Bear Sprays

To non-hikers, the very concept of bear spray may seem laughable. The idea of coming face to face with a Grizzly or black bear, then having the time and constitution to unstrap a canister and administer its contents directly to the beast's snout might seem ludicrous if it weren't so real. But as any serious outdoors type will tell you, the risk of a bear attack is one of the most palpable threats found in the woods.

Not only do some species of bear attain weights of nearly a ton and heights of up to 10 feet (standing), but many can accelerate at startling speeds. It's not uncommon for bears to charge at 35 to 40 miles per hour, and not simply for 10 to 20 feet at a time. When you combine such blistering acceleration with the pure physical bulk of, say, an ursus horribilis, you have one of the greatest natural predators on the planet.

The Truth about Bears

When it comes to bears, the old childhood adage you never really bought, "It's more scared of you than you are of it" applies--well, sort of. Bears may not be more afraid of humans than humans are of them, but they tend to want nothing to do with us whatsoever. The only time a bear takes an active interest in the doings of hikers is when those hikers appear to pose a genuine threat to its cubs, or if that bear hasn't eaten in a while. It's for these situations that bear sprays were developed.

Bear sprays generally have a higher concentration of pure pepper than do those intended for human targets, as bears are significantly harder to halt in their tracks. The best bet for hikers is to prefer prevention to treatment; that is, it's best to avoid encountering bears in the first place while on the trail. The good news is that strategies such as singing, clapping, talking loudly, or wearing bear bells are highly effective in alerting these beasts to your presence and avoiding potentially gruesome showdowns altogether.