Original Frameless Info Page
New product
The Bears Ears combine a light pack with superior support for a bear canister.
Info page only - see pack availability elsewhere
One of a kind lightweight pack that hauls big bear canisters comfortably and conveniently in rugged terrain.
Capacity:
30 liters plus pocket, plus bear can.
30 lbs max carrying capacity.
Supports canisters 10.5" or longer. Optimized for: Bear Vault 500, Bearikade Weekender, Blazer, Expedition and larger. Does not work with BV 450 and Scout sized cans.
Features:
Frameless design with padded hipbelt
Carry the canister full and access food easily during the day, without removing the can from the pack.
Full wrap, floating hipbelt with direct load transfer from the canister. User replaceable.
Secure accordion style roll top with one strap. Quick access without snaps, Velcro or side buckles. No Y-strap to untangle.
Single wrap around exterior pocket for cold soak jar, wet DCF, rain gear, Melly, Kettle Chips.
Dedicated ice axe/ trekking pole carry and CCF pad attachment
Dual water bottle holders with non-contortionist access, on hipbelt. User replaceable.
Optional removable shoulder strap pockets
Replace the bear canister with our Cargo Sack, Ursack, packraft, climbing equipment, winter specific bulk, when on trips without bear pressure.
Materials:
210d GridStop and 420d Robic
Removable foam back panel
Weights:
Size medium with one bottle holder on hipbelt (included), otherwise stripped: 25 ounces
Additional weight:
Sternum strap, plus 0.7 oz (included in purchase)
Foam frame sheet, plus 1.1 oz (included in purchase)
Ice axe loops, plus 0.3 oz (included in purchase)
CCF pad loops, plus 0.3 oz (included in purchase)
Additional water bottle holder, plus 1.2 oz (optional)
Shoulder strap pocket, plus 1.0 oz (optional)
Sizing:
With hipbelt resting on hip bone (right below waist), the correct torso sizing is indicated by shoulder straps going horizontal or either very slightly uphill or downhill from user's shoulders to pack.
A pack that is too small is indicated by shoulder straps wrapping user's shoulders and going down to pack.
If the top of pack is leaning away from user it is likely too small.
When in doubt size up. Our torso sizing jumps in 1.5" increments
Designed for long term usage
Non-laminate main fabrics, with years of proven performance in the industry.
Bottle holders/shoulder strap pockets user replaceable.
Shockcords user replaceable.
Hipbelt foam/entire hipbelt user replaceable.
Shoulder straps user/factory replaceable.
Back panel foam user replaceable.
No Lycra pockets, no sewn-in Lycra stretch banding.
No bottom fabric to abrade/abuse.
Notes:
Always attach canister before stuffing pack.
Avoid packing hard, angular items in area against bear canister.
Shown here with Bearikade Blazer
Carrying harness and bear canister area close-up.
Big wrap-around pocket with no-mesh sides to avoid snagging on brush.
Accordion style top closure
Ice axe and CCF pad attachments. Trekking poles can be bundled with pad or shorter ones stuck in the big pocket
Taking advantage of the pack's modularity can broaden the usage. Left to right:
Snow mode. Our Cargo Sack carry bulky winter stuff while snowshoes are handy
Areas of low bear pressure can allow the use of an Ursack. Shown here is the Major XL with 7-8 days of food
Packrafting. The Cargo sack easily holds a full size raft; in this case an Alpaca Llama. Using a sack prevents holing the raft when hiking. Note that a short line is keeping the paddle shaft from sliding downwards
In-house testing by CousCous on a 30 day trip down the spine of the Sierra.
Follow up
So, I just completed thru hiking the AT with this pack, and I thought I’d provide a follow up report.
The pack held up very well. Nothing failed. As such, I can confirm that not only does this pack work well, but it is well made!
It turned out to be a little bigger than needed for summertime hiking. Hopefully there will be a slightly smaller version some day.
Still, it is a great pack!
Brilliant idea, well done
If you have ever carried a bear canister, then you know that one of the challenges of doing so is that there is no easy way to carry one in most packs - at least not one that can hold more than a couple of days of food. This pack solves that problem. Brilliantly!
I am currently a month in to hiking the AT, and I have used this pack, with a Bearikade Weekender, for the whole trip. I love it. It really works great! The pack is light, large, well made, and comfortable.
Since the canister and the water bottle holders attach to the hip belt, the center of gravity is low, on your hips not your shoulders. This makes it very comfortable.
The position of the water bottle holders makes it super easy to reach them.
Or you can use the optional hip belt pocket, which provides easy access for small things.
Note: the vertical straps that hold the canister are about 8 inches apart, so it might not work well with a smaller canister like the BV450. But it works great with a full sized canister.
I had questions before purchasing this pack, and Jan was very responsive and helpful. Ordering was easy and the pack arrived quickly. Service was great.
In short, if you want to carry a bear canister, keep it light (pack and Bearikade together less than 4 pounds!), and be comfortable, get this pack. It’s the only pack that I know of that is designed for the purpose, and it is an extremely well-made solution.
Great Pack
Jan was very helpful in choosing the pack size and hipbelt that matched my body and verifying that it was fitting as intended.
I hiked 170 miles on the JMT in July and the pack performed phenomenally. I initially was disappointed that the back was a single pocket instead of a main and two sides but I found that when filled with gear the pockets held my stuff where I put it with no problems. The straps were comfortable and the hipbelt never crossed my mind as an issue. The only change I made was to add some aftermarket hipbelt pockets which were attached a little bit wonky but without issue. Overall, a great pack for the money. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who spends most of their time in bear country.
Excellent pack for Sierra
I live in Bishop, CA, and we require bear canisters from pretty much any local trailhead. I've been looking for an easier way to carry bear canisters for years. The Bears Ears 50 solves that problem perfectly. I love the weight distribution.
The solid 'pros' are the water bottle holders, for sure. I have NEVER used a pack with perfect water bottle holders until this one. No matter what i did, including falling and rolling with the pack on (not on purpose), and the bottles never came out. Every other pack that claim to secure bottles always has a use case where they fall out. But, not these. The placement is perfect - far enough behind the widest point of the hips so that your hands won't hit them while trekking with poles or without, but super easy to reach, and pull out a bottle for a quick drink while walking.
Using the 'bag in lieu of canister' option makes for a good day/summit pack. I climbed Mt. Tom (13,6xx feet) recently, and used it as my summit pack, which held four liters of water, emergency rain gear, food, and my full frame camera/tripod easily.
Cons: Not many. Maybe some other storage option for walking? I found I'd like a place to store snacks while walking. I used the strap pocket on the right for my phone (very convenient), but the left strap help my camera with a Peak Designs clip. I don't know if there's a way to add a hip belt pocket or fanny pack type situation in front without over complicating things, but that might be the one suggestion I have.
Otherwise, it worked great for me. Perhaps you'll find it equally useful.
Cheers.
Prototype Tester
Since no one else had posted a review yet, I thought that I'd post my thoughts on the Bear Ears Prototype. Keep in mind that I did not pay for this backpack, but I sure do love it! https://imgur.com/a/NMmNSVp