NO FREE LUNCH / Santa Ynez inventors outsmart the average bear
BUSINESS UNLIMITED
6/25/03
By FRANK NELSON
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
'If bears had opposable thumbs we'd be working for them," said Allen DeForrest, laughing. "Bears are pretty smart."
Mr. DeForrest and his two business partners, Craig Kent and Richard Peralta, know what they're talking about when it comes to bears -- and raccoons, squirrels and marmots.
For five years since they started their Santa Ynez-based company Wild Ideas, they have been trying to outsmart all these critters by developing a better, lighter, stronger food storage container for the outdoors.
The end result, the Bearikade, has withstood rigorous quality control testing at the paws of hungry captive grizzly and black bears along with countless successful outings with backcountry hikers in the national parks of North America, Canada and Alaska.
The partners behind this venture, all highly-skilled engineers who enjoy the challenge of a knotty design problem, were colleagues at the Santa Barbara Research Center in Goleta, which was taken over by Raytheon in 1997.
Mr. DeForrest, a mechanical engineer, worked in satellite mapping for more than 20 years before retiring in March last year. Mr. Kent, also a 20-year-plus veteran, currently heads the optical mechanical department while Mr. Peralta is about 10 years into a systems engineering career.
Craig Kent, Allen DeForrest and Richard Peralta
Something else they have in common is a love of hiking. And when they first came across the molded black plastic bear-resistant containers, Mr. DeForrest recalls them jokingly saying to each other: "We're engineers. We build things which go into space. We must know how to put something together which is lighter and more durable than this."
After analyzing thousands of questionnaires from hikers and backpackers, the trio found existing containers were considered too heavy (at almost three pounds) and the openings (typically about 6 inches) too small for a lot of pre-packaged food.
So their Bearikade comes in two sizes which are both about one pound lighter than other containers. The opening diameter is larger at 9 inches.
The "Weekender" weighs 1.9 pounds and can hold enough food for one person for six days or a couple for a weekend while the "Expedition" weighs just over two pounds and can supply a group of three for three days.
At $195 and $245 respectively, they are much more expensive than traditional hard plastic containers, reflecting the materials and small-scale production favored by Wild Ideas.
Mr. DeForrest said the company is selling about 1,000 per year, mainly through its Web site (www.wild-ideas.net). About 15 percent of company revenue comes from rentals: The containers rent for $5 and $6 per day depending on size, with the rates halving after three days.
The cylinders are produced by a small Washington company on the Columbia River using a mix of super-strong, super-light Kevlar, and carbon fiber which has been tested to 950 pounds of pressure.
The lids are made of aircraft aluminum and machined by Schrader Engineering in Goleta, while the fasteners are imported from England where they are used on aircraft, boats and racing cars for quick-release panels.
On the Bearikade, it takes an easy turn with a tool or coin to open and close the three fasteners. "I just carry a quarter," says recently retired Santa Barbara outdoors enthusiast Steve Ferry.
Mr. Ferry, who takes part in condor observation in the mountains above Fillmore, says the Bearikade is "vastly superior" to the competition. "It's much lighter, holds more, is stronger and seals better. It's a very high quality product and does the job extremely well."
"It's like the Rolls-Royce of the bear container world," says fellow outdoors fan Bob Jensen, of Santa Barbara, just back from camping at 11,000 feet in the Sierras. "They have revolutionized the way we camp in the high country."
In the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, 8.5 million acres of wilderness north of the Arctic Circle, rangers are using the Bearikade in country frequented by grizzlies and black bears.
Seth McMillan, backcountry coordinator, describes the bear-proof food containers as "very functional and light and easy to use."
This is the height of the field season in the park, roughly a month of continuous daylight, and Mr. McMillan said the park's three rangers are using the cannisters every day on rivers and overland patrols.
Wild Ideas, launched with a $21,000 investment from each of the partners, has some significant developments in the pipeline.
Operators running river trips in Alaska want a larger version of the Bearikade, almost twice as round and four feet long. Mr. DeForrest said such models could be used on similar trips in Wyoming and Utah. Wild Ideas is studying the expense.
The company is also conducting research in three other specific areas: Ultraviolet protective clothing to wear at altitude; reducing additional weight by combining hiking products; and methods of harnessing and storing energy in the outdoors.
Reprinted with permission from the Santa Barbara News-Press
Photo credit: Photographer Mike Eliason/Santa Barbara News-Press
