After reading the trip report by Emylene VanderVelden about Mount Assiniboine, I wanted to explore this topic a bit more, and get some thoughts from those of you who hike in bear country. Before I read that trip report, I had never heard of bear bangers. Are these commonly used in Canada or also in the lower 48? I don’t know anyone who uses them up here in Alaska, but lots of folks here do carry guns; most backpackers carry pepper spray. A few non resident hikers I’ve known have brought foghorns or flares for Alaskan backpack trips.
How effective are these bangers? I assume their purpose is to ward off an actual attack, and not to simply make the bear aware of your presence, or you’d have to be firing them every few minutes as you hike into valleys, around hills or streams, etc. Are they superior to pepper spray? I’m not sure some of the predatory attacks I’ve read about in Alaska would have been at all deterred by a loud noise. There aren’t that many predatory attacks anyway.
I’m just curious, but I probably won’t change what I do, which is just carrying spray and singing while I hike. Anything more just seems too heavy to lug along. I’m sure if I had been mauled I’d probably be a firearm devotee, but so far so good. I might consider a firearm in some places in Alaska, such as the north slope. I love to see bears, from a distance. They add to the magic of this place I love so much. Again, I’d probably feel differently if I regularly saw the number of bears on a hike as Emylene saw, not judging at all, just considering people’s views on hiking in bear country.
