I have been using this product for a few years now and still consider $45.00 pretty cheap insurance especially traveling alone in the backcountry. as far as the danger of it exploding the best precaution I have found is if you are going to have a chance to leave it in the car for more then a few hours i.e in a restaurant, bar... then take it with you or place it in the shade under your car. I have done both and the worst possible case is you forget it and drive off this stuff works great as I was testing an old canister last week and in a slightly breezy afternoon the thing still shot about 25 feet on a nice cloud that lingered for a few minutes before it was safe to go outside.

This summer authorites at Grant Teton National Park issued a warning that the safety on bear spray cannisters should not be removed unless you plan on using the spray. This occurred when a cannister went off during a information meeting inside a small auditorium. The place had to be evacuated, and EMT's called. Authorities are more worried about the spray then the bears.
The carrying of bear spray my everyone has gotten to the point of ridiculousness and the primary beneficiaries are the manufacturers and the retailers.

no prob at all in those areas,, have fun,

Living near Glacier NP I love my bear spray. I average around 3 or 4 close encounters (within 100 feet) with grizzlies a year.

It can also work on moose, the only large wild animal that has ever tried to hurt me.

Chewy wrote:It can also work on moose, the only large wild animal that has ever tried to hurt me.

Tell us about your experience using it on a moose. I've drawn on a moose but never fired, and afterward I wondered if I was foolish to even consider it.

A moose is the only wild animal that has ever hurt me, and it did so indirectly--I sprained my ankle pretty badly while leaping out of the way of a charge.

What does everyone think of road flares? effective?

gwave47 wrote:What does everyone think of road flares? effective?

http://www.findingwilderness.com/?cat=21

Watch the video link in the first paragraph

Chewy wrote:Living near Glacier NP I love my bear spray. I average around 3 or 4 close encounters (within 100 feet) with grizzlies a year.

It can also work on moose, the only large wild animal that has ever tried to hurt me.

That's a spooky photo. I'm usually very cautious when hiking through trees and meadows, but tend to really let my guard down above tree line. Apparently not a good idea.

gwave47 wrote:ThanksReport this postReply with quoteRe: Bear spray?
by gwave47 » Thu Nov 10, 2011 1:20 pm
What does everyone think of road flares? effective?

Looks good on the beach. Dangerous in a western forest during the summer. Personally I wouldn't want to be the one up on arson charges responsible for burning down part of a state.

Chewy wrote:Living near Glacier NP I love my bear spray. I average around 3 or 4 close encounters (within 100 feet) with grizzlies a year.

It can also work on moose, the only large wild animal that has ever tried to hurt me.

I experience about the same amount of encounters every year, no serious issues in the last 12 years. Have lost one friend who did respond inappropriately (left the company of two friends, ran up a tree, grizzly followed)...actually within the city limits of Canmore, not out in the wilderness. Barry Blanchard did the same this past September and the grizzly followed he and his client up the tree. Neither he nor I hardly ever carried bear spray. Just have too much technical climbing gear, ropes, etc in our pack. But after his close incident (3.5hrs fending off a grizzly from atop a tree)...both of us are re-considering. Somehow, I know when it comes time to actually pack next summer though, I will again, leave it behind. Bear banger is lighter weight, and some would say more effective, but has a larger learning curve to use.

As a footnote to the above....also works effectively on porcupines who have a tendency to harass the hell out of you all night wanting to lick the salt off of the gear in your vestibule, etc.