There is plenty of misdirection from the other side of the bear argument, despite their efforts to appear to be purely data driven.

- Cardiovascular disease is listed as more deadly than bear attacks. True enough. But people are subject to disease 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, every year of their lives. All Americans are subject to cardiovascular disease, but only a tiny minority are exposed to bears. What is the exposure time to bear country, even by hardcore hunters in Montana? 5 days a year? 3 days a month? But when you ARE exposed, there is a nontrivial risk. Comparing bear attack rates with disease rates, without a corresponding correction for the difference in exposed population, is a slight of hand trick.

- Slips/trips/falls are certainly more common than bear attacks. But beyond a risk's frequency, you must also assess its impact. If I slip on the trail, it's likely not a big deal. If a griz comes up on my elk kill, won't you agree that the stakes are far higher?

- The article lists DEATHS by bear attack per year. But you can have your life ruined without dying. In between the two extremes of "I was unscathed" and "I died", there is a very wide spectrum of "I was mauled and my life will never be the same, physically and emotionally".

- "A cruise into any outdoors related online forum and there will be hundreds upon hundreds of threads about bear attacks, bear defense weapons or bear defense strategy for every fatality." Really? There are HUNDREDS of threads on ANY outdoors forum about bear attacks? Hyperbole much? That's a bad look for a supposedly rational and data driven author.

I've spent 4 seasons in Montana and Wyoming during the bears' hyperphagic phase, where they are especially assertive about food and space before the onset of winter. I practice all the bear-aware methods and have still found myself within 20 meters of a huge griz. We managed to exit safely. But part of my toolset was a can of bear spray on every member of the party, prior live fire practice with the spray, and an effective firearm that I am expert with. It's not a guarantee but I won't operate in that environment without those tools.

And I'm not wrong for making that choice.