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Originally Posted by bessiedog
I hate to call you out on it.... but I'd LOVE it if you'd direct me to these experts that say a Bowie knife is a must for bear defence.
Bush knives, like guns, do impart a bit of image projection for alot of outdoors types. I'd encourage you to carry that big knife for as long as you want in the bush...... It'll communicate alot about you, and eventually you'll learn about its usefulness...... which is little to none in my opinion.
Its like when I was young and figured a cast iron pan was an essential backpacking-back country hiking tool. It now resides at the bottom of the valley along the Goat Lake trail in Waterton. I can still hear the 'clank clank' of it careening down the mountain. Experience it an excellent teacher.
'Lions and tigers and bears.. oh my', is a great marketing tool to sell stuff. Having said that Bear spray is your best bet.
Take the advice of the majority here. Leatherman and a small fixed blade or folding blade.
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There's a guy named James Gary Shelton in BC who's written a few books on the subject.
And yes, it crossed my mind that he's just vilainizing bears to sell books. Nonetheless he seems to have the respect of some people so I'll give him the benefit of a doubt.
If I ever do encounter a bear the first thing I'm gonna do is calmly walk away and failing that I'll use the bear spray. But if that doesn't work (there's some debate about that) or if the wind is blowing in my face and assuming I have a whole second to make the choice then I might be glad to have a knife with me as well.
Not sure yet if I'll get the Bowie or a smaller tactical knife, I'll check out a few at Bass Pro this weekend.