This is primarily directed at Ursus, but anybody else that can point me to actual research would be appreciated.
I have heard anecdotal evidence of bears pulling down bear bags. But it's always someones buddy who knew the guy or a friend of a friend had it happen, never direct stories and I can't find anything that directly addresses frequency of events like this.

So is there a lot of direct evidence of bears pulling down bear bags? My experience tells me that most are really bad a hanging bear bags and any self respecting bear that wanted to get one down wouldn't be challenged at all. So if that's the case, why isn't there a long litany of direct examples?

What about just caching bear canisters or bear proof bags? We used them in Denali and had bears move directly through camp and past our food cache more than once and not even stop to smell the canisters.

Finally, if you are camping in an area that required bear bags to be hung, follow the rules and hang them properly. I'm not trying to encourage people not following the rules, just curious about the reality of the situation.

It happened to me about 20 years ago in Olympic National Park. I was on a solo backpacking trip. I got to my designated camp site. I had seen scat so I was aware of the situation. I found a place to set up my tent. Problem is there were only two kinds of trees in site. Little red alders or gigantic sitka spruces with no branches lower than about 50 ft. I figured I could hang it from an alder while I set up camp and I was wrong. That bear pulled the tree over and helped himself rudely ignoring my protests. It was a long trip back to the trailhead on an empty stomach.

I like Andrew Skurka's take

I think he does a good job breaking it down.

I have a Bear Vault cannister (large) that I have used in areas that require them or that don't have bear boxes of some sort. (For example, Big Bend South Rim primitive sites have nice bear boxes, so I don't use cannister there.) Worst part about the Bear Vault is figuring out the best way to situate it in/outside your backpack. It takes up a lot of space. I keep thinking the outfitters are going to design a pack that more easily accommodates this kind of cannister. Hasn't happened yet, to my knowledge.

It varies a lot by various populations. What works with bears in one area may be a joke to others (we'll just say Yosemite in general). Get the bags 8+' above the ground and 6' away for the tree, with 2 tipoff locations and you will be good in most situations.

I do like the canisters, but yeah they present a special challenge in bulk.

Used these all over the boundary waters. Never going to hang a bear bag again. They work great.

North49 Canoe Barrel Harness Pack 60L, Backpack https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008BKZRBS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_7ZWMBWSF2VPK1QEBQ0T7

What about Philmont? Are the bears there conditioned to seek out bear bags? Seems to me the established bear cables would be a guaranteed source of food for a bear with a recognition of what's in the bags.

CT'97 said:

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What about Philmont? Are the bears there conditioned to seek out bear bags? Seems to me the established bear cables would be a guaranteed source of food for a bear with a recognition of what's in the bags.

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After my two treks there I felt comfortable with all of our bear bag setups except one site. The established cables are set high enough and staff have cleared nearby branches. Unless your crew did something incorrectly a bear would have to be one heck of an acrobat to get most of them. We had a few sites without bear cables but Upper Greenwood was the only one we really couldn't find trees that were tall and clear enough. That was also the site with a freshly cleaned spine 100 yards up the trail. I didn't sleep well that night.

Curious what Ursus has seen at Philmont.