Bear spray in tent?

I always sleep with my bear spray in my tent within easy reach. Just make sure you don't accidentally set it off. It's very nasty stuff.
An appropriately hung bear bag and following all the "bear wise " precautions should serve you well.  If all esle fails, just run slower than your son.

 www.parkreports.com/parksblog/are-you-bear-wise/ 

www.americanbear.org/awareness/camping-hiking.html

www.centerforwildlifeinformation.org/BeBearAware/Hiking_and_Camping/hiking_and_camping.html


or if you want a whole lot of information and good reading:


www.amazon.com/Bear-Attacks-Causes-Avoidance-revised/dp/158574557X


Sleep well.

I keep it handy in the tent. Being highly pressurized, it should not leak "unnoticed".

Sure a can in the tent won't be an issue BUT do NOT trigger the can inside the tent, ever! That powerful a chemical in such a confined space and the irritation:damage to everyone's lungs would be very serious.

First thing is follow the local rules about food storage, known
In the west as "smellables" since more than simple food needs to be properly stored as mentioned above. Canisters are so much easier than hangs for beginners that if you're not camping at designated sites where they provide steel storage lockers I'd suggest just renting a canister: far simpler.

Black bears don't see people as either food or prey: they eat berries, grass, insects and such. In places with careless backpackers or homeowners they DO associate people WITH food, so these intelligent animals come check out where they know people go, like campsites, to see if there's any of our tasty food available. They're often easily frightened by noise so airhorn, very loud yelling etc. and they run.

Have you seen the viral video of the 20lb French bulldog chasing two bears off "his" patio? Lots of loud barking....

Bears learn from the mom and local skills differ. So how the Bears will behave does very much depend on where you're going. Plus in some locales bear spray is illegal as its more of an unnecessary weapon than a useful defense against the particular local bears. Subject to change: Grest Smoky Mountain used to ban its possession and now does not. Yosemite still does ban it.
Oh and triple check there is NO food, or any other smellable attractant brought into the tent. The bear won't be attacking you (because they just don't) if one tries to get at what it smells inside the tent, but for an animal powerful enough to peel open a car door (though some know how to use the latch correctly, clever) in the confusion of scared people and flapping tent fabric mistakes can happen and than can mean people get hurt. Like in Yosemite where one child was killed, the deer kicked out without any intent when the child's mom scared it by placing the child too close for a photo. . That, by the way, is the only fatality in the park from ANY animal. Which is probably why they ban bear spray.



Good advice here: www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/bearcanisters.htm

Are there a lot of bear attacks in your area? Do you know anybody who's been attacked? Do the local park/forest authorities know anybody who's been attacked. Where did you hear that a bear outside your tent means he wants to come in and eat you?

I don't think your emotions align with reality. There are very few bear attacks in the U.S. and they usually get press. I camp where there are a lot of bears and they don't bother me (except the one in Yosemite where they are trained to bother hikers). If I heard a bear outside my tent (which I never have in hundreds of nights backpacking), I'd tell my kid, "Check it out! There's a bear in our camp!" and it would be a great memory.

The problem bears are where there are too many careless people leaving food & trash for them to get at easily. Wilderness bears don't associate people with food. You are much more likely to have bear problems car camping because of all the people & trash.


This doesn't really happen to backpackers, but here's what I say. Nudge it back. Tell it to go home. Show it how tall you are. And if all else fails, poke it in the eye with a trekking pole.

But I think you are asking for an answer to a non-problem.

EVERY loud noise outside my tent in decades of Sierra travel has been either deer (they are rather heavy footed and when they chew manzanita they are noisy eaters) or little brown birds messing in the ground clutter.

  Yes, you can keep it in your tent but, as hikerjer stated, be careful.  It IS nasty stuff and I have had the unfortunate luck to have been on the wrong end of it which I wrote about in these forums years ago. 
  I still carry bear spray for all large predators, including humans, but fortunately haven't had to use it..................yet.

I think you may have misunderstood 92hatchattack's intent with that message. It seems to me he was admitting that the actual odds of being attacked are very small.