I was talking to a guy about "out west" camping vs BW camping and the subject of bear resistant food storage came up. The question about whether bears can see color and it's relation to food storage became part of the discussion. Google says bears see blue and bluish tints better than other colors and although they can see reds and red -ish tints blues pops more for them. Begs the question "why are bear resistant food vaults mostly blue or have a bluish tint?"

Those blue barrels aren't bear resistant but I don't know why they are blue.

Industry standard for food storage.

bobbernumber3: "Industry standard for food storage."

This is it right here, it has nothing to do with a bear's vision. Also, blue just looks cleaner. Red makes people think of blood, yellow of oil or fat, orange a mix of yellow and red, green could be mold or mildew, white hides mold and soap or hard water residue, and black and brown are too dark and too closely related to unclean substances like dirt or poop. That's why blue is standard for food storage. Even if it is not a conscious decision based on the industry standard, people trend towards blue anyways.

George Jones spent some time with this very question.

Up above me are the skies
Like the twinkle in your eyes
These things are the colors of the blues

In the mail your letter came
The ink and paper look the same
Blue must be the color of the blues

Bluebird sitting in the trees
Seems to sympathize with me
For he's not singing like he used to do

The pretty waters in the sea
Feel as cold as you left me
Yes, blue must be the color of the blues

There's a rainbow overhead
With more blue than gold and red
Blue must be the color angels choose

A blue dress you proudly wore
When you left to return no more
Blue must be the color of the blues

Blue days come and blue days go
How I feel nobody knows
Life is mighty empty without you

There's a blue note in each song
That I sing since you are gone
Yes, blue must be the color of the blues

There's a barrel in the woods
To a bear, it smells real good
These must be the barrels bears do choose.

Pack it full of fats and sweets
Candy bars and jerky meats
Blue you'll see when goodbye goes your food

Mine (right side of photo) is green

Because there is no such thing as a "bear barrel." These blue barrels everyone thinks are "bear barrels" are just polyethylene open head drums with lever lock rings. They are just one of many industrial storage vessels used in tons of commercial and industrial applications. They are not specifically made for campers. They are NOT bear resistant. They are blue because that's the typical coloration of the plastic used in making these drums.

Even the "brand," Harmony, that so many people associate with them is just a middle-man reseller. Most of the barrels we use are produced by Mauser Packaging.

Regarding containers that are actually tested and certified as bear resistant...

Bearvaults are a blue-tinted polycarbonate. Why tint them blue? I don't know. Perhaps the color is a consequence of them tinting the PC to reduce heat or UV. Perhaps they just tint them blue to match people's arbitrary expectations or to provide some sort of psychological appeal. Perhaps blue-tinted PC is just the most cost-effective PC that they company can source for their production.

The Garcia canister is black.
The Counter Assault canister is yellow.
Bearikades are black carbon fiber.

Regarding the visual acuity of black bears, they have quite good color vision, and testing up to this point has not found it particularly limited or weighted in any significant way.

I think blue barrels are faster than barrels of other colors. Just like red canoes are faster than other colors.

Tomster

I have been in a giant frozen food warehouse that had thousands, maybe tens of thousands of blue barrels filled with frozen blueberries and frozen cranberries.

Every now and then one would get dropped and that would be a heck of a mess...the semi-frozen juice was just liquid enough to make it a no-fun event for the employees.

quark2222: "I think blue barrels are faster than barrels of other colors. Just like red canoes are faster than other colors.


Tomster"

I always love that one

fadersup: "George Jones spent some time with this very question.


Up above me are the skies
Like the twinkle in your eyes
These things are the colors of the blues


In the mail your letter came
The ink and paper look the same
Blue must be the color of the blues


Bluebird sitting in the trees
Seems to sympathize with me
For he's not singing like he used to do


The pretty waters in the sea
Feel as cold as you left me
Yes, blue must be the color of the blues


There's a rainbow overhead
With more blue than gold and red
Blue must be the color angels choose


A blue dress you proudly wore
When you left to return no more
Blue must be the color of the blues


Blue days come and blue days go
How I feel nobody knows
Life is mighty empty without you


There's a blue note in each song
That I sing since you are gone
Yes, blue must be the color of the blues


There's a barrel in the woods
To a bear, it smells real good
These must be the barrels bears do choose.


Pack it full of fats and sweets
Candy bars and jerky meats
Blue you'll see when goodbye goes your food





"

I was going to be a smart A and say why is the sky blue. But this does it better.

I thought they were blue because the test marketing done by the manufacturers found that the bears preferred blue over camo.

My neighbor, who is a RV camper, got a blue barrel from a friend. Then after discussing the bear issue around Seagull last year with us, he gave us that barrel. After opening it, we knew it had been used for bulk food stuff. It had a very strong smell of cumin. We could not get the smell out, so we did not use it in the BW.

bottomtothetap: "Mine (right side of photo) is green "

My blue barrel is also green.

I must have a fast canoe

...because they are sad to know that they are only bear-resistant, not bear-proof?

What about my barrels - yellow from Eureka Canada when they still used yellow (now I understand they use blue barrels). Maybe Canadian bears have different preferences.

The thing that bugs me most is that that color of blue on Harmony barrels attracts deer flies.

Easier to find when the bear drags it into the woods. Blue easier to spot than green :)