Anyone use Bear Spray past 4 Years?

[midwesterncrosshair]

Does Bear Spray Expire? Here Is The Truth

Most bear spray canisters will carry an expiration date label stamped on them, typically their shelf life is 3-4 years.

www.bushcraftpro.com

I have bought a new can a bear spray for Montana trips the past. The year I have bought them the expiration said it would expire within the year I purchased them. After reading this article I realized I have made some donations with my 5 cans sitting in storage in the past 6 years. Not sure why I have kept them if they are expired. But does anyone carry a can past 4 years?

 

[Tradewind]

My sidearm doesn't lose effectiveness as time marches on

 

[wyoboypt]

I had a can a buddy gave me years ago before I was married. For the heck of it I tried it out last year (been married 9 years, the can is easily 12 years + old) it took an extra second to start spraying, it sprayed about 15 feet or so. I was shocked and stopped spraying in case I needed it. I have it somewhere. Will check the expiration date when I find it again.

 

[trb]

I test fired a 7 year old expired can last year. It still worked but the material seemed a bit drier than it should have been, and as a result seemed to shoot a shorter distance, maybe 10-15 feet, than I have seen a new one shoot. I am completely guessing but I think this probably has to do with how it was stored, as it was on a garage that fluctuated hot and cold a lot. If it were stored on a cool dark spot like a basement, I'd guess they work just as well long after the expiration date.

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

We tested one at home that expired in 99 I think, so at the time it would have been 12 years expired or so.

Shot fine as far as we could tell. Maybe it wasn't as far as normal, but I wasn't standing on the receiving end with a tape measures.... As far as we could tell it looked like it was would still work, and we got a whif of the spray and it was still potent...

 

[Salmonchaser]

Yep, still worked. Gave him a good blast, figured out the can was expired by a couple years when I went to replace it.

 

[Tradewind]

Yep, still worked. Gave him a good blast, figured out the can was expired by a couple years when I went to replace it.

Any difference in brands, that you know of? Buy at the shop told me counter assault was the one I wanted

 

[Salmonchaser]

I’ve used counter assault and one other brand ( the name I cant come up with at the moment) a total of three times. No appreciable difference. Our lodge, all the guides added together have about 15 applications over the last 10 years.
We get most of our supply from guests who managed to get it past TSA In the lower 48 and the find out the can’t take it home.

 

[Kaitum]

Any difference in brands, that you know of? Buy at the shop told me counter assault was the one I wanted

Counter Assault and UDAP are the two most common brands on the market. I've used both for hazing bears, no preference for one over the other.

 

[Salmonchaser]

Sucks getting old, UDAP is the other I’ve used.

 

[brockel]

Pretty cheap insurance to just replace yearly

 

[N_8]

I don't know the exact years of expiration but we routinely use expired cans for training and practice. I've never seen one not go off. I did have an old can rust around the nozzle and break off as i was pushing through brush. That was unpleasant.

 

[sbhooper]

I had a talk with a hot shot neurologist in Cody, Wyoming, one time over a couple beers. He said that past three years, the stuff is no good. After three years, give it to someone that needs protection from humans. It works well for that, as my kid found out one time.

 

[Bambistew]

We buy a fair amount of spray for work and fun. I toss them all after the expiration date. I've fired off some that were old, and they barely spray, or its very week and doesn't last long. I think they loose their propellant, not sure on their effectiveness. YMMV, but for $20, I'll take a new can.

 

[midwesterncrosshair]

but for $20, I'll take a new can.

I found that to be the normal price after buying my first... got hosed for a $75 can

 

[Bambistew]

I found that to be the normal price after buying my first... got hosed for a $75 can

Costco sells them here in a 2 pack for $40. I've always wondered what happens to all the cans the tourists buy each summer and can't take home. Must be thousands...

 

[trb]

Costco sells them here in a 2 pack for $40. I've always wondered what happens to all the cans the tourists buy each summer and can't take home. Must be thousands...

A buddy of mine is a park service ranger in Yellowstone. He showed me a closet with several Costco sized boxes of spray that tourists turned in before flying home. I couldn't help but imagine the complete shitshow that would ensue if some sort of cartoonish chain reaction were set off in that room.

I worked as a seasonal cook in Yellowstone when I was 18, and when opening for the spring, the outdoors/clothing store next door to us in Canyon City had one burst while unpacking their stuff. It had to shut down for 2 days while they cleaned and had to throw away half their inventory of clothing. I always thought they should have just marked up the prices and marketed it as bear deterrent clothing.

 

[406dn]

We buy a fair amount of spray for work and fun. I toss them all after the expiration date. I've fired off some that were old, and they barely spray, or its very week and doesn't last long. I think they loose their propellant, not sure on their effectiveness. YMMV, but for $20, I'll take a new can.

I asked a factory rep for Counter Assault and that is exactly what he told me about the expiration date. The pepper is still good, the seals holding in the propellent leak ever so slowly over time. Not unlike every now and then you have to add air to a tire.

 

[sbhooper]

A friend of mine in Cody, Wyoming, has a little guest ranch. He always has cans in the cupboard, from his clients that go to Yellowstone etc.

 

[406dn]

Since we are talking bear spray. Another thing I learned from the factory rep was that in order for the propellent to work well, the canister has to be about 50 degrees Fahrenheit or warmer,,,well not lay it on the dashboard warm.

I suspect pretty strongly that the propellent is iso butane. The vapor pressure at 50 degrees would be 35ish psi. At 80 degrees it would be around 60psi. Before my conversation with him I never gave that a thought. I routinely hung a canister on the saddle of my horse,, right in easy reach. Now I put it in a holster that is inside my coat.