Bear Spray for Hunters

With hunting season upon us, don’t forget to carry UDAP Bear Spray on all of your hunting trips!

Bear Spray for Hunters

“Hunters and other people who spend time in grizzly country need to take steps to reduce encounters with grizzlies, including carrying pepper spray, keeping clean camps and following proper food storage procedures. The future of grizzly bears depends upon it.” Greater Yellowstone Report Fall 1997 – Grizz Mortality Alarming and Avoidable by Tim Stevens

Hunters credit repellent with saving their lives “The two men have this advice for hunters. Take enough deterrent.” Bozeman Daily Chronicle September 27, 1992 – Bear spray works by Joan Haines

Good luck to all of the hunters out there this season and please, don’t forget your UDAP Bear Spray!

Tips for Using Your UDAP Bear Spray

Using Your UDAP Bear Spray

So you purchased your UDAP Bear Spray and not you want to know how to use it. fter purchasing your bear spray, please read all directions and warnings on label. There is a package insert that provides detail information, but here are a few useful tips as well:

•    Test fire – downwind – outside – pointed safely away from people and pets

•    Contents may travel and/or linger longer than expected. Using a quick half-second burst will increase safety and confidence with this product.

•    To prevent loss of safety clip, we tie the safety clip to the handle. (Please leave attached)

•    The holster keeps UDAP Pepper Power® safe and reliable.

•    DO NOT carry UDAP Pepper Power® in your pocket, fanny pack, or backpack. For quick silent access in a close encounter attack it is best to carry Pepper Power®, in one of our unique holsters.

•    Keep loose clothing out of the way.

In any kind of attack situation you have to react under pressure. Attacks can be fast, often leaving you no time to think, only time to react. We strongly recommend you take time to familiarize yourself with this product’s operation.

Bear Spray Time or Volume; What Would You Prefer?

A marketing ploy often used in the bear spray/pepper spray world is that a minimum of 6 seconds of continuous spray is required in order for the spray to be effective. How can anyone make that assertion, when many factors dictate whether or not pepper spray will be effective?

Wind direction and velocity, distance of spray vs. distance of bear at the time of spray, volume of spray per second, concentration of pepper in the spray, and area covered by the spray are all important factors as to whether or not a particular brand of bear pepper spray will be effective.

Unlike other brands that spray a slower forming narrow fog of bear pepper spray, UDAP Pepper Power® Bear Spray deploys a high volume powerful blast of highly concentrated pepper spray in a dense fog – covering a broader area in a much shorter period of time.

bear deterrent

If an angry grizzly charged at you, which type of pepper spray would you want?  One that emits a thick high volume fog of pepper spray in a powerful blast, or one that advertises it has over 6 seconds of spray time?

Now, play the video of an actual bear charge. Then ask yourself the following: How many seconds did the attack take?  How many seconds would I need to defend myself against such an attack?

Now answer this question: “How much bear pepper spray would you want to put between you and an attacking grizzly; how quickly would you want to put it there?”

Get the facts…don’t believe the hype and misleading charts! We have never seen any data to backup this marketing ploy.

UDAP Bear Spray Works!

Bear Deterrent Spray Volume

 UDAP Pepper Power has a different philosophy than the competition when it comes to how our bear spray is made. Our bear spray has the highest amount of spray volume possible to stop an attacking bear. Mark Matheny the president and grizzly bear attack survivor knows firsthand how fast a bear can charge and how quickly a bear can reach you.  In fact, most cases when a bear attacks it is because its personal space has been invaded. Usually within 30 yards, the average time for the bear to reach you in an attack situation is about 2 seconds.  We feel you want to get as much bear pepper spray out in front of you as quickly as possible hitting the bear hard in those 2 seconds.  This is why we designed our holsters in a way that the bear spray can be shot without drawing the canister. You can actually shoot from the holster. This is great if you are on the river fly fishing, you can shoot the bear spray directly from your holster!

 UDAP Pepper Power has a different philosophy than the competition when it comes to how our bear spray is made. Our bear spray has the highest amount of spray volume possible to stop an attacking bear. Mark Matheny the president and grizzly bear attack survivor knows firsthand how fast a bea

Think of a bear attack as a fire starting. All bear sprays use a fire extinguisher style trigger mechanism. In fact that is what the bear spray firing mechanism is designed for. When a fire starts or a bear attacks, wouldn’t you rather put the fire our right away before it has a chance to reach further? UDAP’s belief to put the bear’s fire out instantly stopping the bear’s aggressive behavior in the quickest time possible not allowing the aggressive behavior to progress.

