If you don't need a canister, a soft container--whether critter-resistant or properly hung pedestrian stuffsack--is orders of magnitude easier to fill, pack and tote than a rigid canister. Canisters are not easy to match to backpacks and likewise, not easy to pack other gear around.

I use all of the above and never haul a canister where not required, preferring soft containers. The potential shortcoming of this approach is it requires owning more gear than that mythical One Perfect Container (which can only exist in a narrow range of circumstances).

Happy shopping,