Bringing a bear-proof cooler on your next trip doesn’t just protect you.
Whether you’re an experienced outdoor adventurer with an interest in pushing the limits or a novice camper looking to build out their arsenal of gear and safety equipment, a bear-proof cooler can help increase your peace-of-mind — and more importantly, protect your food, since the last thing you want to do is to wake up after a night of camping only to find that your precious sustenance has been strewn about by wildlife. Furthermore, bear canisters are required at many National Parks, including some of the most and least popular parks, such as Yosemite and Gates of the Arctic National Park. While investing in a bear-proof cooler can protect your food and allow you to follow the rules in the beautiful, but fragile, national park system, finding the right one can be a challenge due to the sheer number of options available and the technical jargon associated with highly-rated models.
Bear-proofing isn’t as simple as it sounds. The animals have become quite adept at discerning where human food is located over the years, especially as camping becomes more popular and accessible. Modern bear-proof coolers must have a rotomolded, or a similarly strong exterior construction, such as heavy gauge aluminum, a locking lid with internal hinges that a bear can’t reach, and finally some amount of air-tight sealing that helps decrease the smell of the coolers contents (although bears' noses are so sensitive that no cooler can completely hide your supplies from them). As you can imagine, bear-proof coolers, and even their non-cooling counterparts, bear-proof canisters and bags, tend to be heavy and large. In the case of coolers, they are also rigid, and therefore can be difficult to pack, especially for longer trips.
First and foremost, bears are thought to have the strongest sense of smell in the entire animal kingdom. In fact, their sense of smell is so strong that experts have only been able to estimate that it’s seven times stronger than that of a bloodhound, which has a sense of smell that is roughly 1,000 times stronger than ours. It’s safe to say that if you’re camping anywhere remotely close to bears, they can probably smell you. Because of this, it’s recommended that you don’t try and DIY bear-proof your gear using the traditional method of suspending it in the air on a tree branch; it’s nearly impossible for this to be effective.
Also, bringing a bear-proof cooler on your next trip doesn’t just protect you. If you’re bringing a cooler with you, you probably have food that needs to be refrigerated, which means that it isn’t likely to be found in nature. Bears follow their noses, and while your food may seem like a great midnight snack for a wandering black bear, it’s important to note that your food can also cause them great harm. A recent study published in Scientific Reports found that eating human food can shorten a bear's lifespan and even counteract the benefits of hibernation.
Furthermore, once a bear gets a taste for human food, it will often become increasingly assertive and aggressive in its search for more. Sadly, this often means that park rangers have to euthanize it before it becomes too aggressive and begins to seriously threaten the safety of human visitors. All in all, bear-proof coolers help protect the user as well as the wildlife and environment the user has the fortune to experience and explore.
The IGBC, which was founded in 1989, is perhaps the most important thing to look for when purchasing a bear-proof cooler. While the IGBC has a number of programs, their bear-proof certification is the industry gold standard because of how rigorously tested each IGBC certified product is. Each IGBC certified product is subjected to a live grizzly bear test which consists of placing food on the inside (and sometimes the outside) of the container, and then placing that container in an nenclosure with multiple bears with varying degrees of experience with containers. IGBC testers will monitor the situation inside the enclosure for 1 hour, and if by that time the container remains closed, intact and 100% functional, it will have passed the test and earned its certification.
Buyer beware, however: always make sure to check the IGBC list of certified products because there are a number of coolers and containers on the market that falsely claim to have an IGBC certification. Be especially wary of companies that claim to offer “USDA certification,” which is a sneaky way to make customers think their product is IGBC certified because USDA is the parent organization of the IGBC.
It’s honestly not worth your time to try to make your cooler completely odorless thanks to the fact that their sense of smell is roughly 7,000 times stronger than ours. However, we do have materials that can withstand powerful slashes or grinding chomps. Keep an eye out for rotomolded coolers, because they tend to have a favorable durability-to-weight ratio. Heavy gauge aluminum is also a great choice because it crushes, rather than cracks. However, aluminum doesn’t offer the same insulation properties as coolers made from rotomolded plastics. If you’re looking for a soft-sided cooler, try and get something that’s made from a durable, tear resistant fabric, such as ballistic polyester.
No two camping trips are the same, and the best bear proof coolers will feature adaptable designs that allow them to meet the changing needs of whatever environment it’s in. For example, be on the lookout for coolers that have space for additional, external padlocks as well as an integrated locking system. Or, you may want to invest in a cooler that floats if you’re interested in traveling by land and water. Make sure to consider convenience features as well, such as a padded shoulder strap for longer hikes or even wheels and an extendable handle so you can roll your cooler like a suitcase.
No, these terms can be used interchangeably for coolers that have an IGBC certification. The IGBC uses the term bear-resistant, but these products are more commonly referred to as bear-proof in the wider camping and outdoor communities. However, if the product you are looking at isn’t IGBC certified, the company may use “bear-resistant” to avoid potential complaints about poor product quality or, on the other hand, use “bear-proof” to convey a level of quality that guarantees a bear cannot gain access. Keep in mind that no commercially available cooler, even those with IGBC certifications, is guaranteed to prevent all bears from gaining access.
Keep anything that has a strong odor, such as deodorant or soap, in bear proof canisters. Also, make sure to keep any trash or food waste in a bear resistant container. It should go without saying, but never, under any circumstances, bring food or sweet smelling items into your tent. Cook your food away from your sleeping area, and try to change out of the clothes you cooked in before heading to bed.
In the incredibly unlikely event that your prevention measures aren’t as effective as you’d like, you need to be prepared: Make sure to pack both bear spray and to know what bears you're likely to encounter and be familiar with the safety precautions that are specific to them.
Unfortunately, bear proof coolers aren’t exactly cheap. Capacity and brand are the main two determinants of price. Expect to spend around $200 for entry level coolers that offer a great value, such as the 28 quart Basecamp Class from Cordova Outdoors, and upwards of $500 for large high-end models from name brands, such as the YETI Tundra 105.