Why higher spray volume helps

Wind: A more forceful spray can reach further in windy conditions. This is an observation in a study done by Tom S. Smith, Stephen Herrero, Terry D. Debruyn and James M. Wilder.  This is what they found. “High exit velocities of spray from cans likely compensate for cross-wind effects and may account for the low incidence of wind-related effects reported in Alaska.”

Rain: Like a strong wind, hard rain requires a forceful spray to compensate for the elements. the higher volume helps the concentration of pepper remain in the air longer. UDAP bear spray can reach further in the rain.

Sight and Sound: It was reported in the study mentioned above that in 14% of bear spray instances the sight and sound associated with spray release were reported as key factors in changing bear behavior. A more forceful spray has a much louder sound and a larger visible cloud as observed in the video below.

Should you wasp spray instead of bear spray?

I recently heard a self-defense teacher tell her students that they should keep a can of wasp spray by their bed if they couldn’t afford bear spray and they could also carry a can of wasp spray with them to help with self-defense.

Wasp Spray vs Bear Spray

But we’d like to discourage you from doing this for 2 very important reasons.

The active ingredient in most sprays are derived from plants and intended to penetrate the nervous systems of insects and kill them. Wasp sprays have not been formulated to work as self-defense on humans has not been tested and it could make a human sick, but may not stop a person who is trying to attack you. The main ingredient in wasp spray is pyrethrin and its toxic, it may make your assailant sick, but it won’t stop them from attacking you.

And using wasp spray on a bear is going to have the same reaction. It might make the bear more angry, but it isn’t going to stop him.

The other reason is that if you read on the can of wasp spray, you will see that it is illegal in most states to use wasp spray for self-defense. It is also a federal crime as well, “It is a violation of federal law to use this product in a manner inconsistent with its labeling.”

The biggest train of thought was that wasp spray could spray and go shoot farther than bear spray, but that isn’t true either. Read the package insert on your bear spray or visit our website and you will see that UDAP Bear Spray is very effective and can spray up to 35 feet. So no more wasp spray!

Wasp Spray vs Bear Spray

 

Camping in Yellowstone Park

Are you an avid camper? Or want something fun and different to do with your family this summer? Camping in Yellowstone Park is an awesome way to enjoy the park with your family. Some of the highlights and attractions include amazing backcountry, bicycle-friendly campsite, RV parks and hiking to name a few. There are numerous camping options in Yellowstone Park. For a complete list of campsites please click here for more information.

 

Camping in Yellowstone Park

And as always, remember when you’re outdoors in bear country this summer to carry your Bear spray with you at all times!

Camping Checklist 2013

Camping season is upon us and we wanted to share with you a camping checklist. It’s always better to be prepared when going on an outdoor adventure. Making sure that you have the necessary supplies and equipment can determine whether you’ll have a great time or not. And if you’re a list person like me, then checklists make a great tool for keeping you on track.

Your camping checklist is going to depend on where you’re going camping, what type of camping you’re going to be doing, and the activities that you’ll be participating in on your outdoor adventure. You will also need to factor in the season and how long your trip will be. For example, if you were to spend your holidays in Iceland, you may have to visit sites like https://www.rent.is/ and similar ones to rent your camper van well in advance. You would most probably be spending your stay in the same vehicle. As for venturing around the country, there are local guides on whom you can rely for their expert services.

Now, that is cleared out, let’s focus on other factors. Do you have a camper? Are you staying in a cabin or are you going to stay in a tent? Are you well-equipped for the trip? If not, you may want to head down to online sites of companies like GearDisciple and purchase everything well in advance. Also, if you’re going to stay in a tent-you’ll need sleeping bags, air mattresses/cots, folding chairs/camping chairs, flashlight/lanterns, pillows, extra batteries, clean water, or a water filter or treatment tablets.

Camping Safety Gear

You will need appropriate clothing and footwear, kitchen ware, campfire cooking utensils, food (store all food in sealed bags in a bear resistant container. Like UDAP’s NO-FED-BEAR airtight containers), personal items, fishing gear or outdoor gear for the activities that you have planned. Camera, first aid kit, two-way radios, GPS receiver if you don’t know the area, basically make a checklist of all the supplies that you want to take so you can check it off once it’s packed and loaded into your vehicle. Then you don’t have to worry about leaving anything behind.

