If you’re looking for food storage options when backpacking or camping, consider a Counter Assault Bear Keg. While it’s not the only choice, it has its merits and limitations. Whether you’re backpacking, horse packing, or river camping, this might be a good solution to ensure bears don’t get into your food when camping in bear country. This post is not sponsored, but I do own one and will discuss the pros and cons. Additionally, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Food Storage Options in Bear Country

First, let’s quickly cover the different options for storing food in bear country. Check out Recreating in Bear Country for in-depth details. There are several options for keeping food away from bears:

• Bear Keg or other bearproof containers
• Hanging in a tree
• Bearproof coolers or panniers
• Storage lockers
• Hotwire fence

Bear Keg

There are a variety of bear kegs and bear containers on the market designed to store food that bears cannot break into. Backpackers will sometimes use this option, although it can add significant weight. They are also suitable for horse packing and river rafting. However, they don’t hold enough food for a long-duration trip or many people. 

Hanging in a Tree

As it sounds, this requires hanging your food in a tree, high enough and out far enough on a branch that bears cannot easily reach it. You can use a special bag, pack, panniers, or backpack. It’s a lightweight, practical option for backpackers. 

Bear Proof Coolers or Panniers

There are lots of coolers on the market today that are certified bearproof. If closed and locked correctly, they are designed so bears will likely be unable to get into them. These are good for horse packing or river trips but not practical for backpacking.

Storage Lockers

Storage lockers are often found at backcountry campsites in national or state parks and campgrounds. You put your food and other scented items in them to keep bears from getting it. However, these are only an option if they are already at your destination.

Hotwire Fence

A certified bear fence is an option for keeping bears away from food. However, it has to meet certain specifications to be legal and is prohibitively heavy and unwieldy for backpackers. Horse packers and river outfitters may find them to be a good option. 

Why Store Food When Camping in Bear Country?

A fed bear is a dead bear. Once a bear has accessed human food or other smelly items like deodorant or soap, it will return for more. This poses an extreme danger to the humans that initially fed it and all subsequent visitors to the area. Therefore, a bear that has gotten into human food often has to be euthanized for public safety. It is hazardous to allow bears to get into food. 

Counter Assault Bear Keg Review

The Counter Assault Bear Keg is a viable option for food storage in bear country. As stated above, use it for backpacking, horse packing, or river camping. 

Bear Keg Specs

The Counter Assault Bear Keg costs a little less than $100. It weighs 3.8 pounds, which can add significant weight to a backpack. It measures 9″ x 14″ and has 716 cubic inches of storage. 

The bear keg comes in two pieces, the container portion, and the lid. The lid screws on with three screws, designed so bears cannot get their claws under the top and pry it off.

Pros

There are a few pros to the Counter Assault Bear Keg:

• You don’t need to hang it in a tree. Therefore, this is a good option if you are camping in an area with no trees.
• While it takes up substantial room in a pack, it is small enough to fit in one. However, you can pack all your food into it, saving space.
• It is certified by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee, meaning it must meet specific criteria to be certified as bear-resistant. 
• For something that will likely last you a lifetime, it’s relatively inexpensive. 

Cons

I’ve found several cons with the Counter Assault Bear Keg:

• It’s heavy. I stated this above, but at 3.8 pounds, it adds significant weight to your pack if you’re looking to save weight backpacking.
• Getting the lid to line up and screw on correctly is difficult and frustrating. 
• You can’t store much food in it. It’s suitable for one person for a few days. The more people using it, the fewer days’ worth of food you can store. It’s not going to be great for multi-day trips with lots of people unless you have many of them.  

Counter Assault Bear Keg Recommendations

I recommend the Counter Assault Bear Keg for food storage in bear country with caveats. 

It’s handy if you only need to store food for one or two people and don’t want to hassle with hanging your food. It will add weight to your pack, but splitting weight with a second person can help alleviate this. The same goes for the added bulk you get with it. 

I’ve found it was also handy on a horse packing trip where we had weight and room to carry it. However, we could only store some of our food in it. We did use it to keep the food we needed first thing in the morning and therefore didn’t have to hang it all in the tree. So we put breakfast items and coffee in it the night before and hung everything else in the tree. 

I find it frustrating to screw and unscrew the lid, but this difficulty is more annoying than insurmountable. At just under $100, it’s a valuable piece of gear to have in my camping arsenal.