How to Use Bear Pepper Spray

March 27, 2008

Should you ever venture into bear country, you'd do well to arm yourself with an 8-ounce can of bear pepper spray.

A new study conducted by Thomas Smith of Brigham Young University found that a well-aimed spritz of the spray could stop half a ton of claws, muscle and teeth in its tracks at least 92 percent of the time. If you're wondering about the other eight percent, no one required hospitalization, and the ineffectiveness likely had to do with misuse of the spray.

Before we go on here, I'd like to share this photo of Smith holding two polar bear cubs next to the cubs' sedated mother. One suspects Smith isn't a meek sort.

The research debunked a bunch of myths about bear pepper spray use. One is that the spray doesn't work when it's windy. Since the spray comes out at around 70 mph, it usually works fine in the wind, so long as you're not standing in the middle of a hurricane. But then both you and the bear would face worse problems.

Another myth is that the user will wind up spraying himself or herself in the face. That's a rarity, although some people in the study reported experiencing minor irritation from the spray. If they'd have carried a gun, they could have shot themselves in the foot, but the research didn't go into that for obvious reasons.

Yet another myth is that the can won't work when you need it to. The very good news here is not a single malfunction occurred throughout the testing.

My favorite part of the study has to do with users who sprayed objects, like tents, hoping to repel bears in the first place. The sprayed stuff actually attracted bears, which, like me, probably enjoy a bit of hot sauce on almost anything. The key here may be to think like a bear. You might salivate over a spicy this or that, but if someone threw a bottle of Tabasco in your face you'd likely run off.

Here's more news about the spray and how to use it:

Comments

[Priscila Whalen]

Did it hurt the bears?
Why did you experiment this spray in bears?

:(

[Jennifer Viegas]

Hey Priscilla, I've never used the spray before myself, but I gather it's just a temporary skin/eye irritant. To be honest, I don't know that I could stand next to an enormous bear and spritz away.
Thanks for checking out the blog here.