The BearVault BV425 is a 1 lb 12 oz (800g) bear canister capable of carrying 2-3 days worth of food. It has an internal capacity of 305 cubic inches (5 liters). The canister is made of durable polycarbonate. The BV425 has an opening with a diameter of 7” which makes packing and organizing your food easy, and being transparent, it’s pretty easy to find what you’re looking for and to know how much food you have left.
Specs at a Glance
- Volume: 305 cubic inches, 5 L, (2-3 days)
- Tool-Free Operation: Yes
- Material: Clear polycarbonate
- Weight: 1 lbs 12 oz (800g)
- Dimensions: 8.7″ x 6″
- Diameter of opening: 7″
- Approvals: IGBC
BearVault also makes several other canister sizes, the BV450, BV475, and BV500, but the BV425 is optimal for short backpacking trips in areas where a bear canister is required because it’s easy to pack inside your backpack. I pack mine in the middle of my pack, just above my sleep insulation, and shim out the sides with loose clothing. It’s that small.
I started using the BV425 this summer for the 1-2 night backpacking trips I like to take in the White Mountain National Forest, where you have to either hang your food (12 feet up and 6 feet out), use a bear canister, or one of the bear boxes available at designated tent sites. Unfortunately, Ursacks are no longer permitted in the Whites.
Advantages
While hanging your food in the Whites is a lightweight option, it can be difficult and rather time-consuming to do. Moreover, a small bear canister like the BV425 has a lot of advantages over hanging a bear bag in a tree. For example,
- It is impervious to mice and small rodents.
- Requires no skill to hang or tie knots.
- Bear canisters can be stored on the ground.
- A bear canister is easy to stash (preferably 200 feet from your campsite), even after dark.
- Easy to clean.
- Fits inside ultralight backpacks easily.
- You can sit on it as a camp stool.
If you’ve ever spent an hour or more trying to hang a bear bag at the end of the day or as dark approaches, those are pretty significant advantages.
Locking mechanism
The BearVault BV425 has a black screw-top lid. There are two little locking tabs on the lid which are sloping on one side so they can pass through the locking tab on the canister when screwing on the lid. They are blunt on the other side so they will not pass back through the locking tab until you forcibly depress them. To unlock the canister, push in the tabs on the lid until they clear the tabs on the canister and unscrew the lid in one motion. It takes a couple of tries, but you get used to it pretty quickly.
If you hike in the High Peaks region of the Adirondacks, the BV425 and all the other Bearvault canisters aren’t legal because the local black bears have figured out how to open them.
Competition: The Bare Boxer
I also own another small bear canister, called the Bare Boxer, which has close to the same volume as the BV425. While it is slightly lighter weight, I like the BV425 because it has a much wider top opening (7″ instead of 4.75″ on the Bare Boxer), it doesn’t require a tool to open, and it’s easy to see how much food you have left inside.
Recommendation
The BearVault BV425 bear canister is a great option for short backpacking trips up to 2-3 days in length if you know you will be backpacking in places where bear canisters are required. Its small size means that you can easily pack it inside your backpack and you can stash it on the ground at night, even if you get to camp after dark when hanging a bear bag in a tree would be virtually impossible.
Disclosure: Bearvault donated a bear canister for review.
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