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Ok, you will probably never see a mountain lion let alone be attacked by one, but it happens. Since most mountain lions attack people from behind and go for the neck, I thought something similar to the HANS device used in racing might help someone survive a mountain lion attack. Those extra couple seconds might be enough time to let the cougar know you are not an easy meal and it may decide to retreat. What do you think? Do you think it would be useful when hiking or jogging alone in mountain lion country? Of course, it would have to be lightweight and not restrict head movement, but this is just a theoretical gear question.

manfromnantucket wrote:I'm not really sure about the HANS device and it's effectiveness for mountain lions. But, i do know that when i was attacked by a "cougar" the other night, i whipped out a magnum and everything turned out fine.

No back injury? Sounds like you got lucky... normally "cougars" will at least leave scratch marks, lol.

There are much more important things to worry about than a mountain lion attack. There are about 1000 pieces of gear that I would carry before anything to protect from a lion. And I won't carry any of those either.

manfromnantucket wrote:i broke out the magnum that i had in my pocket and waved it

Protection needs to be appropriate for the threat -- perhaps the Durex XS in this case

A pack that rises up the back of you neck is probably some deterrent. A strapped ice axe that projects above your neck may help.

I have easy low-tech, possibly non-functional solutions. I have large eyes painted on the back of my hat. Some times when I am alone in mountain lion country, I am just very vigilant and carry a small pepper spray can in my hand. If I run down canyons, I scream (roar) a lot, very loudly (really). I tend to be more on edge after seeing bighorn sheep kills.

Don't get me wrong... I am not concerned about lions attacking! I would never use something like this for hiking just the same as surfers and swimmers would never wear a chainmail suit because of sharks in the ocean. This is just a hypothetical question on the efficiency of protection. I don't know of a "chainmail suit" for mountail lions and was wondering if you thought something like this would help during an attack.

MoapaPk wrote:A pack that rises up the back of you neck is probably some deterrent. A strapped ice axe that projects above your neck may help.

I have easy low-tech, possibly non-functional solutions. I have large eyes painted on the back of my hat. Some times when I am alone in mountain lion country, I am just very vigilant and carry a small pepper spray can in my hand. If I run down canyons, I scream (roar) a lot, very loudly (really). I tend to be more on edge after seeing bighorn sheep kills.

If I was that worried about it, I couldn't walk out my front door without protection since there have been deer kills within 100 yards of my front door.

mconnell wrote:

MoapaPk wrote:A pack that rises up the back of you neck is probably some deterrent. A strapped ice axe that projects above your neck may help.

I have easy low-tech, possibly non-functional solutions. I have large eyes painted on the back of my hat. Some times when I am alone in mountain lion country, I am just very vigilant and carry a small pepper spray can in my hand. If I run down canyons, I scream (roar) a lot, very loudly (really). I tend to be more on edge after seeing bighorn sheep kills.

If I was that worried about it, I couldn't walk out my front door without protection since there have been deer kills within 100 yards of my front door.

Mainly, you probably wouldn't run 100yds out from your house silently at night, for hours on end.

Deep canyons tend to channel predator attention.

Is this thread for realz?

alleyehave wrote:Is this thread for realz?

Maybe for some it is.

Don't know what a HANS device is but since cats attack from behind, I've thought those masks that Indian people wear on the back of their heads to protect from tigers might work against mountain lions.

Bill Reed wrote:Don't know what a HANS device is

It is a type of brace worn in autoracing to protect the neck from whiplash.

Bill Reed wrote:

alleyehave wrote:Is this thread for realz?

Maybe for some it is.

Don't know what a HANS device is but since cats attack from behind, I've thought those masks that Indian people wear on the back of their heads to protect from tigers might work against mountain lions.

They stopped working well for tigers, because tigers have many interactions with people in that area, and regularly hunt people. In short order, the tigers learned to distinguish the masks from real faces, and the number of attacks went back up (that's the theory).

The tiger-mask story is what prompted me to draw eyes on the back of my hat. The fake eyes may offer no real deterrent, but they take little time to draw, and make a great conversation starter.

Mountain lions have relatively few encounters with people, and hunt people by chance, possibly because the people are doing something "prey-like".

Legion81 wrote:. What do you think? Do you think it would be useful when hiking or jogging alone in mountain lion country?

First of all, why and for what sane reason, would anyone do this knowing that there are cougars in the area?

The Chief wrote:

Legion81 wrote:. What do you think? Do you think it would be useful when hiking or jogging alone in mountain lion country?

First of all, why and for what sane reason, would anyone do this knowing that there are cougars in the area?

Well an avy beacon might protect me from an avylanch so doesn't it follow the same reason that a hans device could save you from a mountain lion.

norco17 wrote:

The Chief wrote:

Legion81 wrote:. What do you think? Do you think it would be useful when hiking or jogging alone in mountain lion country?

First of all, why and for what sane reason, would anyone do this knowing that there are cougars in the area?

Well an avy beacon might protect me from an avylanch so doesn't it follow the same reason that a hans device could save you from a mountain lion.

Damn... My Bad!

Yur absolutely right!!!!!