Ultimate Camping Thread

Had an interesting/informative evening. I went to a lecture tonight on bear safety...learned a few things there...just basic precautions, identifying bears and behaviors...

Also in attendance was the guy responsible for creating Counter Assault Bear Spray. Which just so happens to be my weapon of choice. Got to visit with him a little and get into the science behind the spray. I think it was just as helpful talking to him as it was the 'bear expert'.

 

trade secrets!

The main points that I took away this evening are:

the bear spray is most effective if the animal inhales it. to a human its annoying to get it on our skin or in our eyes as well as breathing it so its easy to think that that is the goal when using it against an animal - to cover them in a cloud. not so. for the spray to be most effective it must be inhaled so aim low (knee high) to the ground 10' to 30' inbetween you and the bear and hope that it has to breathe in as it passes through the airborne spray. also, only spray 1/2 of the can (3 seconds) just in case the animal continues to charge and you need to spray a 2nd time.

in instances where bear spray was used properly about 80% resulted in the people walking away unharmed. compare that to encounters where the people chose to arm themselves with guns there is about a 20% chance of walking away unharmed.

if a grizzly is approaching you it is most likely due to you being perceived as a threat. if its a black bear you are food. therefore the appropriate reactions (assuming the spray was not effective) would be to talk in a soft, low voice don't make direct eye contact and back away slowly. If the bear continues to advance then (for a grizzly) lay on the ground with your hands clasped behind your neck, elbows out and legs out and straight - this makes it harder for the bear to roll you over...not a pleasant thought but... - you are trying to appear as nonthreatening as possible. and if its a black bear keep walking and talking, do not lay down. remember, the black bear thinks you are food, laying down only makes it easier for them to get you. in either case, do not run, do not shout, do not wave your arms - those are all threatening actions.

when buying spray check the expiration date. it should be about 4 years...some stores that don't have a high turnover of inventory can keep older cans in stock so you're not getting your money's worth. once expired the can of spray will most likely still work BUT it won't spray as far or for as long (most brands are about 6 to 7 seconds when new). the active ingrediendts in there (capsacin) are still as effective as they were on day 1 but the propellant tends to leak out over time. once sprayed most of the residue will be inert in 72 hours so if you get it on you or your clothes you're going to be very unpopular with your camping/hiking pals.
"bear" spray is equally effective on all animals big and small...so that time that I had a horny bull moose chasing me I could have sprayed him and been left alone (I was worried that it would have made him more agitated).

They also had 'fake' cans of spray there, all the ingredients except the capsacin, so you could get an idea of what it felt like to discharge a can and see how it sprayed and how long it took to dissipate.

 

Same here!

I see lots of critters when I'm out - up close and far away. Thankfully I've been exposed to the outdoors enough that I know the behaviors to watch out for and situations to avoid.

Guns are OK, spray is better...couldn't hurt to carry both!

You just get used to it. I've seen bears in all of the areas that I frequent - heck, last year the area where we had our TW meet had two reports of bear maulings right before and right after we were there! I don't think the guys knew that at the time