Sea Kayaks Techniques Bulletin Board

That sounds like your testosterone talking

Posted By: Brian Nystrom
Date: Friday, 10 December 2004, at 10:12 a.m.

In Response To: Re: Reentries (Robert N Pruden)

: The blade is long enough to penetrate the heart. If we're both pissed off
: then the trophy goes to the one who loses.

Yeah, right. Have you ever tried stabbing that knife into a carcass? Buy a rack of ribs sometime and see how effectively you can stab through them at random angles. Now imagine doing that in close quarters with a several hundred pound animal crushing you. You'd be lucky to inflict a fleshwound.

: Guns fail, too! I prefer to keep my options open.

Are you serious? There's an old saying "Never bring a knife to a gunfight." Trying to fight an animal that's several times your weight and strength, and which possesses claws that can disembowel you with one swipe and teeth that can pentrate your skull with ease is pretty pointless with anything less than a firearm. If all you have is a knife and you choose to fight, you will die. The backcountry isn't Hollywood.

: I disagree. There are two sides to the story and the one I tend to relate
: better to is to fight. I've read plenty of stories about bear attacks up
: here where two people were hunting, one was attacked and the other fought
: off the bear with sticks and stones.

A handful of anecdotes proves nothing other than the bears were not determined enough to pursue the attack. While it's sometimes better to be lucky than smart, research says that the odds are against you if you fight back. You're not dealing with human attackers who may think about their own safety and back down. You're dealing with an overpowering animal acting on instinct. Particularly if you're dealing with a sow protecting cubs, your knife is not going to be very intimidating.

BTW, what kind of bear was involved in the attack. It's one thing if it's a 200-300# black bear, quite another if one of the larger species.

: I tend to remain calm in difficult
: situations, I'd like to be calm and carry a big stick and knife if I can.

Uh, yeah, I'd like to see anyone remain calm when attacked by a grizzly.

: My solo cross-Canada trip does not take me through Disneyland, it takes me
: through land where bears reign free and people tread carefully around
: them. Careful treading done, people still die from bear attacks.

Right.

: If I get killed by a bear, that bear will hurt when it's over. I'm pretty
: adamant about this subject, especially having been through this discussion
: before.

Sorry, but this sounds like nothing more than a bunch of macho posturing and wishful thinking. I could say that I KNOW that if I was attacked by a shark while kayaking, I'd bash it on the beak and poke it in the eyes, but the truth is that I have no idea how I'd react. You can tell yourself anything you want, but the truth is that you have no idea how you'll actually react to a bear attack, particularly if it comes as a surprise.

: My line of defense while up north doing my solo trip will be this: bangers
: first, then gun, then knife. Needless to say, I won't have time to do all
: three do I have to decide quickly. This arguement is purely hypothetical
: since the odds of meeting a bear that wants me for dinner is kinda low
: until I get into polar bear country.

Ah, now you've hit on the truth. This entire discussion is purely hypothetical.

: The size of teh knife doesn't bother
: me one iota, it weighs a few ounces, doesn't get in my way because I keep
: it outta the way most of the time. You are right, I don't have to carry it
: on my pfd under normal circumstances and I don't. I keep it in the cockpit
: in my storage compartment when I think I will be in bear country.

Now you're talking.

: Bears
: can swim and run across rivers at very fast speeds. I watched a black
: sprint across the Jasper to Edmonton highway at top speed, something like
: 40-km/hr. It hit the Athabasca River on the south side of the highway at
: maximum speed and kept up that speed until it was on the other side. They
: move quickly, polar bears faster.

Yup. People don't stand a chance against them if they're determined to get you.

Messages In This Thread

Ditch Kit Contents Ideas For Long Kayaking Trips *LINK*
Robert N Pruden -- Sunday, 28 November 2004, at 7:29 p.m.

Re: Ditch Kit Contents Ideas THANK YOU
Magoo_ns -- Saturday, 4 December 2004, at 12:06 p.m.

