[pct-l] Fwd: Bear Vault Failure? Reported

[sales at bearvault.com (sales@bearvault.com)]

BearVault has contacted the SIBBG about these two reported incidents. In
neither
case has anyone seen the actual bear attack.

In one of the cases, two BV200s were broken into.  It is not clear how it
happened; whether the lid was screwed on fully or not is unknown.
In the other case,  two BV300s were broken into. We are having the units
returned to BearVault for study; we don't know what happened.

We must emphasize that the lids MUST be fully tightened. In one of the cases it
is probable that the lid was screwed down on TOP of the housing stop rather
than inside the housing stop.  This can happen if a slightly (0.02") oversize
lid is used.  The oversize lid can sometimes result from the manufacturing
process. If this happens there is a simple fix; the insert that comes with the
unit tells you that if this happens you simply press in on the lid at the
housing stop and the lid will snap inside the stop and you can continue to
tighten the lid until it snaps.  You DO NOT just leave the lid screwed down on
top of the stop; that will leave a small .1" gap between the lid and housing
which would enable a bear to get its paw in the gap and spring the lid. The
correct closing of the lid is ultimately dependent on you the end user. Yes the
occasional oversize lid is something we wish did not happen, but if the user
reads the insert and closes the lid correctly this will not be an issue.  We
will attempt to change the manufacturing process to eliminate this issue later
this year. If the user does not correctly close the lid and an incident results,
if enough of these happen these can ultimately result in decertification. So
please close your BearVault correctly; your access to a lighter weight canister
depends on using it correctly.

Despite rumors otherwise, there has been one incident in Yosemite with a BV200.
The users admitted that the lid had been a bit sticky prior to the incident and
they beat the lid with sticks to open it.  They could not be sure they did not
crack the lid during this beating which could have lead to the incident.

The new BV250s and BV300s have a lip on the lid which supports the housing
during a bear attack; during Grizzly testing it withstood an 800 pound bear
attack. So it is extremely unlikely that the black bear mentioned would jump up
and down and pop the lid with the new models.


Jamie and Cindy