What Should I Bring Camping If I Hate Being Mauled By Bears?

I don’t know how many times I have been asked “What should I bring camping if I hate being mauled to death by half ton grizzly bears?”. Okay, in fairness I have never actually been asked that question and it is pretty ludicrous to assume I ever will but in my opinion it would be no more ludicrous than actually going camping in bear populated areas without bear spray.




Every now and then I will stumble upon a tragic story of some unfortunate soul who was severely and permanently scarred, both physically and mentally, by a black or grizzly bear while camping in bear populated areas without proper protection from said bears. What makes these stories even more tragic is that avoiding such catastrophic events is so very simple. Anyone that wants to camp, hike, or spend any time in bear populated areas needs to purchase and carry at all times a bear spray that is proven effective. I can only attest to the proven effectiveness of two such sprays and those two are Guard Alaska brand and a bear repellent spray from Mace. I have seen videos of both of these sprays in action and after viewing both videos I would personally be confident in either. There may very well be other brands out there that are just as effective but as I have not seen proof of any others I can not in good conscience recommend other brands at this time.



Bear spray works in very much the same way as does pepper sprays meant to thwart the attack of human assailants, in fact the active ingredient in both bear spray and human pepper spray are exactly the same, Oleoresin Capsicum. More or less Oleoresin Capsicum is the thin that gives hot peppers their “hotness”. Of course we are also talking about this ingredient in a much more concentrated form than you will find in even the hottest of peppers. When concentrated Oleoresin Capsicum hits the mucus membranes (eyes, nose, throat, etc…) of just about any of God’s creatures it will not only swell those membranes and cause temporary blindness but also an immense burning sensation that causes such temporary pain that the animal will almost always retreat. This will give you enough time to exit the area safely and hopefully in a hurry.



The last thing I’ll say about bringing along a bear spray when camping is that it absolutely must be on your person at all times. If it is not then having it in the first place is of little use as a bear attack is not usually something that we get advanced notice of and I don’t know many wild bears that will wait patiently while you search your tent. So please secure said bear spray and for the love of all that is holy have that bear spray in an easily accessible location (like a holster) at all times.







Stay Safe,



Carl Vouer







To buy bear spray or see other such useful animal repellents please visit us online