Quote Originally Posted by travisap View Post
Slept with our food in our tent using Opsak odor proof bags. With just black bears in CO and an abundance of hikers creating noise to scare bears away, this method worked for us. Saved 2 lbs. of gear. We will use a bear canister anywhere with grizzlies.
I've heard of others "just sleeping with their food"... and in some places, that can work. In other places, it's a disaster waiting to happen.
My take based on discussions about this over the years:
1. If you are some place where there is very little human-bear interaction, the bear's fear of the humans will tend to out-weigh the desire to follow the scent of food.
2. If you are some place where human-bear interaction is relatively common, you're going to get a bear visit.
As an example, I've heard many people hiking most of the AT sleeping with their food in their tent with no issues. But in Great Smokey Mountains National Park, every year, campsites and shelters get closed down for a period of time because of people who won't simply take the time to protect their food and hang it from the bear cables available at ever GSMNP campsite.