Faqs

Unfortunately, no. Your average can of bear spray only has a few crucial seconds of life-saving spray; our Mace brand bear spray has 9 seconds. Each test spray takes away from that precious time and jeopardizes our customer’s safety. For this reason, spraying the canister in ANY way, even as a little test, will cause our machines to read it as un-rentable. Any cans you return that has been sprayed will be charged the discharge rate of $55*.

*$55 is the MOST you will pay per item rental that is returned discharged. The $55 is NOT added on top of the rental fee.

Yes! Our bear spray approved by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), so it is allowed into Canada if you are driving across the border.

** It’s your responsibility to familiarize yourself with the bear spray laws for the specific area of Canada you’ll be in.

Unless you’re Chuck Norris and can stare a bear into submission, you ABSOLUTELY should protect yourself from even the slightest possibility of an attack. No defense is no option.

Bear spray is 98% effective at deterring disorderly bears. It’s sooo effective, that you have better odds of winning the lottery than you do of getting injured, let alone killed.

Buying bear spray is more expensive, illegal to fly with (even in your checked luggage), and it expires every 3-4 years. Renting bear spray saves you money and helps save the environment. It’s a win-win.

As for safety, we have worked tirelessly to create a machine that removes the chance for human error in rentals. Bear Spray Shack’s rental machines check a can’s reusability with several advanced checks and utilizes a bit of proprietary technology that no one else on the market does. (but shhhh… don’t let them find out). Renting a can of bear spray through the Shack is not only safe, but vastly less expensive, and comes with a smaller carbon footprint for the ecosystem.

32°F-120°F is the recommended temp range for bear repellent, but heat/cold beyond that range doesn’t affect the spray formula. Below 32°F the can’s pressure drops and the range you can spray the bear spray is reduced. Above 120°F and you run the risk of the bear spray discharging on its own from can’s pressure getting too high. Our supplier Mace recommends that its bear spray be stored in cool dry areas away from heat, flames, or strong sunlight.

**Never keep your bear spray in your car during warm weather…EVER**

How many of you want to make it out alive? In all seriousness, the BEST answer is one per person. Everyone needs to be able to sling some BS within a moment’s notice. If you’re not a “best answers” kinda person (no judgment), then we recommend a bear minimum of 2 cans per group, and we count as few as 2 people a group. You should add more if you think your group might split up, spread out along the trail, or you know you have someone who will need to visit the trees more than usual.

Each of our cans has a wonderfully integrated belt clip that might not go with your OOTD* but just might save your life. We recommend using it on your belt if you have one or on an easily accessible backpack strap. NEVER put bear spray INSIDE your pack. Bears aren’t going to wait patiently for you to dig through your snacks and puffy coat to get to your BS at the bottom of your pack.

*Outfit of the day

Most of our Shacks are located where it gets pretty cold in the winter. Bears like to sleep off that cold, and our hard-working machines also need to sleep it off.

We accept US and Canadian Driver Licenses, US State IDs, Canadian Provincial IDs, US Military IDs, Passports, or Passport Cards.

Samsung Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Visa, Amex, Discover, and Mastercard are all accepted at the Shack.