Ghostrider Equipment Kermode

I wanted to carry bear spray on my recent tour through grizz country. A stem bag, such as the imitable Revelate Mountain Feedbag works well for this, but the two stem bags that are always part of my touring luggage system are already used for other purposes. There’s a number of people out there selling solutions to the problem of how to carry bear spray on a bicycle. I looked at all the ones I could find online, and chose the Ghostrider Equipment Kermode.

Ghostrider offers their holster in a direct mount option, where it attaches to standard bottle cage bosses. This would require giving up a bottle cage, which is unappealing to me. They also offer a universal mount option, which just includes two Voile Nano straps. I bought the universal option so that I could mount the holster any place I could dream up. I ended up strapping it down near the top of the down tube, canted to the right-hand side. This did not interfere with any of the other equipment that gets attached to my bike in touring mode, and allowed for a quick and easy draw. The position also did not interfere with drawing my bottle to the right-hand side from its down tube cage.

The holster worked out great. It carried an 8.1 oz can of Counter Assault bear seasoning perfectly. No rattling or moving around, yet easy to pop out with minimal effort.

Ghostrider includes an extra retention strap that can wrap around the can. Its use is optional, and mostly for peace of mind when flying down rocky trail. I kept it on while I was riding. For me, carrying the bear spray was mostly about having it in camp. I wanted the can to be accessible all the time, but I didn’t think it likely that I would have an argument with a bear while riding down the highway. I decided that the extra motion required to unhook the retention strap was acceptable. But an important factor in this decision was that I knew that if I did not keep that strap secured, I would never see it again.

This is my one complaint about the holster. Neither end of the retention strap is well secured to the holster itself. Both are just pulled over open hooks that are molded into the holster. When using the strap to wrap around a can, the tension keeps it in place. But when you flick off one end to release the can, the other end of the strap can easily fall off. Losing it eventually is pretty much guaranteed if you don’t keep both ends hooked. And it is some sort of proprietary doohickey, not something you can easily replace. I like that the strap can be completely removed, but I’d also like to be able to attach just one end and trust that it’ll still be there when next I look down. I also think it could work just as well if it was simply a piece of shock cord, which could be easily replaced if the user does misplace (or break) it.

This complaint is minor, as the holster does hold the can securely enough for my riding even without the extra strap. It is an excellent solution to the problem of carrying bear spray on a bike.