Zpacks Bear Bag Kit Post Appalachian Trail Review
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ต.ค. 2024
- A solid bear bag kit is a necessity for thru hikers of any long trail. For my Appalachian Trail thru hike I took the Zpacks Bear Bag Kit. Needless to say, I used the kit extensively out there. While there are many options as far as bear bags go, the Zpacks bear bag kit is a solid all in one choice at a VERY difficult to beat weight (3.4oz). Continue watching the full review!
Zpacks Bear Bag Kit - zpacks.com/pro...
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Hey all. Wanted to point out that as of 4/2018 it seems they increased the size of the food bags included with this kit. Saw a brand new one in person recently and it looks substantially larger. There are also two bear bags listed in their dry sack page on the zpacks website. The larger of two is now listed as the one included with the kit. I personally would love the additional size but if you were looking for a bag the size of the one in this video you maybe a little disappointed in it being larger. It appears you can still buy the size bag I show in this video on their site though!
Link to the kit with the apparently larger bag: www.zpacks.com/accessories/bear_bag.shtml
Cheers!
Chris
Adding those little loops is smart!
They worked really well for me on the trail! Very easy to attach the carabiner to. The bag itself has one little loop next to the clip you could use to this but I found it much faster to do this way.
Great review Chris. Thanks for posting. I ordered one a couple of days ago. Should be here today. Your review just confirmed I made the right choice. Love your videos.
Thanks T Mac. Its a solid option. Hope it works out for you. Appreciate ya tuning in!
nice, i never thought to use my water bottle for throwing the line. thanks,
great vid
It worked great for me Erik. Video demoing how I went about doing so is edited / uploaded will probably release Saturday morning!
I love mine too. I have the greenish set up. I did shorten the line though. Slick line works great. I have had no issues with it on our section hikes. I was able to put 6-7 days worth of food, gas canister and cook set in mine. Great idea with the water bottle! First time I used my set, I got it stuck! No way was I giving up. Worked for 30 or so minutes until I got it unstuck! Haha! Great vid! I will be adding the loops to mine. Thanks!
Haha I wouldve climbed the tree to get my bag back if it got stuck on the first use 😂. I used my water bottle all the time to hang mine. Will have a full video showing how I went about hanging my stuff out probably on Saturday. Maybe before. We will see!
I have this bag and have not hung it yet, but from your review I'm glad I got it. Great review and I just subscribed.
Thanks man! It's a solid system. I hope it works out for you too!
Hi Chris
Spielburg said he had that problem with the bag latch unclipping when he had a heavy load. I called Zpacks to ask about it and they said they had not heard of any problem. I really like your fix. Simple but looks very effective. I went with a Sea to Summit bag that had a D clip at the webbing and it works well. HYOH
Good to hear! I never had the issue with my clip either. There is a sewn in loop on one side of the clip and I attached the carabiner to that here and there and never had an issue with the clip there either. I saw a lot of sea to summit bags out there for food bags. Im pretty sure my acquaintance Big Mama used one. Seemed like a solid option!
Such a smart idea to add the loops to take the weight off of the clip!
Still use the loops till this day!
@@ChrisGoesOutdoors I am definitely using this tip! Thank you
Thanks, very helpful. Always enjoy your videos.
Thanks Deb! Appreciate you tuning in!
Wonderful post! Thank you very much!
My pleasure Karen, Thanks for watching!
Nice review, Chris. I use the same setup and am very happy with it.
Thanks Tony. Good to hear. Its a solid ultralight system!
Love the Z packs bear bagging kit. Never experienced any problems with the clip or carabiner, and on the PCT for me, hanging a bag gets real old very fast! I used a OPsac 12x20 inside the bear bag, and found that, as long as the OPsac didn't have punctures and the seal was intact, I could leave my food bag outside my tent, or on a table if I had one nearby. Been doing it this way last two years, And my food bag has NEVER been touched by an animal. The OPsac is a really great item to have on trail. They can also be used to keep things water proofed inside your pack. Only caveat is the're not terribly durable. After awhile, the seal will weaken, And the bag will develope small wrinkles that eventually turn into small holes. This was from repeated rolling of the top of the bag to save space. The OPsac will last longer IF not rolled or wrinkled around as much.
Ive seen the opsac bags. Debated buying one before I left for the trail. Glad to hear that system works for you and that its held up for the most part. Maybe I will look into one for possible PCT adventures....!
I ordered one a week and a half ago... I hadn't recieved word regarding a tracking #, so I emailed an inquiry. My response indicated a 3 week turn around from day of purchase to the merchandise leaving the company. I'm excited to have this product, but be advised of the waiting period.
Hope it works out for you Scuba. I left a pinned comment recently on this video. It appears they actually increased the size of the bear bag included with this kit. My girlfriend ordered one a while back and the bear bag that comes with it is now fairly substantially larger. I for one highly like it but some may not if you are looking for a smaller bear bag.
Nice to know Zpacks has a bear bag available... How much did it cost?
I wouldn't use a water bottle, because if it breaks... That's just me.
