Self Defense Products Blog

You never know what can happen when you are driving in a car. They say that most accidents happen within 5 miles of your home. Usually that is because most of the driving you do other than a commute to work or a vacation is local driving to the store, to the mall and to drop off the kids at school or sports.

Things can go wrong whether you are pulling out of the driveway or you are on a trip to go camping 5 hours from home. That’s where the 4 in 1 Auto Emergency Tool comes in.

The 4 in 1 Auto Emergency Tool is a versatile tool that can help you in a variety of situations. It has a blinking emergency light that is easy to start in the event that your car breaks down and you need assistance. If you need bright light at night the super bright flashlight will help in any situation. Add to that the fact that if you are trapped in a car, the unit itself can be used as a hammer to break the window and the blade can cut a seat belt.

In addition to all these features, the 4 in 1 Auto Emergency Tool is magnetic, so it will attach to the car so that you can have steady light when working on it. It is also waterproof.

If you are looking for a tool that can help in a variety of situations whether close to home or far away, the 4 in 1 Auto Emergency Tool is the best available.

Generally, it is a very good idea to carry 1-2 containers of Bear Spray whenever you are hiking or camping in bear country. In this unusual twist, however, Bear Spray would be ineffective in stopping the bear because the bear had a plastic container completly covering his head. The bear must have wandered into someone’s garbage, found the plastic container with yummy smells, and after he finished licking it, discovered he couldn’t remove the pastic container from his head. You see, bears do not have hands, only paws. This made it very difficult to remove the plastic container from the bear’s head. He pawed and pawed and flung his head from side to side, but to no avail. The stubborn container was not going to come off very easily.

Park rangers became increasingly worried about what the bear might do if it stumbled into a human, so they just tracked the bear to see what he was going to do next. I wouldn’t think the bear could do to much damage to any human since he was wearing a space helmet. Bears in space! Apparently, park rangers don’t typically carry tranquilizer guns with them and the nearest ranger with this type of gun lived about 3 hours away. They continued to track the bear until it came across the town of Frazee, MN where to local police officers decided to shoot and kill the Bear just in case he tried anything funny. I don’t know why someone didn’t just walk up to the bear and remove the plastic container from his head. I’m sure he would have really appreciated that and the bear and the person could go on an live a wonderful life together…like Grizzy Adams!

Anyway, I thought this story was interesting and pointed out one of the very rare situations in which bear pepper spray would not be effective. Of course, if a bear has his head stuck inside a plastic container, he’s got way more things to worry about than attacking any person he encounters. I guess someone could die from laughing too hard and forgetting to take a breath in between laughs, but that’s about it.

FRAZEE, Minn. — A bear with a plastic jar over its head led police on a six-day chase through the forests of Hubbard and Becker counties before it was shot and killed, state wildlife officials said.

Officials had hoped to capture the wild black bear — whose head got stuck inside a 2 1/2-gallon plastic jar — but decided to shoot the animal after it wandered into the city of Frazee during the town’s busy Turkey Days celebration.

“When it got into town, our main concern was public safety,” said Rob Naplin, the Department of Natural Resources’ area wildlife supervisor in Park Rapids.

The bear was foraging for food, perhaps at a Dumpster, when its head got head stuck in the clear, plastic container. Naplin said he wasn’t sure of the container’s original contents but said it looked like a jar for bulk candy or popcorn.

While the bear could breathe, it couldn’t eat or drink and was likely suffering from dehydration and hunger. “I’m sure there was high anxiety and frustration with its predicament,” Naplin said. “It is (a sad story).”

There was no evidence the bear was baited by hunters, Naplin said. The legal baiting season doesn’t open until Aug. 15. The bear season opens Sept. 1.

The bear, with the jar on its head, was first reported near the town of Lake George on July 21.

The next day it showed up at Itasca State Park near some Dumpsters and DNR officials deployed a trap made of a steel barrel to try to catch it and remove the jar. The bear wouldn’t enter the trap, however, and was last seen Wednesday night on the park’s east side, the jar wedged on its head over one ear.

“We attempted to locate a dart gun to tranquilize it, but it left the park,” said Naplin, who estimated the bear was about 2-years-old. “It was on the move.”

The next day, the bear was spotted at a Boy Scout camp on Many Point Lake about 15 miles southwest of the park. By then, the DNR had two wildlife and four enforcement officers looking for the animal.

The bear showed up next in Frazee, where conservation officers decided it needed to be killed to avoid conflicts with humans.

By then, the jar had slipped down over both of the bear’s ears.

