A few years ago our food barrel was knocked over by a gust of wind. When it fell the handle hit a rock and broke. We tried to fix it but it only lasted a season. It was time to search online for a new handle.
We found a barrel supplier and contacted them. They had a replacement handle that would work. We discovered that our world wide search had led us to a barrel business that was actually located in our neighborhood – what a coincidence. The service was fantastic and we were back in business.
Check out the Recreational Barrel Works website for some of their great barrel accessories. You will appreciate these if you have ever had the seemingly endless job of emptying and reorganizing your barrel.
We love our 60 liter orange Eureka barrel and our Eureka harness because everyone else has blue barrels. This means our barrel never gets lost on a portage or mixed up with the barrels of other campers. However, the orange barrels are no longer available and the blue barrels are the way to go now.
We have a 30 liter blue “wine barrel” that we also love. We use it for wine and snacks on long trips and for food on short trips. It is small enough to carry by hand so we don’t have a harness.
You will notice that we use the term “food barrel” or “wine barrel” we never use the term “bear barrel”. It is our long held belief that if a bear wants our food – the bear will get our food. We are not “bear experts” but we have a post listing a few things we have learned that can minimize the risk of a bear visit. And be sure to check out our food barrel tips.
We have also found this great article and video on the Explore website that shows the relationship between A Food Barrel and a Bear.
A number of years ago I camped with a couple who hung their food bag in a tree, following all the rules about the distance from the tree and ground. Somehow the raccoons still got into it. They didn’t take everything but it was a good lesson for all of us.