Reentries
Robert N Pruden -- Saturday, 4 December 2004, at 7:29 p.m.

Re: Reentries
Brian Nystrom -- Monday, 6 December 2004, at 8:22 a.m.

Re: Reentries
Robert N Pruden -- Tuesday, 7 December 2004, at 6:35 a.m.

Re: Reentries
Alan -- Tuesday, 7 December 2004, at 10:29 a.m.

Re: Reentries
FrankP -- Tuesday, 7 December 2004, at 2:22 p.m.

Agreed!
Robert N Pruden -- Thursday, 9 December 2004, at 10:22 p.m.

Re: Agreed!
Ed Hopkins -- Saturday, 11 December 2004, at 12:56 p.m.

Re: Agreed!
Robert N Pruden -- Monday, 13 December 2004, at 1:02 p.m.

Re: Reentries
Brian Nystrom -- Wednesday, 8 December 2004, at 10:44 a.m.

Re: Reentries *LINK*
FrankP -- Thursday, 9 December 2004, at 8:31 a.m.

Re: Reentries
Brian Nystrom -- Thursday, 9 December 2004, at 10:37 a.m.

Re: Reentries
Robert N Pruden -- Thursday, 9 December 2004, at 10:53 p.m.

Re: Reentries
Robert N Pruden -- Thursday, 9 December 2004, at 10:34 p.m.

That sounds like your testosterone talking
Brian Nystrom -- Friday, 10 December 2004, at 10:12 a.m.

Re: That sounds like your testosterone talking
Bert -- Friday, 10 December 2004, at 1:59 p.m.

Re: Esoterica
sing -- Friday, 10 December 2004, at 6:09 p.m.

IMO, the issue isn't the weapon...
Brian Nystrom -- Saturday, 11 December 2004, at 8:07 a.m.

Sounds like your inexperience talking, Bryan
Robert N Pruden -- Friday, 10 December 2004, at 8:26 p.m.

Re: inexperience talks, experience walks
Alan -- Friday, 10 December 2004, at 10:53 p.m.

Re: inexperience talks, experience walks
Robert N Pruden -- Saturday, 11 December 2004, at 2:22 p.m.

Not quite
Brian Nystrom -- Saturday, 11 December 2004, at 8:25 a.m.

Re: Not quite
Robert N Pruden -- Saturday, 11 December 2004, at 2:30 p.m.

The panic reaction and a bear story
Pamela -- Sunday, 12 December 2004, at 4:37 p.m.

Re: The panic reaction and a bear story
sing -- Monday, 13 December 2004, at 5:48 a.m.

Re: The panic reaction and a bear story
Will -- Monday, 13 December 2004, at 10:55 a.m.

Re: The panic reaction and a bear story
sing -- Monday, 13 December 2004, at 11:16 a.m.

BINGO! That's exactly it, Sing
Robert N Pruden -- Monday, 13 December 2004, at 12:57 p.m.

Guess I've been underestimating the pig threat *NM*
Mike Scarborough -- Tuesday, 14 December 2004, at 9:55 a.m.

The Flow of Forces
Robert N Pruden -- Monday, 13 December 2004, at 12:46 p.m.

One final note on ditch kits
Robert N Pruden -- Saturday, 11 December 2004, at 3:37 p.m.

Re: One final note on ditch kits
Alan -- Saturday, 11 December 2004, at 5:08 p.m.

question for Alan
Don Flowers -- Monday, 13 December 2004, at 11:11 a.m.

Re: question for Alan
Alan -- Monday, 13 December 2004, at 11:24 a.m.

Re: question for Alan
Don Flowers -- Monday, 13 December 2004, at 2:20 p.m.

Re: question for Alan
Alan -- Monday, 13 December 2004, at 2:27 p.m.

Re: question for Alan
shawn baker -- Wednesday, 15 December 2004, at 3:38 p.m.

Re: One final note on ditch kits
Will -- Saturday, 11 December 2004, at 9:46 p.m.

Re: ditch kits and Bears
Paul Jacob -- Monday, 13 December 2004, at 12:46 p.m.

