I decided to build a bear canister rather than buying one. The Bear Kegs on the market range from 50 to 80 bucks for a good sized one. These containers are designed to withstand the crushing blow of a bear. They are generally intended to be hung from a rope about 30 or 40 feet up in a tree. This keeps bears from getting their paws on your food in the first place. For under ten dollars I made an equivalent to this product and tested it in the mountains in Kentucky. Made at Techshop. www.techshop.ws
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Collect Materials and tools: The materials you will need are as follows: 1 leak tight construction bucket with one leak tight twist on lid (these are sold as separate products), two key chain rings, two bike inner tubes or straps, one tube of 100 % silicone bathroom calk, 1 vinyl cut or hand drawn message to detour bears and 50 plus feet of light rope. Home Depot will have all the materials needed for this project except inner tubes. Feel free to use something else rather than inner tubes for the straps or talk to a local bike shop to get used or damaged tubes. The only tools you will need are: 1 razor blade or knife, 1 calk gun and a mallet or hammer.
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As other people have mentioned, many parks and national forests have rules for bear-proof food storage, and they're not messing around. The ones they install are made of very solid welded steel and are either Dumpster-style (weighing more than a ton) with steel-covered top and self-locking small openings that require hands to operate or are chained/cemented into place and also made of heavy steel. Certified bear kegs are smell-proof as well as puncture resistant in addition to being able to withstand a hungry and persistent bear jumping on them over and over.
Things like Febreeze do not eliminate odors, no matter what the commercials claim; it simply masks them and is in no way sufficient to stop a bear from detecting your tasty morsels.
Spend the money and buy a real one if it's actually a concern, or save your money and don't bother making this.
People do and should hang bear cans. A bear may not be able to open it, but they can smell the contents and will spend an undue amount of time trying to open it, inclusive of smacking it, dropping it, and kicking it. Half an hour later, the bear will have left your can three-quarters of a mile away on the wrong end of a 200 foot cliff.
I think this is a really nice critter proof bucket, but I would have some concerns about using it in "bear country." The two concerns I would have is the lack of locking mechanism on the screw top (bears have been known to unscrew lids,) and the thinness of the plastic bucket. I determined bear would probably be able to gnaw through a regular bucket.
Hanging eliminates these problems by keeping it out of reach, but If you are going to be hanging it, why use a bucket at all? I've never seen anyone hang a bear keg. What is the benefit of this over a simple waterproof bear bag?
Additionally, I've been to some National Parks (Grand Teton for example) where they require approved bear canisters during bear season.
Also, a thought: could odor eliminator (like Febreeze) be used to minimize the effect of odorous residues after sealing the container?