5 Best Bear Fence for Camping

Are you headed to the backcountry? The perfect locations for camping are also the territories of grizzlies.

5 Best-Selling Air Bear Fence for Camping

Stay safe and protect your campsite with a bear fence. Shopping for a bear fence for camping might fill you with confusion, worries, and doubt about your safety, but choosing the best bear fence for camping is actually straightforward.

In this article we’ll help you learn what makes the best bear fences for camping, what to look for when shopping for one, and we’ll also narrow your shopping list to the 5 best bear fences for camping to help you make the best-informed buying decisions.

Reviews of 5 Top Rated Bear Fence for Camping

1. Electric Bear Fencing for DC Battery Power Supply

Bear Shock Udap BEF Electric Fence, Multi
Product Highlights:
  • must need tool for all campers and outdoor enthusiasts
  • protect yourself and your family with quality udap products
  • quality and safety tested for even the toughest environments
  • package weight: 1.746 kilograms

This electric bear fencing by UDAP covers a square area 27 ft. x 27 ft and easily folds away once taken down. It works off 2 D-cell batteries (not included by the seller) and those batteries provide a charge for 5 weeks. Compact and lightweight, they can store it in a sling bag (provided) and weighs just 3.7 lbs. In this kit, the buyer will have an energizer (power supplier), sturdy fence posts, 110 ft of wire, 2 live wires, a grounding wire and a grounding stake.

2. Electric Mesh Fence for Bears

Premier ElectroStop Goat 164' L, Single Spike, White
Product Highlights:
  • electrostop is an electrifiable, prefabricated portable mesh that arrives at your door as a complete fence. posts are preinstalled at set intervals. strong plastic struts reduce sagging between posts. multiple rolls may be connected together.
  • works well in containing sheep, goats and guard dogs, while repelling coyotes, stray dogs and bears.
  • recommend using additional support posts at ends and corners, such as premier's 42" fibertuff posts (item 208054) , also found on amazon. we prefer using support posts versus guy-lines at the fence corners, as they do not require removal when mowing and trimming around the fence..
  • very easy to setup and move. takes approximately 10 minutes to setup a roll of netting. important to perform routine vegetation maintenance to minimize grass/weed load on the fence and reduce energy drain.
  • must be properly energized to be effective! energizer is not included. recommend approximately .25 joule of energizer per roll of fence. for optimum results, we recommend using a premier solar or ac/dc energizer that fits your specific needs. use only low or wide impedance intermittent pulse energizers. warning! do not use continuous current energizers with electric netting.

With a mesh fence and pre-installed fence posts at established distances, this is an easy electric bear fence to install and take down for camping. It is 42” tall and is 164 ft. in length. It features robust plastic posts and struts. They can connect it to an energizer of your choice. The wire is white/black colored for easy visibility for people and humans, and when electrified it will deter bears effectively. It weighs approximately 15 lbs.

3. Lightweight Bear Fence Kit

Patriot Bear And Nuisance Height, Orange/White/Black
Product Highlights:
  • use to exclude bears and other nuisance animals
  • positive/negative electric netting
  • 50’ length x 40” height
  • orange/white/black

This Patriot Bear and Nuisance Animal Fence Kit complies with the USDA Food Storage Act with a minimum of 0.12 output joules. An energizer (power supply) is sold separately. This kit is easy to install and tear down with netting, grounding rod, grounding connectors, and it has a 50” length with a 40” height. While this won’t stretch around your campsite, keeping your food storage protected will deter bears away from your campsite. The early warning it provides to you will help you to ward off bears too. This kit weighs just 9 lbs.

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4. Powerful Electric Shock Bear Fence

Udap Smith River Approved Net Electric Fence
Product Highlights:
  • smith river approved
  • meets usda forest service recommendations
  • 3 weeks continual operation on highest output
  • easy set-up and take down
  • approved for food storage

Offered by UDAP, this bear fence is a great food storage electric fence for backcountry camping. It offers food and your camping equipment protection from hungry and inquisitive bears with a painful shock to deter them from their actions. This product uses 4 D-cell batteries (sold separately) to offer 21 days of electrified protection. It comprises a wire mesh to create a physical barrier that fends off bears. It features 30 ft of mesh, and the kit includes a storage bag, grounding wire and ground rod, and fence posts.

5. Solar-Powered Electric Bear Fence

Premier 42 ElectroStop Plus Posts, Solar Fence Energizer, Digital Fence Tester
Product Highlights:
  • starter kit includes all the essentials to fence a small sheep flock or goat herd. includes 100 ft roll of 42" electrostop plus double spike electric netting creates a 25' x 25' enclosure, 4 - 42" fibertuff support posts, solar intellishock 60 fence energizer with u-spike ground stake (combination ground rod and support stand) and wiring harness, and digital fence tester.
  • contain sheep, goats, cattle and domestic dogs and keep out predators such as coyotes, stray dogs and bears.
  • very easy to setup and move. takes approximately 10 minutes to setup a roll of netting. important to perform routine vegetation maintenance to minimize grass/weed load on the fence and reduce energy drain.
  • 2 year warranty for energizers and solar panels cover lightning damage and defective parts or workmanship. misuse and flood damage are not covered. 30-day warranty for all batteries.
  • fence must be properly energized to be effective.

