Did you review all the foods she was eating get her tested for allergies against them all, have someone standing by if she choked on an apple?
Food kills more people in the USA every year then bears...
I bet you didn't so I could call you irrational... the stats are clear.
As a matter of fact most people are more likely to choke on the food they take with them on a hike then get killed by a bear on same hike...
Rational thought is only rational till someone points out how its not...
Mother wants the local shooting range shut down because its a danger to her kids?
Rational until one points out more kids die from the drain cleaner under her kitchen sink then get hit by stay bullets from gun ranges.
Safety measures in airplanes like reinforced seating attachments for crashes actually saving your life is lower then the chances of surviving a predatory bear attack... oddly they are still included on airplanes despite increasing weight and fuel costs and cost for the consumer.
Rational?
Insurance... insurance companies make money because they take more in then they return though claims...
The average person could simply save the same amount they would pay to an insurance company every month into a bank account and be better off for it.
Insurance as an actual policy holder is irrational, the chances you will be one of the few to ever actually take more money in claims then you pay in policy costs is exceptionally low.
Despite people such as you trying to make the strawmen argument about thinking a knife is a good sole option and nothing else hence idiot..... not once was that suggested by anyone, only implied by people doing exactly what you did... Twisting the argument to make it seem absurd.
"In short, what knife should I take as a defence against wild critters makes as much sense as tampon or toothbrush as a personal buoyancy aid for my pending boating trip?. "
Since examples exist where a knife has been used to drive bears off(one used a swiss army knife), while no examples I could find where a toothbrush or tampon was used as buoyancy aid... it would appear it does actually make far more sense.
Also I don't claim to be a Paragon of Maturity, yet...
The argument that one needs to belittle other peoples point of view because kids will read the forum is seriously flawed, should we not teach children to argue in a constructive and non insulting manner?
Not
"Nerr Nerr Nerrr Nerrr you tosser! I WIN!, See kiddies that's how adults do it!"
As I said previously simply having a knife if all else fails offers an avenue of thought and option that's aggressive in nature... and that does seem to be more important then anything else to surviving a predatory animal attack.
I heard a joke once... it went something like this.
Why are Humans so nasty?
Because all the nice humans got eaten by lions tigers crocodiles and bears.
The nasty humans ate the lions tigers crocodiles and bears.
It has more truth to it then the easy life we live today would suggest, majority of survivors from predatory animal attacks all have a common mentality that can be simply summed up as unyielding.
I would really love to hear how awesome bearspray is and how its still more effective then a knife when its not deployed because the bear smacked it out of your hand/off your belt or damaged the cap so it cant spray.
Fun fact, the Statistics showing Pepperspray is more effective against bears then guns are bullshit... as in no references have ever been provided by those CLAIMING bear spray is more effective, only the statement it is.
Actual real world stats show a hunter carrying a rifle is better off using the rifle then trying to grab bearspray and deploy it if they startle the bear and it charges while hunting.
"A 2006 report by Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team leader Chuck Schwartz made it perfectly clear that when a big game hunter holding a rifle surprises a nearby grizzly and gets charged, firearms are the only option. Schwartz reviewed 68 grizzly bear deaths in the Yellowstone region from 1992 to 2004. On 24 occasions, hunters and bears startled each other and the bears charged. "Time and again," Schwartz told the Casper Star Tribune, "hunters said it happened so fast that when they shot, the bear fell right at their feet."
If people want to just take bearspray and nothing else despite the fact that some of the bearspray effectiveness "studies" have no actual reference data and its not even been released when requested by independent third parties to investigate...
Go right ahead.
Nothing sus there...
Yeah, belittling someone with a
rational concern would be a bit cold. In the context of this thread though how are we to define
rational concern? Further, supposing we could conclude there is a rational concern, what of an
irrational response to the concern? It is that right there that is open to pillory.
It may be possible to conclude that a Breatharian is motivated by rational concerns, yet it is not that which we point and laugh at, it is their response them that we do. Likewise, having a rational concern about the bears at a place one is going to is smart. It is the response to that concern that says; I'm going to take a big ole knife, that's the bit that evokes a chuckle. It would be an abrogation of responsibility to not belittle that. Kids read this forum.
About three years ago my woman crossed to the States for a holiday for about a month. One of they key things she wanted to do while she was there was see brown bears. I had some concerns because I could not be there. I mitigated them by making damn sure she went out looking for them with someone that knew what the hell they were doing. From what I can gather it was with a couple of blokes like Mike [mtwarden on here], professionals. I was unperturbed and knew she'd have a great time. What would have made for a rissole puckering nightmare month would have been to know she was out with a couple of clowns; We don't have no stinkin' bear spray here. We don't do statistics. When we go out where the bears are we take our katanas.
Yeah, Hirraro's work does give cause for mild concern. A proper perspective on that does demonstrate that five* as many people a year have died through domestic dog bites in the US, but it's a grim ending. Likewise, an article in the Journal of Emergency Medicine shows that over an 85yr period an average of 2 people a year suffered bear related injuries. That's not much but she was going looking for them, and after all humans did evolve as a prey species so they are disposed to worry. On that, despite the maths, I had mild concerns. She did too. It amplified the excitement of the trip.
How do we pull all this together though? You went somewhere, and unless you are ESN, you evaluated the risks and the stuff you might need to take. If you go out in a boat and have a brain that works, you can look at research into lifejackets. It's not like a scenario of some extremely obscure instance of falling in water and debating which trousers make the best kind of floatation device. If you are in a boat and are down to that because you didn't take a lifejacket then it is extremely likely that you are a moron that had no business being there. People should be ripping the piss out of you [bit like a Bobo Doll and hitting it is what you are for].
In short, what knife should I take as a defence against wild critters makes as much sense as
tampon or toothbrush as a personal buoyancy aid for my pending boating trip?.
..
http://dumpt.com/img/files/xt22yuaxq8ug6krskgko.jpg
