Good points, maarty.
I think that most people, and this thread is no exception, tend to oversimplify bear behavior and the dynamics of aggressive bear encounters.
I've a lot of experience in bear encounters, some 30+ encounters inside 40 yards, which is a lot if you're not a bear biologist or frequent bear hunter. These have been something like 3 to 1 grizzly encounters, since most of my backcountry ramblings have been in grizzly country rather than black bear country. I have been bluff-charged twice and stalked/hunted once; I've had bears completely ignore me, others have growled and bristled, others have looked at me with varying degrees of apparent curiosity and then either continued about their business or moved away in a non-threatening manner. I don't claim to be a bear expert, but based on the wide variety of bear behaviors that I've personally observed, I'd say it's pretty difficult to say what exactly is a "typical" bear encounter.
As I've posted earlier and on other threads, Herrero's book is a good general reference, and Gary Shelton's "Bear Attacks" books are outstanding learning tools which take into account the more recent developments in bear behavior, use of pepper spray, and so forth.
I would STRONGLY urge anyone concerned about what to carry for defense in bear country to read these books. After reading them, I think it will be a lot easier to separate the useful replies in a thread like this from the opinionated ramblings of the ill-informed.
