Locking Coolers?

[candycane]

Do you know if they sell coolers that lock and are animal proof? We are camping in bear country and there are pretty strong rules about food storage. I was wondering if they made a locking cooler that is also air tight and possibly odor proof? I don't just want to use a regular cooler locked in my trunk...we've had bear tear into vehicles around here because they can still smell the food.

 

[eyebp]

I don't know of a cooler like that but I'd be sure to check the food storage rules from where I was going because they usually include not storing food in your car. Depending where you are and their procedure I would use the provided storage, get a bear canister or hang it.

 

[Grandpa]

A bear will tear a car apart, literally, to get to food.
Grizzly Bear Destroys Kid's Car*Video

Hungry bear destroys family's car in Larkspur - The Denver Post

I know of no cooler that can withstand a bear. If you are at a campground, do they have bear proof lockers for food?

A bear has a nose about 2300 times stronger than ours. Pretty hard to hide any odors from him.

 

[ponderosa]

No, there is no cooler that will keep a bear out. The bears around here haven't taken to breaking into cars, and storing food in the car is OK. In other areas, that would be an invitation for a bear to peel the door off your car. It sounds like car storage is not a good plan for your area. Most campgrounds in areas with bear issues have food lockers at the campsites that will fit a cooler. If there is no locker, your options are really limited for perishable foods. There are products called bear vaults which are made to withstand bears, but they won't keep your food cold. Another option for non-perishables is to hang the food in a tree, at least six feet from the trunk and ten feet off the ground. That's about it.

 

[Tubby]

Bears can be incredibly distructive and you do not want to have food anywhere near you when a bear decides it's hungry in the middle of the night. They take one look at people in sleeping bags and think "mmmmm tacos". Seriously, you do not want to tempt bears with any type of food.

 

[Grandpa]

No, there is no cooler that will keep a bear out. The bears around here haven't taken to breaking into cars, and storing food in the car is OK. In other areas, that would be an invitation for a bear to peel the door off your car. It sounds like car storage is not a good plan for your area. Most campgrounds in areas with bear issues have food lockers at the campsites that will fit a cooler. If there is no locker, your options are really limited for perishable foods. There are products called bear vaults which are made to withstand bears, but they won't keep your food cold. Another option for non-perishables is to hang the food in a tree, at least six feet from the trunk and ten feet off the ground. That's about it.

Actually Ponderosa, not safe around here either. We were getting ready to go into the Jed from Coyote Meadows. Car got it's door peeled there the week before. All the bear got was the empty McD wrappers and whatever leftovers were in them.

 

[Lucy]

Really, the best way to safeguard your food (and yourselves) is to store your food high off the ground in a way that creatures will not access it. We always just bungee ours shut.

 

[OldSole]

It's not worth the extra expense to buy something that doesn't work. They will tear it apart since they are capable of tearing apart a car. Bungee it shut and hang it, that's the only way you will keep your food safe.

 

[Joe S.]

You really don't want to take a chance while you're out in the boonies having to deal with bears. It's worth the extra effort to hang your food out of reach.