[pct-l] Odor Protection Sacks?

[dsaufley at sprynet.com]

Though I like them and use them, one thing about the OP sacks to consider is that they're not made "thru-hiker tough", and I found they literally came apart at the seams.  When you're cramming 7+ days of food into one, it strains the seams and the open up, effectively becoming useless.  The solution was to carry plenty of extras.  

I used OP sacks to store food, toiletries, medicines, trash, and my cookset -- all of which could potentially attract bears with their scent.  The food sack was in my aluminum lined Ursack, but even if I used my Garcia or Bearikade, or no can at all,  I would still use the OP sacks -- anywhere, anytime.  Little rodents can do a lot of damage, and I had a bigger problem with a demonic and aggressive squirrel than bears on my JMT hike last summer! 

L-Rod



-----Original Message-----
>From: Len Glassner <len5742 at gmail.com>
>Sent: Mar 20, 2007 6:09 PM
>To: pct-l at mailman.backcountry.net
>Subject: [pct-l] Odor Protection Sacks?
>
>What if one focused on keeping the bears from ever smelling your
>smellables, rather than protecting them from an onslaught of claws and
>jaws?
>
>This from the BackpackingLight website:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>Are O.P. Saks Really Odor-Proof?
>Well, yes, quite so. We slathered a bunch of honey, peanut butter, and
>olive oil in one and left it out for four days in the corner of a
>forest service cabin while we were out tramping around on a hike. We
>knew the cabin to be infested with both mice and pack rats, and when
>we came back, the O.P. Sak was intact with no sign whatsoever of
>animal intrusion, despite the fact that there were fresh droppings and
>sawdust scattered throughout the cabin.
>
>Ursack liners are actually O.P. Saks. And, we've been using O.P. Saks
>for food storage while backpacking in both grizzly and black bear
>country in Glacier NP, Yellowstone NP, the Bob Marshall Wilderness,
>Tetons, Wind Rivers, and Uintas. Below the treeline, we simply add a
>mesh sack with a drawcord and hang our food with AirCore Plus. Above
>the treeline, we store the O.P. Sak under a pile of rocks, or
>sometimes, just sleep with it next to our shelter. Even in the most
>rodent and bear infested areas, we've not had a single curious critter
>attempt to get into the O.P. Sak.
><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
>
>I used an Ursack for two weeks on the JMT, with an O. P. Sack.  The
>top edge of the O.P. looked like it got slightly nibbled on (must have
>been a very, very small animal to have gotten through the small
>opening in the tightened-up Ursack), perhaps triggered by residual
>food from my fingers that handled the contents. So double-sacking
>maybe?  Other than that, no animal issues.
>
>The thing that bugs me about the O.P. sacks is that they don't seem
>seal very securely. You can pull the ziplock  apart really easily.
>
>It would be interesting to know if the Ursacks that failed were used
>in conjunction with O.P. sacks.  I could ask Ursack but that would be
>too easy.
>
>The O.P. sacks are cheap, relative to cans,  and weigh nothing
>relative to cans.  If an option like this were offered, instead of
>having to carry a food Fort Knox on your back, maybe compliance would
>be higher and bears safer.
>
>Len
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