If you’re heading up to bear country this summer, you’ll want to read this. Rebecca, being a tester for Backpackgeartest.org, has tried ’em all: Bear Vault, Bearikade, Ursack, etc.

I own a Bear Vault Solo, which, as Rebecca notes, has the plus of letting you see what’s inside, and the minus of a cranky lid setup that aggravates far more people than bears. A few bears have allegedly figured out how to defeat the full-size bear vault by sitting on it and popping the top off.

The small Bear Vault and its cousins are handy on weekend outings in the Bay Area even though we have no bear issues (which is not the same thing as having no bears) because they also keep out rats, mice and raccoons.

Of course you can always be lazy like me and avoid bear issues altogether by sticking to the local trails and sleeping in beds.