Is bear spray like mosquito spray.
No, bear spray is the same as pepper spray, except highly pressurized to shoot a longer distance (10m vs 2m). Bear spray has the same active ingredient as pepper spray (capsicum).
Bear spray is exploding in the trash near Yellowstone National Park
11–20 of 23 posts
Re: Bear spray is exploding in the trash near Yellowstone National Park
#12Seems rather wasteful for tourists to buy a can of bear spray, carry it around for a week, then throw it away. But sad that coming up with some kind of system to hand it off to the next tourist is hard? Otherwise everyone would use the rentals and there wouldn’t be so many in the trash.
The funny part is, this problem has already been solved by the thru-hiking and backpacking community. We call them "hiker boxes". But for them to work, it requires an agreement within the community on some unspoken rules. Things like take only what you need, try to leave more than you take, and don't abuse the system or everybody loses. Hikers actually enjoy leaving things behind that they hope will solve some immediate need for someone else, even if they never get to meet that person.
Looking out for one another in ways like this is mostly just baked into the subculture and that's one reason hiker boxes work (the other being you just don't want to carry extra weight). As someone who has backpacked through Yellowstone, I'm not sure it would work for the tourist culture there.
Re: Bear spray is exploding in the trash near Yellowstone National Park
#13This is a solved problem and has been for years. The last time I went to Yellowstone we rented bear spray.
Re: Bear spray is exploding in the trash near Yellowstone National Park
#14Related: don't heat (fresh) peppers in your microwave.
(EDITED: thanks!)
More societal awareness of rare-in-nature combos of capsaicin, pressure,heat, please!
Re: Bear spray is exploding in the trash near Yellowstone National Park
#15Is bear spray like mosquito spray.
If you spray it on yourself certainly bears won't be your biggest immediate problem ...
Re: Bear spray is exploding in the trash near Yellowstone National Park
#16Seems rather wasteful for tourists to buy a can of bear spray, carry it around for a week, then throw it away. But sad that coming up with some kind of system to hand it off to the next tourist is hard? Otherwise everyone would use the rentals and there wouldn’t be so many in the trash.
On a recent trip to Yellowstone and glacier, it was cheaper to buy a can than to use one of the local shops renting bear spray.
Re: Bear spray is exploding in the trash near Yellowstone National Park
#17Related: don't heat (fresh) peppers in your microwave. (EDITED: thanks!) More societal awareness of rare-in-nature combos of capsaicin, pressure,heat, please!
One of my favorite chili recipes suggests doing exactly this to toast them before turning them into a puree: https://www.seriouseats.com/pressure-cooker-chile-con-carne-...
The important part is that they're dried so there's not enough water to cause a steam-fueled capsaicin bomb in your microwave.
Re: Bear spray is exploding in the trash near Yellowstone National Park
#18Re: Bear spray is exploding in the trash near Yellowstone National Park
#19If I’m fighting a bear I want a fresh can.
Re: Bear spray is exploding in the trash near Yellowstone National Park
#20Seems rather wasteful for tourists to buy a can of bear spray, carry it around for a week, then throw it away. But sad that coming up with some kind of system to hand it off to the next tourist is hard? Otherwise everyone would use the rentals and there wouldn’t be so many in the trash.
The funny part is, this problem has already been solved by the thru-hiking and backpacking community. We call them "hiker boxes". But for them to work, it requires an agreement within the community on some unspoken rules. Things like take only what you need, try to leave more than you take, and don't abuse the system or everybody loses. Hikers actually enjoy leaving things behind that they hope will solve some immedi…
This sounds like an fantastic system. Which means its only a matter of time before some tech-bro tries to monetize it.