Bear Repellent

Hiking in Glacier National Park without bear repellent puts the lives of your entire hiking party at risk.

The fact is, Glacier National Park is prime grizzly bear habitat. Although they’re not aggressive toward humans by nature, grizzly bear attacks happen.

In the event of encountering an aggressive grizzly bear, bear spray is the only proven deterrent.

What Is Bear Repellent

Bear spray is a highly condensed form of pepper spray that has a range of 15-20 feet. Only canisters that are EPA approved can guarantee your survival in the event of a grizzly bear attack. If a canister doesn’t have an EPA stamp of approval, don’t buy it.

Using Bear Spray

Just because you have bear spray does not mean you will be safe in the event of a grizzly bear attack. It’s vital to your safety that you know how and when to use the spray:

Have the repellent easily accessible - Burying the canister in your backpack won’t help you. The best location for your bear spray is in one of your backpack’s water bottle holders at the back of your hip belt, or attached to a chest holder
Don’t use the spray immediately - Understand proper survival tips for reading a bear's body language and surviving a grizzly bear attack.
Calmly reach for the spray - If you encounter an aggressive grizzly bear, don’t make a sudden lurch for the spray. Be calm, remain cool, and slowly back away.
Take note of the wind - If the wind is blowing in your face, the bear spray will be useless and only cause you harm.
Fire a warning shot - If the bear is displaying aggressive behavior, spray a warning shot in it’s direction.
If the bear charges, spray like a madman in a 30 degree arc toward the charging bear.

Bear Spray Or Gun?

Believe it or not, bear spray is a better grizzly bear repellent than a gun. In fact, Bear Spray successfully deters an aggressive grizzly bear 90% of the time.

There are numerous reasons for this:

Bear spray is easier to aim and shoot than a gun
Guns are only successful if it is at least a 22 caliber
Guns are illegal in National Parks

Why Is Bear Spray Successful?

Although there are no statistics to prove why bear spray is so successful in deterring a grizzly bear attack, I have a few personal beliefs:

People won’t run in the event of a grizzly bear encounter. Bear spray provides hikers with a mindset of safety while hiking in grizzly bear habitat. Thus, they better adhere to successful strategies in preventing an attack.
The spray’s duration - Bear repellent will shoot for a minimum of six seconds. Most commonly, it has about fifteen seconds of use, giving a greater room for error.
The spray’s distance - Bear spray can shoot up to twenty feet, deterring a grizzly bear in the beginning, or even before, it charges.

Purchasing Bear Repellent

While bear spray is available at Glacier National Park Gift Shops (or any National Park gift shops where you have a chance of encountering a grizzly bear), you are going to pay exorbitant prices.

Plus, by shopping beforehand, you have a few choices in brands so you can find the best priced bear deterrent to meet your needs:

Counter Assault Bear Deterrent - While more expensive than other options, Counter Assault is one of the most trusted bear spray brands (used by Wildlife Specialists & Law Enforcement) and is the canister I carry with me whenever I am in Grizzly Bear Habitat
Guard Alaska Bear Repellent - It has good reviews, but weighs two more pounds than Counter Assault, which is extra weight you will be lugging through the backcountry
UDAP Magnum Bear Spray - This comes with a hipbelt allowing you easy access to your bear spray and weighs less than all other options

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More Grizzly Bear Attack Information

Have you seen a grizzly bear while hiking? Share your story!

Hiking Knowledge: The best way to prevent a bear attack is to understand the proper safety precautions to take when hiking through grizzly bear habitat

Surviving An Attack: More detailed instructions on surviving a grizzly bear attack

Grizzly Bear Attacks FAQ: Learn more by reading Grizzly Bear Attacks FAQ

Grizzly Bear Info: All the grizzly bear facts you would ever need to know.

Grizzly Bear Knife: Is there such thing as a grizzly bear knife, which can successfully save your life?

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