Bear Bag Hang Calculator
The 12-6-6 hang checked against your actual branch, with the rope length you need and a scale diagram — plus where hanging is no longer accepted.
Check the local regulation before you plan a hang at all. A growing number of parks and wilderness areas require an approved hard-sided canister and do not accept a hang under any circumstances, because their bears have already learned to defeat one. Where that is the rule it is not advisory — it is enforced, and it exists because hangs failed.
The three numbers
Twelve feet off the ground, six feet out from the trunk, six feet below the branch. Each number closes a specific route: twelve feet is above a standing bear's reach, six feet out stops one climbing the trunk and swiping sideways, and six feet below the branch stops one walking out along the limb and reaching down.
The arithmetic people get wrong is the branch height. Twelve plus six is eighteen, so a branch under eighteen feet cannot produce a legitimate hang no matter how well you throw. A fifteen-foot branch feels high from the ground and is not.
Doing it
- Find a live branch at least 18 feet up, thick enough at 6 feet out to hold your food bag but too thin to hold a bear.
- Tie a small rock in a spare stuff sack — never around a bare rock, and never around anything you mind losing — and throw it over.
- Clip the food bag to the cord. For the PCT method, haul it right up to the branch, wedge a stick into the cord as a toggle, then let the bag down onto it.
- Hang everything with a smell, not just food: toothpaste, sunscreen, lip balm, wrappers, the shirt you cooked in.
- Site it well away from your tent — a hundred feet or more — and cook somewhere different again.
A hang protects your food from rodents reliably and from bears only somewhat. Mice and squirrels will find a poorly hung bag every night of the week, and in many areas they are the animal that actually gets your dinner.
Storage methods compared
Good: Genuinely bear-proof, needs no trees, takes seconds, and works above treeline.
Bad: Heavy (two to three pounds), bulky, and awkward to pack.
Required by regulation in a growing number of areas, and for good reason — where bears have learned to defeat hangs, the canister is the only thing that reliably works.
Good: Light, cheap, and no tie-off to the trunk that a bear can chew through.
Bad: Needs a suitable branch, takes practice, and is defeated by determined or habituated bears.
A stick toggle jams against the carabiner so the bag hauls itself up with nothing to untie at ground level. The standard hang method where hangs are still permitted.
Good: No cord reaches the ground at all, so there is nothing for a bear to pull on.
Bad: Needs two bags of roughly equal weight and a stick to retrieve them.
The old Yosemite method. It stopped being sufficient there precisely because the bears got better at it, which tells you something about how quickly they learn.
Good: Far lighter than a canister, packs flat, ties to a tree trunk.
Bad: Contents get crushed, and it is not accepted everywhere a canister is required.
Kevlar fabric a bear cannot tear open. Check local rules — some areas accept only specific approved models, and some accept none.
How to use
- Check local regulations first — a canister may be required.
- Find a branch that meets the height and distance requirements.
- Hang 12 feet up, 6 feet out from the trunk, 6 feet below the branch.
- Hang everything scented, not just food.
Frequently asked questions
What is the 12-6-6 rule?
The bag hangs at least 12 feet off the ground, 6 feet horizontally from the trunk, and 6 feet below the branch it hangs from. Each number closes a route — a bear cannot reach up to it, climb the trunk and reach across, or climb out along the branch and reach down.
Do bear hangs actually work?
Less reliably than people assume, and this is worth being honest about. Bears in heavily used areas have learned to defeat hangs, including by breaking branches and by sending cubs out along them. Where bears are habituated, a hang is a weak defence, which is why canisters are increasingly required rather than suggested.
When is a canister required?
In a growing number of parks and wilderness areas, and where required it is a legal obligation rather than advice. Some areas also require an approved bear-resistant bag. Checking the specific regulations before the trip is essential — regulations change and enforcement is real.
What has to go in the bag?
Everything with a scent, which is much more than food. Toothpaste, sunscreen, lip balm, insect repellent, medication, rubbish, cooking pots, and the clothes you cooked in all qualify. Food is the obvious part; scented toiletries are the part people leave in the tent.
How far from camp should it be?
Conventionally at least 100 yards from where you sleep, with the cooking area a similar distance away in a different direction — the bear triangle. The point is that a bear investigating the smell of food does not arrive at your tent.
Why does this matter beyond my own safety?
Because a bear that gets human food learns to seek it out, becomes bolder, and frequently ends up being destroyed. The phrase that a fed bear is a dead bear is blunt and accurate. Poor food storage risks the animal's life as much as anyone's.
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