What Pepper Spray Is Right For You?
What pepper spray is right for you?
Many people think about what would happen if they were attacked
when they go out. By going out it could mean shopping, parties,
work, school, or anywhere outside your home. What about inside
your home too? Would you follow a natural instinct for your
defense or freeze on the spot? Would the natural instinct be the
right move? These are all questions that need to be answered in
a world that is becoming more hostile all the time.
Crime is actually on the rise in some cities according to
different recent news reports. The crime on the rise is not
always committed by the usual addict or over imbiber, but by
people we already know. Usually by relatives or close friends.
So, what pepper spray would be right for you? A little history
on pepper spray may help. Pepper spray comes in many different
shaped containers, sizes, and several different strengths.
Pepper spray can be an effective deterrent to attackers if a
person keeps their head and thinks about what to do. Some spray
anywhere from 8 to 20 feet, depending on the model, and have an
effect that lasts from 30 to 45 minutes. Remember that pepper
spray must be tested regularly to determine if it still works.
Pepper spray will not lose its effectiveness, but the container
may leak out the pressure over a period of time. Most pepper
sprays have an active shelf life from 4 to 6 years.
One thing to think about is, "how "hot" is the pepper spray that
hits the attacker?" Pepper spray OC is a derivative of Cayenne
peppers. It is pure, non-toxic and non-flammable. Pepper spray
is not an irritant like tear gas, but an inflammatory agent.
When it makes contact with the nose, eyes, mouth, lungs, and
skin it causes an immediate dilation of the capillaries, but
does not stop life sustaining breathing. It does cause temporary
blindness and constricted breathing and can put an attacker to
his/her knees. So, we go back to the question, "how "hot" is the
pepper spray that hits the attacker?"
Pepper spray has been measured as a percentage of OC in the
active and inactive ingredients of the spray and the Scoville
Heat Unit (SHU) of the particular spray. In marketing the
effectiveness of pepper spray, some manufacturers stress the OC
rating, others stress the SHU as how "hot" their spray is, yet
others use both to market their sprays. The range of percentages
on the market today is 10% to 17% OC and/or a SHU could be up to
5,300,000 heat units. What is the actual percentage of OC and/or
heat units that is in the spray to affect the attacker? If you
do your research you will learn from various sources that the
SHU of pepper range from 0, like green bell peppers, to the
actual 16,000,000 of a Cayenne pepper in pure form. Everything
is diluted.
The only true way to measure a spray's potency is to measure it
AFTER it leaves the nozzle. I believe that an educated consumer
is a wise consumer. What you buy for your personal self-defense
and the self-defense of your family is a major concern requiring
research and an important decision. The safety of you, your
friends, and family is at stake.
So, the question now looks like this. What is the "quality &
effectiveness" of your OC pepper spray vs. "quality and
effectiveness" claimed?
90% of the pepper sprays on the market claim an unrealistic,
false and/or unsubstantiated "true" heat rating. The math you
use for this is very simple. If the OC spray claims 10%, then
you multiply the SHU rating by 10% and that will tell you what
you should get out of the nozzle, or business end of the pepper
spray. The formula looks like this:
If the product claims 15% OC at 2,000,000 SHU, you multiply the
claimed SHU by the claimed percentage of OC. i.e.: 2,000,000 SHU
X 15% (or .15) = 300,000 "true" SHU.
If the product claims 5% OC at 5,300,000 SHU, you multiply the
claimed SHU by the claimed percentage of OC. i.e.: 5,300,000 SHU
X 5% (or .05) = 265,000 "true" SHU.
You can use this formula on ANY OC spray that claims an OC
percent and a SHU rating.
What you will discover is that most OC sprays don't even come
close to their claimed heat rating.
Now, even with all this information available to you, the
question still remains, "What pepper spray is right for you?"
You really have to look at your life-style, environment lived
in, and need. It will take some searching, but you will find the
one that will suit you and your needs. You can find an effective
pepper spray.
Look at some Pepper
Sprays here that do meet the "nozzle" heat you may need.
Thanks for looking.