I think it was $50 or $60 for everything seen in the video. I used a water bottle here and there but mainly used a gatorade bottle for throwing the line. Both worked well but the gatorade bottle is much more resilient due to its thickness. I only ever had one issue when throwing a water bottle. I missed the branch and it came down on rocks. It was a sports pop top cap and it blew a hole right through the top haha. Not a huge deal. Just switched it out at the next town. Thanks for watching!
Great review man. I absolutely love mine which has roughly 3500 miles on it.
Putting some miles on it! Good to hear it's still kicking!
I use reflective slick line. LOVE IT! It was $15 for 50 ft but definitely worth it.
Nice! The gray can be tricky to see I guess. I kind of liked the stealth of it. Could definitely see the pros of having reflective though. Be good for people not running into your line too haha
Great review!
Zpacks seems to be the preferred choice by most for their thru hiking bear kit. Did you witness anyone using an Ursack? Seems it would be appealing because it doesn’t require being hung high. Just seems the work of hanging a bear bag every night PCT style would get old after awhile. Thoughts
I saw a few out there on the AT. I had heard a story of one that was actually hung off a fairly low branch at a shelter in NY? that was notorious for bear activity. Blueberries grow all around the shelter. Apparently people in the shelter woke up to a bear hanging from the bag, biting into it, trying to rip it down. It eventually gave up. I was told the bag had a few punctures, and the food inside was completely mushed and destroyed but the bag did its job! I wouldn't hesitate to use one. For what its worth I didnt care for the PCT method of hanging (at least on the AT) and did it a different way. But hanging a bag in general is definitely one of those "Meh" chores. Would be nice to not have to hang it!
ChrisGoesOutdoors perhaps a demo on your preferred hanging method? I respect your opinion. Thanks
Absolutely! the follow up video should be out Saturday morning! Im not saying in anyway its the best method but I used it on the trail and NEVER had an issue with bears or critters. There are people who swear by the PCT method. Whatever works for the person and doesnt get there stuff eaten is the best bet.
Hey Chris, great review! Sorry if it has already been asked, but would you consider adding an OpSack as well? I use one with my Ursack, but am thinking of lighter options for my '19 AT thru hike attempt. Thanks!
for me I didnt find it necessary and wouldnt even bother. This kit worked great. Still using it on hikes now!
Wow nice review. I am not interested in the bag but your review was very good.
Thanks Phil! I appreciate it!
Merci ! Oui c'est bien léger ! Est tu satisfait de ta tente de ZPack ?
Oui, très léger en effet! J'ai été satisfait de tous mes produits d'eux jusqu'à présent!
So, this kit is approved throughout the entire Appalachian Trail? I wouldn't have to buy a bear canister?
It's good for about 99.9% of the AT. In 2017 there was only one very small section of the trail that required a bear can if camping in the area. That was around blood mountain in georgia and was EASILY skipped over as it's a very small section (I believe it was only a couple miles)
Did you clip the 'biner to the rock sack cinch cord on the inside or the outside of the line lock? Thanks!
I actually rarely used the rock sack. It kind of became another storage sack for camera gear. I would use a water bottle to throw my line instead. I made a video on how I hung my bear bag too that demos the way I did it. When I did use the rock sack I found you had to kind of wrap the string of the rock sack around the biner a few times and then I would cinch the lock down, but it worked well when doing so.
@@ChrisGoesOutdoors Thanks!
The LiteAF bear bag is an improvement
Actually considering placing an order for there’s. I like the design a lot
That guy is making really good things
Check out the liteAF bear bag
Have had the tab open to buy it since they started their Black Friday sale.... I have until today to get discounted..... decisions decisions!
The kit needs something reflective. I spent more than an hour before dawn one morning hunting for my bear bag.
Oh man. Ya I guess I could see that happening haha. Maybe strap a piece of reflective tape on the sides. 😄
Maybe patch the holes with reflective tape.
+Richard Matthews I think tenacious tape actually makes a reflective repair tape. Not sure how well it would stick to cuben but maybe it's an option
I never use a bear bag. I leave my food sitting out in the open. If a bear comes by...I fist fight it. I'm kind of a badass. I've seen The Matrix like 50 times. HI-YA!
Noticed this before, but when you're reading from a script, as opposed to your live presentations, your delivery is very sing-song-ish and doesn't sound natural. I can't watch very much of one before stopping. That's too bad, because I find the content of your videos very helpful.
Hi Kenneth, I appreciate both the constructive feedback and the way it was respectively presented. I certainly cant deny that I throw on my radio voice in these reviews. As much as I like to make the regular talking to camera reviews I found that I either babble way longer than necessary in them or I end out leaving out some piece of crucial information that I wanted to discuss. I started writing the scripts to make sure I was able to touch on everything I wanted to and to be able to get it done in the least amount of time so that I am not making really unnecessarily long videos. Either way I will try to keep it a little less radio-esq in the next ones!
Thanks, Chris. I meant my comment to be constructive and am glad you took it that way. By all means, continue to use a script if you want; it's better than the aimless chatter you see on some videos.