UDAP No-Fed-Bear Bear Resistant Canister

Kept bears and critters out. Intermediate size fit my pack and my needs better than other brands. Hard to decide how many stars to give this, but it is an average bear canister, great size, and has excellent customer service.

This is an approved and certified bear canister that meets the requirements along the John Muir Trail. I chose this particular canister because the intermediate size fit my backpack and my needs better than the other brands. 

Unfortunately the locks on the lid seized up during our backpacking trip. We were ultimately able to open it, but I am glad that I was traveling with someone else and we were each carrying food.

I contacted Udap when we got home and they immediately sent me a new lid with locking mechanisms with a much deeper grooves. With the new lid installed the locking mechanism functions just fine. The customer service department at Udap gets an excellent rating from me for their fast and no hassle replacement lid. 

If you have to carry a bear canister, this is a great option particularly if you are struggling to fit it in some of the smaller sized backpacks. I fit six days worth of food along with other smellables into the can. I would recommend the Udap No Fed Bear Canister version that has full deep cutouts on the locks. Based on my personal experience, I would not recommend the version with shallow partial cutouts but would advise you contact their customer service department if you experience any issues with it.

I don't know if the problem I experienced was a random fluke in the machining or if there are other cases. Either way, the company stands by their product so I would have confidence purchasing their brand. I would caution that the locks on any bear canister should be thoroughly tested at a variety of temperatures prior to using in the backcountry.

Smaller Udap canister is 8 in X 10 in

Deep cutouts on lock on recommended version of Udap No Fed Bear Canister

Shallow cutout version

When the product arrived from Amazon I was excited. Loved the slickness of the canister's outside. This allowed for easy fitting of the canister into my 45-55 liter pack.

Some folks considered the smaller opening a negative. This didn't bother me. In fact, I felt the smaller opening added to security. No way did I feel a bear (or any critter) would ever be able to find their way into this canister.

The volume allowed me to fit 10 Mountain House type dinners in the canister.

I did add many little reflective stickers to the black container (top, bottom, sides) so I could find it in low light conditions.

The top. Many folks found this design troublesome. I had no problems at all. In fact, once at camp I leaned around my sitting position and found no less than six items that allowed me to open the two twist locks on the lid. These items included pocket knife, belt buckle, rock, twig, my spork, and the edge of my pot gripper. 

Now comes the straw that broke the "canister's" back. During a common two-hour rainstorm for this area, the canister took on 2 inches of rainwater. With two remaining days of food ruined, my trip was ended. 

Any further comments beyond this point would end up as PURE PROFANITY!!!  However, I'll contain myself long enough to say, I WOULD NEVER RECOMMEND THIS PRODUCT TO ANYONE FOR ANY PURPOSE OTHER THAN TO FILL IT WITH ROCKS AND USE IT AS A VERY EXPENSIVE BOAT ANCHOR.

Background

Used this product for two days on a four-day pack trip.