Saw this article on bears and camping and had not heard of the issues previously.

Tent color and bears

That’s interesting.

I question the ammonia thing they recommend. I’ve always thought one should avoid non-natural scents at all costs as bears associate these with free food, regardless of the intended “deterrent”.

Not that I’ve gotten too deep in the sticks yet (red/alpine/sag), but in 6 years, I’ve never even seen a bear. Although, I’ve definitely heard them. Maybe my bear-hygiene is on-point…probably helps I have a green tent.

I found a similar result with bugs. Many years ago my buddy and I tripped with our brand new SealLine dry bags. Mine was dark blue and his was yellow. The bugs swarmed around his the entire trip.

Considering the color of my tent, tarp or other gear to keep bears away is a thought that has never entered my head... nor will it ever. Our gear is mostly earth tones (tent) and green (CCS tarp) so, without thinking about it, we're already doing what the article suggests in that regard. I can assure you that, when those items were purchased, zero thought was given about choosing colors to keep bears away.

Keeping a clean camp will be the best bear deterrent. And in close to 40 years of tripping, we had a bear in camp (while we were in camp) only one time, in the middle of the night, with (ironically) a dark brown tent.

Basketcase: "That’s interesting.

I question the ammonia thing they recommend. I’ve always thought one should avoid non-natural scents at all costs as bears associate these with free food, regardless of the intended “deterrent”. "

Funny thing, ammonia is naturally occurring. :) Just saying.

Yup, ammonia is a completely natural compound. Also it's generally unpleasant.

pleflar: "Yup, ammonia is a completely natural compound. Also it's generally unpleasant. "

Maybe bears think so too.

billconner: "

pleflar: "Yup, ammonia is a completely natural compound. Also it's generally unpleasant. "

Maybe bears think so too."

We have used it to repel skunks who try to take up residence too close to our home. I wouldn't carry a gallon into the BWCA but I agree.

Interesting theory. I still use an old Gerry tent that is blue. Gerry claimed the blue walls would attract any mosquitoes that were in the tent so they went to the walls and not you. My experience has been that Gerry was on to something because the mosquitoes do congregate on the tent walls. In fact it has become a ritual to wait a bit at night then shine a light on the tent wall so we can kill the mosquitoes. As for bears in sixty years we have not had a problem but we hang our food and keep the site clean. I think those have far more to do with bear problems than the color of your tent.

Not bears but gnats absolutely love black. Be warned!

I was about to call BS on this article since it mentions "research" but does not identify or cite it, provides no advice from any sort of expert, and the author, an international travel writer, has a bio that suggest no experience camping in North America. I also noticed all the links just go to other articles about bears in the same magazine.

Then I did a quick search and found an old article in Backpacker magazine that cites Tom Smith, arguably the leading expert on bears in North America, saying something very similar. I don't see any true research mentioned, but given his level of experience I find it a credible theory. He does go on to point out, however, that this is probably less important than in a forest than out on the tundra where an orange or yellow tent may pop out from quit a distance. He also mentions another Alaskan biologist was warned by the Yupiks not to wear bright colors as it would attract bears - and what would the Yupiks know about this having only spent a dozen or so millennia hunting and fishing on the Alaskan interior?

Given the density of people and the heavy use of the same sites for camping in the BWCA, however, I seriously doubt color makes enough difference to matter. My belief is the bears already know where our camps are and either chose to enter or avoid them regardless of the color of our tents (or tarps, or pack, or canoes, etc).

As for the ammonia thing I remain very skeptical to the point of disbelief. There's plenty of ammonia in urine, and theirs plenty of that spread around the edges of most camp sites, but toss some food scraps into the latrine and the bears will dive in after it.

Thanks Jaywalker, I was trying find any "research" evidence to back up this tent color claim as well, and all I could find was the same article you found.

PineSol has been used when I vacate my MN cabin and head home. When bears were gnawing car tires at canoe put ins it was recommended to use PineSol too.

plmn: "I found a similar result with bugs. Many years ago my buddy and I tripped with our brand new SealLine dry bags. Mine was dark blue and his was yellow. The bugs swarmed around his the entire trip."

mosquitoes love blue,so do deer flies

Dichromatic Vision: A Limited Palette
Bears, with their two types of cones, have a more limited color palette compared to humans. They can see shades of blue, yellow, and gray, but they have difficulty distinguishing reds, greens, and oranges. Imagine looking at a world where reds appear as shades of brown or gray, and greens blend into yellows. This is the reality for bears.

Unlike many trippers, I have seen a lot of bears (relatively speaking) in the BWCA. I've had bears in camp on two occasions: once on Devil's Elbow Lake (site 1948), and the other on Ram Lake (site 779.) And though my sample size is only two, both times we were using a green or green/tan tent.

As others have suggested, my guess is that a clean camp off the "regular" bear highways has a lot more to do with reduced bear encounters than tent color.

Mike

I doubt there is much more than ancedotal evidence to back this up. Keeping a clean camp, not bringing smelly things into one's tent, storing food correctly, are better strategies. How much standout color is too much? Most of my tents are green, tan, and grey, and have never had a problem, and I have camped many nites in bear territory. Standout tent colors do make it easier to find your campsite when coming back late, or easier to find if you need help. These are pluses.

Questionably credible, especially as bears' vision and visual perception differs greatly from humans. Bears primarily see in shades of blue and green. This is due to their dichromatic vision, meaning they have two types of color-sensitive cones in their eyes, as opposed to humans’ three. Bears see well at night, and apparently blue/green spectrum shows up better at night. Different species of bears have differences in vision.
I think it's sometimes hard for us humans to wrap our brains around the fact that something that is clearly visible and stand out bright to us, like blaze orange, may be perceived very differently to non-human animals. I think about this when I drive equines in log-skidding demos/competitions. The course cones are blaze orange (like highway cones). Horses also have dichromatic vision. They see those bright orange cones as being rather dull grey.
To be fair, bears are smart and quickly form food related associations. If a bear scored on food a couple of times from green portage packs, I'm guessing it'd connect the dots and start to favor checking the green packs first!
In any case, this isn't going to be my biggest concern. Not even the top 10. Odors are much more important to pay attention to, IMO.
If you are interested in a really well written book on animal senses: An Immense World

chessie:
If you are interested in a really well written book on animal senses: An Immense World "

That is a fascinating book!