To protect you from bears, you will need a light weight electric fence, like UDAP’s Bear Shock.

Camping Safety Gear

Sleeping in bear country can be very frightening for people. This item is an answer to the problem of fear while camping in bear country. This is useful for everyone sleeping in the backcountry.

Bear specialists and outdoor professionals will tell you, bears who willfully enter a camp are either predatory or have become used to eating garbage and human food. Either way these bears are no longer fearful of being in close proximity to humans and are very dangerous.

Bear Shock is the first ultra lightweight battery-powered, electric fence system and is designed to provide safety and sound sleep while in bear country and to help protect you and your equipment from curious bears by providing a surprising electrical shock if touched. Bear Shock uses three sets of poly-wire with two hot and one ground. When the energizer is turned on, Bear Shock will distribute an electric charge of about 6,000 volts if touched.

Have a good night’s sleep while sleeping in bear country. It is perfect for backpacking due to its size and weight. Bear Shock only weighs 3.1 lbs. without batteries and 3.7 lbs. with batteries, and fits in a small 5″ x 20″ storage bag. Bear Shock will enclose a 27 ft. x 27 ft. area, and runs on 2 D-cell batteries that can supply power to the energizer continuously for approximately five weeks.

Bear Shock can easily adapt to most environments. There is enough poly wire to fence an area 27ft. by 27ft. It is fully adjustable and has three gate hooks for easy access. A much smaller area can be fenced buy cutting the poly wire. The poly wire can later be tied back together if a larger area is preferred.

Bear Shock is small, lightweight, portable, and simple to use with all the components included in one easy kit. Bear Shock helps provide safety and peace of mind for you and your family while enjoying the outdoors.

Go out and enjoy the great outdoors! Stay safe in bear country and use your head, be prepared.

A Customer Question

A customer recently wanted to know if it was permissible to take his bear spray in his carry on bag when he was flying on vacation. He was going camping/fishing and wanted to make sure that he had his bear spray with him.  So we went straight to TSA.gov to find answers and here was the site had to say:

Mace and self-defense sprays are prohibited from carry-on baggage. 

bear spray question

In your checked baggage, you are permitted to have one 118 milliliter or 4 fluid ounce container of mace or pepper spray with a maximum concentration of 2% active ingredient provided that the container is equipped with a safety mechanism to prevent accidental discharge. Note: Most animal repellants exceed these volume and concentration limitations.

Even if an item is generally permitted, it may be subject to additional screening or not allowed through the checkpoint if it triggers an alarm during the screening process, appears to have been tampered with, or poses other security concerns. The final decision rests with TSA on whether to allow any items on the plane.

If you are planning a vacation this summer that includes camping, fishing, hiking or other outdoor activities that include flying to your destination and want to take your Bear Spray or Pepper Spray, you can always check with the hotel that you’re staying mail your bear spray ahead of time so that it’s there waiting for you when you arrive. Another idea is to check to see if UDAP Pepper Spray is sold in the area where you will be taking your vacation.

If you have a question, tip or a review of our products, please let us know and we will do our best to answer it here.

Mark Matheny Demonstrates Bear Spray At The 2011 Swan Valley Bear Fair August 6th

Mark Matheny President of UDAP Pepper Power was asked to speak on bear spray and bear safety at this years Swan Valley Bear Fair.

Bear Spray

Image credits: top – Kathy Koors; center and bottom – Erika Edgley

Bear Fair

Fun for the ENTIRE family!RaffleBake SaleKids’ Activities@ the Hungry Bear Steak House in Swan Valley

Hosted by Swan Valley Bear ResourcesUsing community resources to promote human-bear coexistence

BEAR FAIR Saturday, August 6, 2011

EVENT SCHEDULE

11:30 Welcome by Swan Valley Bear Resources12:00 FREE bratwurst served until 1:30. Bake sale proceeds benefit Swan Valley Bear Resources.12:15 Bear pepper spray demonstration1:30 “Northern Divide Grizzly Bear DNA Project” presentation by Kate Kendall, Research Biologist, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, U.S. Geological Service2:15 Raffle drawing2:30 “Bear Management in the Swan Valley” presentation by Tim Manley, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Region 1 Grizzly Bear Management Specialist3:00 Event concludes