This ElectroStop bear fence includes 100 ft. of wire to create a protected square area of 25 ft. x 25 ft. With a Solar IntelliShock 60 energizer, robust posts, a U-Spike ground stake, wiring harness, and a 5-Light Wireless Fence Tester. Making it easier to install, it comes pre-built with the double spike posts already fitted. They make the mesh up of 10 horizontal strands with vertical posts every 12” apart. They also offer it with a 2-year warranty.

Buying Guide

1. Power Rating

Your bear fence needs to deliver a painful shock to deter a bear. With many states offering different laws regarding wildlife and bear detergents, the minimum recommended is 0.7-1.0 stored joules or 0.5-0.7 output joules. This is so that your electric bear fence will deter a bear with pulses of 45-60 per minute. To achieve that, you will need a power source to store and deliver that energy in brief pulses. As we have mentioned the recommended power rating in joules, this is the measurement as determined as a standard for these devices’ energy sources. A joule is a measure of stored or released energy. The higher the number of joules, the greater the output pulse will be to deter a bear.

2. Power Sources

There are 3 main types of power sources to choose from for your bear fence: 110-volt AC; DC battery; solar.
110-Volt AC: This is a plug-in type power supply that connects to a regular household electric current. These are the most affordable types of power supplies for bear fences, but to use while camping will be difficult when AC outlets might be scarce in the backcountry. These do, however, offer the most stable power and require less maintenance than DC batteries and solar power supplies. These also have a 50-60 pulse per minute energy – and they can be switched on and off with ease.
DC Battery: You are able to connect bear fences to 6-volt or 12-volt DC power supplies such as deep cycle and marine batteries, as well as lithium-ion power banks. These offer the best option for off-the-grid camping adventures. Being portable and not connected to an AC power source, it means that these bear fences have a lower pulse rate of 45-60 pulses per minute to conserve as much battery power as possible.
Solar Energizers: Connected via a solar panel that’s plugged into a rechargeable battery, they can add these to a DC Battery supply for added peace of mind and backup power supply. These require sunlight throughout the day to provide a constant electrifying presence. These are the most expensive and require the most maintenance, but their versatility means they can be used anywhere without a power supply to provide protection from bears.

3. Grounding Infrastructure

As important as the power supply, they need an adequate grounding system to deter bears properly while camping. If you neglect adding a grounding infrastructure, your bear fence will simply be unable to deliver an output pulse to shock the bear. To complete the electric cycle and closed system, the electricity must be able to flow from the soil to the grounding rod and back to the power supply for the pulses to be created to deter bears. You will need 3-6 feet of grounding rod per joule of stored energy from your power supply. If you don’t use sufficient grounding, your system will simply not offer the shock required to scare off any bears.

4. Wiring

The wire used for your bear fence is also important. The most commonly used are galvanized steel and aluminum wires. The gauge required must be 12-14-gauge to effectively transfer the power.

5. Insulation

Insulators play a role in maintaining the peak effectiveness of the bear fence. These prevent electric leaks into the soil through materials, rods, and other aspects. Insulators are mostly made of plastic or ceramic materials and can be easily attached to posts and rods. Check whether your bear fence includes insulators or if you’ll need to purchase these separately: there are many hundreds of designs and types and you will find many to suit your fence type. You don’t want to end up sitting in the wilderness without insulators because you overlooked that aspect while shopping.


Frequently Asked Questions

Is a bear fence worth the cost?

A bear fence installed properly will provide a painful shock to bears to deter them from entering your campsite. They are worth the investment for your safety.

Do bears carry lasting effects of touching electric bear fences?

A minimum of 6,000 volts (or 0.7 output joules) is enough to deter a bear and won’t leave any injury or lasting effect on the bear.

Can I use my bear fence in snow and winter conditions?

Yes, you can. The snow acts as an insulator. Be sure to consider than when installing your bear fence around your campsite.

Do bear fences work in the rain?

Yes, they do. They lose a small amount of power through their circuit, but it will still deliver a painful shock as the output of electricity will not be hindered.

If a child touches the bear fence, will it harm them?

As with bears, it will deliver a painful shock. The pain will fade quickly and there should be no injuries

Conclusion

A bear fence for camping will help to keep away inquisitive and hungry bears from your campsite. When in the backcountry and in grizzlies’ territories, it is safest and wise to install an electric bear fence. These deterrents need not be complex and require round-the-clock monitoring as you might imagine: they are simple, effective, and durable.


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