Hello everyone,
I have been to BWCA twice and am going back in June. I am diabetic and need to carry sugary food with me incase my blood glucose drops. Instead of having to get up in the middle of the night and undo our bear bag, I would like to keep a container on my person incase of an emergency.
Does anyone have input on a good scent proof container?
I was debating between a small pelican case or one of those classic clear containers.
Any input on what you like and have had success with would be great.
Thanks everyone!

Not an answer to your question about scent proof containers but another option to think about...

Instead of bringing sugary foods you could bring Glutol (liquid glucose) in. Doesn't smell as strongly as sugary foods or flavored glucose tabs. Then you could keep the Glutol bottle(s) in an Opsack (scent proof bag) in your tent.

Buy a bear vault, you won't ever look back. I hang the majority of the food, stuff that I don't have to get at very much, I take the hanging bear bag down once or twice a day, and then i take things from the bag and put it in the vault as we dwindle down the food in the vault. At the end of the trip when the hanging bag is empty I just put the bag away and the vault contains all of our remaining food.

This way if you want a quick snack you just unscrew the vault, throw in or take out whatever you want, lock it up, and laugh at the idea of a bear trying to get in it. Think of your hanging bag as the reserves, bear vault is the quick easy yet 150% safe storage. I just leave my vault about 20 yards away from the campsite, but we've probably forgotten that and left it right in the kitchen more times than we've put it away. Scent proof is a myth unless you're sealing with an impulse sealer out there. Instead of worrying about scent worry about whether or not it's actually bear proof.

And remember. A bear that's IN your food and EATING your food, is a dangerous bear. A bear trying to get into your food but has not gotten into it yet, is a giant raccoon that will scare off. Smelling it and having it in their mouth are two totally different bears.

I would like to keep a container on my person incase of an emergency. !"

On you person???

On the ground outside your tent is one thing but having a bear tear through your tent and into your sleeping bag is another.

Bear Vaults are not scent proof or water proof so I wouldn't place food in it and keep it in your tent. The bear won't be able to get your sugary food out of the Bear Vault but will likely shred your tent getting to it. A Loksak Opsak is an odor-proof bag and would likely work (it's a glorified zip-lock type bag). I would be very careful to make sure that your hands are clean and don't transfer any of the sugary food to the outside of the bag. You still have to deal with the scent in the tent once you open it and any crumbs that you may drop. I would go with the liquid glucose described above.

Loksak Opsak is a good recommendation, odor-proof though is something else. Critters encountered have better sense of smell that we give credit to and odor-proof is virtually unobtainable. Big factor in animals finding anything is curiosity, so keeping a clean and tidy camp is much more important.
TdResch22, I suggest not worrying about the candy/sweets and concentrate on neat storage in a well sealed bite resistant container. Sweets are common in wild travel areas and a staple diet portion for many. For the emergency sweets choose something with a single portion factory wrapping or vac-seal your specific portions at home. Then simply ziplock the waste wrap when done.
Remember as far as odors, they are often persistent, especially to a bear whose olfactory is 5+ times better than any dog. You cannot do much or know of, what lingering odors are hanging around your camp from previous occupants.

Talk to some bear hunter with experience. If attracting bears was as simple as leaving an opened candy bar out they could save a LOT of time hunting!

butthead

GearGuy: "And remember. A bear that's IN your food and EATING your food, is a dangerous bear. A bear trying to get into your food but has not gotten into it yet, is a giant raccoon that will scare off. Smelling it and having it in their mouth are two totally different bears. "

I've had many encounters with black bears in my line of work and a few camping with food. I never really thought about this although it makes sense... so thanks for the tip! I've only ever had bears smelling my food that, as you say, were complete wimps when confronted.

TdResch22: "I was debating between a small pelican case "

This seems pretty perfect to me.

If there's not a habituated bear that knows where your campsite is and likes to snoop around it, I highly doubt you're going to attract any with sugary foods in one of those.

And if there is one, he's going to swing by anyway, but probably won't be able to get into the case...especially if you hide it well. Maybe even put it in an ursack.

I'd keep it out of the tent though for sure.

I do not believe in anything being truly scent proof. Especially after a bear found vacuum sealed diabetic candies that had been wrapped in additional layers and tucked up under an over turned canoe. Do NOT keep any food in your tent no matter what container it is in. Just keep a "scent limiting bag" somewhere convenient to the tent with plenty of pots on it to warn you a bear found it.

I'd find a reasonable container that you can tie a string to. I'd tie that to the tentpole nearest your door with some light string and throw it to the end of the string. That way you can simply pull the string from inside your sleeping bag, grab some sugar, reseal the container and fling it.

You could fling it toward another tent if you're tired of your tripping partners.

I second not using sugary food. I would consider unopened glucose gel sealed in a small waterproof box or opsak, never stored with the food or handled with food scented hands. If your lows are that severe, you wouldn't be able to deal with leaving the tent to go get it. Once you've opened one it goes in with the food for possible use during the day, or in the trash bag.

Put it inside an Opsak, and put that Opsak inside an Ursak. The Opsak is odor proof, and the Ursak can survive a bear. I do this for *all* my food, no sense wasting time hanging a bear bag when this combination exists.

I do kind of hate Opsaks because they're fragile and rarely make it more than about a week in use; in your case I'd bring a spare, rolled up in the bottom of the Ursak in case the first one fails.

I still would recommend you keep the Opsak/Ursak/food outside your tent. It's best practice to take it 75 feet back into the woods and tie it to a tree so it can't get carried off, but realistically you're unlikely to have any issues if you just set it outside your tent. Tie it to something if there's anything convenient.

butthead: "Loksak Opsak is a good recommendation, odor-proof though is something else. Critters encountered have better sense of smell that we give credit to and odor-proof is virtually unobtainable. Big factor in animals finding anything is curiosity, so keeping a clean and tidy camp is much more important.
TdResch22, I suggest not worrying about the candy/sweets and concentrate on neat storage in a well sealed bite resistant container. Sweets are common in wild travel areas and a staple diet portion for many. For the emergency sweets choose something with a single portion factory wrapping or vac-seal your specific portions at home. Then simply ziplock the waste wrap when done.
Remember as far as odors, they are often persistent, especially to a bear whose olfactory is 5+ times better than any dog. You cannot do much or know of, what lingering odors are hanging around your camp from previous occupants.


Talk to some bear hunter with experience. If attracting bears was as simple as leaving an opened candy bar out they could save a LOT of time hunting!


butthead"

I use a Loksak Opsak inside a bear vault. Have never had an issue. For safety sake I would keep your glucose stored in two places in the event one should become compromised.