I'll use it for a sweetgrass ceremony
Robert N Pruden -- Monday, 13 December 2004, at 1:05 p.m.

Re: One final note on ditch kits *LINK*
KenC -- Monday, 13 December 2004, at 11:57 p.m.

Thanks for the link, the rad was totally rivetting
Robert N Pruden -- Tuesday, 14 December 2004, at 11:28 a.m.

Re: One final note on ditch kits *Pic*
Bob Kelim -- Tuesday, 14 December 2004, at 8:35 a.m.

Re: One final note on ditch kits
Robert N Pruden -- Tuesday, 14 December 2004, at 11:31 a.m.

Re: One final note on ditch kits
Bob Kelim -- Tuesday, 14 December 2004, at 1:08 p.m.

Re: One final note on ditch kits
Robert N Pruden -- Tuesday, 14 December 2004, at 3:24 p.m.

Re: guns not for bears
shawn baker -- Tuesday, 14 December 2004, at 3:41 p.m.

Re: guns not for bears
Don Flowers -- Tuesday, 14 December 2004, at 5:30 p.m.

Re: guns not for bears
shawn baker -- Wednesday, 15 December 2004, at 3:33 p.m.

Re: guns not for bears
don flowers -- Wednesday, 15 December 2004, at 11:41 p.m.

Re: guns not for bears
Bob Kelim -- Wednesday, 15 December 2004, at 9:10 p.m.

Re: guns not for bears
Robert N Pruden -- Tuesday, 14 December 2004, at 6:19 p.m.

Re: guns not for bears
Alan -- Tuesday, 14 December 2004, at 7:40 p.m.

Re: One final note on ditch kits
KenC -- Tuesday, 14 December 2004, at 11:47 p.m.

Agreed
Brian Nystrom -- Wednesday, 15 December 2004, at 11:54 a.m.

Duct Tape *NM*
Don Flowers -- Wednesday, 15 December 2004, at 2:56 p.m.

The problem with that is...
Brian Nystrom -- Thursday, 16 December 2004, at 8:29 a.m.

Re: One final note on ditch kits
sing -- Tuesday, 14 December 2004, at 1:15 p.m.

Bush Whacking Blade
Robert N Pruden -- Tuesday, 14 December 2004, at 3:30 p.m.

Re: Bush Whacking Blade
sing -- Tuesday, 14 December 2004, at 3:54 p.m.

Re: One Final Bear Story
Will -- Tuesday, 14 December 2004, at 7:43 p.m.

What a thread!
Thomas Duncan -- Thursday, 16 December 2004, at 8:46 p.m.

VCP Igloo *LINK*
Nelson Labbé -- Friday, 17 December 2004, at 7:22 a.m.

Re: VCP Igloo *NM*
Thomas Duncan -- Friday, 17 December 2004, at 7:34 a.m.

Re: VCP Igloo Alternative
Evan Shaw -- Friday, 17 December 2004, at 9:35 a.m.

Another VCP Igloo Alternative... *LINK* *Pic*
Brian Nystrom -- Friday, 17 December 2004, at 5:49 p.m.

Re: Another VCP Igloo Alternative. yes it works!
Evan Shaw -- Friday, 17 December 2004, at 7:43 p.m.

Looks like a beached walarus but...
Robert N Pruden -- Saturday, 18 December 2004, at 1:30 p.m.

It looks better in red. *NM*
Brian Nystrom -- Sunday, 19 December 2004, at 8:39 a.m.

One way I used my knife was to clear an area
Robert N Pruden -- Friday, 17 December 2004, at 11:53 a.m.

Re: One way I used my knife was to clear an area
Pete -- Friday, 17 December 2004, at 1:51 p.m.

Re: What a thread!
Will -- Monday, 20 December 2004, at 12:48 p.m.

Big Knives revisited: Entymological Discovery... *LINK*
Robert N Pruden -- Thursday, 6 January 2005, at 9:51 p.m.

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