Guard Alaska Bear Spray Review

angry grizzly bear
Yeah, you don’t want to be unprepared for this…

Guard Alaska bear spray is one of only 4 EPA-approved bear deterrent sprays currently on the market. One of the most important pieces of outdoor gear you can have when you hit the thick wilderness is bear spray. While the old axiom is absolutely true that bears want to see you even less than you want to see them, you need to be prepared for worst case scenarios.

Most people involved in a bear attack never intended to harass a bear or get too close, but they often surprised a bear suddenly which led to a violent and sometimes even fatal confrontation. Surprising a bear is always a bad thing, and that is doubly true if you find yourself looking at a mother protecting her bear cubs.

If you’re going to be hiking, camping, or passing through bear country, you need to make sure to have your Guard Alaska bear spray on hand.

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What Is Bear Spray?

grizzly bear in tall grass
Big brown bear way too close for comfort – look at those teeth!

Bear spray, which also goes by the equally accurate names of bear deterrent spray, anti bear spray, and bear pepper spray. Based around the idea of pepper spray, which has long been used on both humans and smaller animals like dogs, laboratory experiments eventually showed that the same type of stimulant was the only non-lethal option that consistently deterred aggressive or attacking bears.

In fact, HALT pepper spray for dogs was the original spray tested in laboratories in addition to having worked for a few hunters in instances before bear spray became widespread and common. This combination of anecdotal evidence and laboratory testing would lead to the development to early bear sprays, which remain in production to this day.

Bear spray works because a bear’s senses are so much more sensitive: especially smell. Imagine having the smelling ability of a bloodhound when you catch a face full of mace. Then imagine the mace is twice as strong, then imagine you have the smell of 7 bloodhounds as you catch a nostril full. Yeah, there’s a reason these bear deterrents tend to be so effective.

There’s no arguing with the results the studies from BYU and the federal government have released. Bear spray works, and Guard Alaska is one of only four that is IPA approved!

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Wet grizzly swimming
Look at the claws on that sucker.

Why Guard Alaska Bear Spray?

Guard Alaska is one of the giant names among the bear spray community and with good reason. They boast of a 20% concentration with 1.34% Major Capsaicinoids which translates to “strong enough to give a bear a very bad day.” This is one of the few bear sprays that is registered and recognized by the EPA, and they like to boast that they are the only bear spray that has been approved for every type of bear found in Alaska…including the especially massive and feared polar bears.

Endorsed by the Alaska Science & Technology Foundation, this spray is intentionally designed to create as much of a large fog effect as possible and has an effective range of up to 25 feet. They have a strong association with the state of Alaska, nicknamed “The Last Frontier” for good reason, and have a three year shelf life that includes a clearly printed expiration date.

In every post about the best bear spray options, you are going to see Guard Alaska as one of the top picks. It has been laboratory tested, has worked successfully in the field on multiple occasions, and simply remains one of the best options out there.

In Conclusion

As of the famous 2008 government report, there are only 4 bear sprays that are fully vetted by the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) as being up the tested standards to officially call themselves bear deterrent spray and Guard Alaska spray is one of those four options. There’s a reason they are a big name in the industry, and if you are going to be marching through bear country you definitely want to make sure you are prepared for any worst case scenario.

Guard Alaska spray, also referred to Alaska Guard bear deterrent, is one of the top names in the industry and they are going to stay that way as long as they continue to manufacture one of the strongest and most effective spray deterrents out there.

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ABC News Report on a Bear Confrontation