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!

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.

Bear Spray Recycling Information

We’d like to encourage everyone to RECYCLE their bear spray canisters! There is a bear spray recycling machine located in the greater Yellowstone area. Bear Spray recycling is a fantastic concept and in May of 2011 the first ever fully functioning machine was built. If you recreate in and around Yellowstone, you can drop off your bear spray at many Forest Service and Fish and Wildlife Parks locations. If you are traveling, you may drop off your bear spray to be recycled at any of the park entrances, many hotels, and some airports prior to leaving. Also, if you wish to send us your canister directly we will recycle it for you.

To send a canister to UDAP, please use this address.

UDAP Industries, Inc.
Recycling Dept.
1703 Waterline Road
Butte , MT 59701

Expired cans can also be used for training you and your family. Be sure to practice with it away from people, buildings and pets. Make sure it is in an area where the spray will not return to you and your family causing the uncomfortable effects of the product.

You can also give your spray to a friend or relative if it has not been used. We would never recommend using a canister from someone that has sprayed it before. You can even give it to a ranger in the park. Many rangers will take the product as they or their coworkers use it frequently for practice.

The recycling process is significantly efficient. It has the capability to actually separate the active ingredient from the inert contents through a coalescing filter process. Then the separated ingredients can be reused. Early on in development UDAP mentioned that the propellant could possibly be used to recharge air conditioners in vehicles. It is our understanding that this is what’s being done. Also we introduced the idea of the pepper being used in paints for the bottom of boats. Pepper deters barnacles from attaching to surfaces that have been pepper treated. Also pepper is used in creams in pharmaceuticals for arthritis pain relief.  The aluminum canister is sold to a recycling business.



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.

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!

Hiking in The Great Outdoors

Are you a hiker or do you just like to take long strolls in God’s Country? Well if you answered yes to that question, please don’t forget your bear spray. Hottest Bear spray works on more than just bear! Read below to her what one of our customers had to say about her encounter with a moose!

"UDAP works on moose! 
On a trail run with our dogs in Red Lodge, MT this morning we came across a moose and new calf. Our dogs are trained to not bark at or harass wildlife- and we even went off trail to give her a wide berth, but even that wasn't enough to keep her from charging. She took 2 blasts from our canisters- and it was like she hit a glass wall. She charged 3 more times from different angles and each time took spray to the face. She moved on, and so did we."


Thank you for such a great product! We don't go into the backcountry without it. - Charlene Giffin- Roberts, MT

We encourage you to get outdoors and enjoy nature the way it was intended to be appreciated! Bring your camera, take lots of pictures and don’t forget your bear spray for all of those wild animals that you may encounter along the way!