“You don’t want it knocking over a kid or getting hit by a car,” Naplin said. “Showing up in Frazee escalated the urgency of dispatching it.”

Tags: Bear spray, bear pepper spray, camping safety, protection from bears, hiking safely, bear attacks, minnesota bear attacks

The following is a true story that was reported in the Minneapolis Star Tribune on Friday, May 25, 2007.

Article written by: Chao Xiong and Tim Harlow, Star Tribune staff writers.
Paraphrased by: Steve Lane, President of Self Defense Shop, http://www.laneselfdefense.com

In the middle of the night, some creature swiped at Jon Kenning’s face as he slept in a tent in Itasca State Park (home of the origin of the Mississippi river within the park’s boundaries and one of the larger state park’s within the State of Minnesota) early on Thursday morning and then the animal just disappeared. No one knows exactly what the creature was, as of this morning. Not even Kenning himself is sure what attacked him because he was deep asleep when he was attacked and everything just happened so fast. Kenning is in the process of recovering from 2-inch cuts to his face.

Jon Kenning is a 28-year-old native of Hutchinson, MN and reports that he was deep asleep when the attack occurred at around 2:13 a.m. Thursday morning. Kenning is a visiting assistant professor at Creighton University in Nebraska and was leading a group of 10 students on a two-day biology field course in the park in northwestern Minnesota, near Bemidji.

The self-described experienced camper said he didn’t see the animal in question and doesn’t know whether his students spotted it; the other students were camped roughly 10 yards from Kenning’s tent.

The animal batted Kenning around for a short time, causing a half-dozen “swipe” type cuts 2 inches long to his face that are consistent with some type of wild animal’s claw, the Clearwater County, MN sheriff said.

Department of Natural Resources officials said bear attacks in Minnesota are unusual.

Bear attacks can happen anywhere. The Sierra Club wants the Forest Service to require everyone who enters a national forest in grizzly bear country to carry bear spray. Spokeswoman Heidi Godwin said in a news release, “The proper use of bear pepper spray will reduce human injuries caused by bears, reduce the number of grizzly bears killed in self defense, and help promote the recovery and survival of the grizzly bear.”

We don’t necessarily approve of making new laws, but it does show how effective bear spray is against bears. Also, make sure that the spray you are using is registered with the EPA for use against bears. There is a special formula for this and ordinary pepper spray is not recommended.

There is usually a very good reason that campers enter into know bear territory, and it’s not because suicidal thoughts enter their heads! Campers want to be in touch with nature, and experience life the way Mother Nature intended, without some of the modern conveniences & luxuries that we have become accustomed to. By all means, I would encourage each and every one of you to go out there and experience “real” nature by camping in the back country yourselves. But, please do me a personal favor! Make sure you take precautions and be prepared (remember the Boy Scout motto?) for unimaginable. Bring along some Bear Pepper Spray to protect yourself and your loved ones from an unlikely, but possible, bear attack. If you don’t purchase your bear pepper spray from the Self Defense Shop at http://www.laneselfdefense.com , then PLEASE purchase it from someone else if you plan on camping in Bear Country. Hopefully, you will never need it. However, can you imagine how you would feel as your children are being attacked by a large grizzly bear and you think to yourself, “Wow, I guess that bear pepper spray really could have come in handy right now!” I’m not trying to joke around about what could be a very serious and tragic moment, but isn’t a $40 investment that will protect you and your loved ones for several years worth the piece of mind? I THINK THAT IT IS!

Guard Alaska ultra hot pepper spray has proven so effective repelling bears, it is the only one registered with the EPA as a repellent for ALL SPECIES of bear! It is absolutely the most effective and powerful bear defense spray available today. It is environmentally safe! Does not contain flammable or ozone depleting substances. The formula is scientifically proven superior, and endorsed by the Alaska Science & Technology Foundation. 260 grams. Range: Approximately 15-20 feet. Dimensions: 8-3/4” x 2” BR-9.

Order Guard Alaska Bear ultra hot pepper spray at: http://www.laneselfdefense.com/bearspray.htm

By the way, the local NBC television station here in the Twin Cities, KARE-11, reported this evening that it is now believed that Kenning was attacked by some type of Bobcat. Honestly, I don’t know for sure if bear pepper spray would be able to defend off a Bobcat, but I would imagine that if it’s effective against a grizzly bear, it should be effective against a Bobcat. In this unusual circumstance, however, I really don’t think that ANYTHING could have protected Kenning from his fate. It was just a freak accident and part of the price that we pay for experiencing Mother Nature and the “wilderness”…