BearVault

By MidwestHiker

from Midwest

About Me Avid Adventurer

See all my reviews

Pros

Durable
Easy to see inside
Good Design
Makes good camp seat
Wide opening

Cons

Best Uses

Backcountry

Comments about BearVault BV500 Food Container:

A local club purchased one BearVault 500 and one Garcia canister. I prefer the BearVault in almost every way. The BearVault 500 is just the right size to fit in the sleeping bag compartment of my Deuter AirContact 55+10 liter pack (with just enough room to also fit Deuter SpeedLite20 daypack, inflatable pillow, fuel canister, and camp towel around the canister). However if you have a smaller sleeping bag compartment, the smaller Garcia might fit where the BearVault won't.

Reasons I like the BearVault better:
It is larger capacity.
I can see through the BearVault to see where my food is.
The opening on the Garcia canister is smaller.
The Garcia canister does not make as good a camp seat (minor).

Reasons I like the Garcia canister better:
Much easier to open Garcia canister, which unlocks using a coin.

I have pretty strong hands and still have a very hard time opening the BearVault lid, especially when the plastic is cold. However I found a simple way to make it perfectly easy to open the BearVault in seconds. Buy a couple stainless steel strawberry hullers from a kitchen store to keep on hand and use like a "key" to open the BearVault. Or try any other thin straight piece of metal (including a thin knife blade). Slide the thin piece of metal between the lid and the plastic catch that prevents the lid from opening. As you rotate the lid, the metal will depress the catches on the lid so they will easily slide past the catch on the canister. That's it.

Comment on this review

Aug

2012

4.0

Great balance of price, weight, features

By Splitboard Graham

from Olympia, WA

About Me Avid Adventurer

See all my reviews

Pros

Easy to Use
Good Design

Cons

Bulky

Best Uses

Backcountry

Comments about BearVault BV500 Food Container:

After having a bear, a raven, and countless rodents steal my food (or damage equipment attempting to) in various situations, I finally decided to get an animal resistant food containter... Having used Bear Vault 500's and Garcia's, I prefer the bear vault. It is a pound lighter, and has a larger volume. It fits perfectly in the bottom of my 52L pack. It is heavier than the equivalent sized Bearikade, but much cheaper. I like not needing a tool to open it, the clear sides, and the waterproof lid (the garcia's i used were not) when stored upright. It does indeed make a great stool, and also a great backcountry coffee table, and the lid makes a great mini kitchen countertop for cutting limes on, or hold your favorite can of malt beverage on uneven surfaces. as a previous poster noted, it is possible to quickly spin the lid off past the tabs, but is is also quite easy to open without a tool. this is a nice feature, as I've been on trips where we had to scramble to find something to open a garcia after the coin was lost or forgotten. if you need a rock or something to open it, you're doing it wrong. the threads can get a little gritty, which makes it tougher to open after a few days out, but they can be cleaned with any moist cloth. i have found that this unit is a little small for 10 person-days in the backcountry, but better meal planning, and careful selection of toiletries, etc, could get it in that range, as others have noted. i plan on getting the 450 model for one night trips, or for extra space on multi-person and/or longer trips. Three trips, 11 nights, and no problems with animals (though we did not see any bears, just scat). No rodents chewing my tent mesh trying to get my food. Good stuff.

Comment on this review

Jul

2012

5.0

Just too heavy for me

By Chele the Hiker

from Virginia

About Me Avid Adventurer

See all my reviews

Pros

Easy to Use

Cons

Bulky
Heavy

Best Uses

Backcountry
Backyard
Winter Camping

Comments about BearVault BV500 Food Container:

At first, I really wanted to ditch the hanging bear bag and try to take the lazy way out. Bear cannisters are not required for the area I was in.

When it came, I decided it was too large and way too heavy for me to use on a backpacking trip. I took it back.

I still gave this product 5 stars because it is a good solid product. But it's just so BIG and so HEAVY that I wouldn't dare carry it unless it was required. Take the time and hang your bear back. Save the weight for extra candy bars!

Comment on this review

Jun

2012

5.0

Best bear can

By KRHIKE

from Denver, CO

About Me Avid Adventurer

See all my reviews

Pros

Durable
Good Design
Lightweight

Cons

Best Uses

Backcountry

Comments about BearVault BV500 Food Container:

This is the most spacious bear can I've used. It is lighter than the others I have used and hold more food/scented items. Bears know they can't get into them; hiked Yosemite in 2010 and last week, 2010 I had bear issues, this year none. I added reflective tape which greatly increases visibility at night.