When civilians think about a self-defense product, the most common one that comes to mind is a pepper spray. And for good reason. They are on average close to 90% effective. They are generally very cheap and readily available through independent distributors on the Internet.
That’s the easy part. When it comes to making a decision about which one to get it can get a little confusing. And we don’t want to add to that confusion we are simply discussing elements of pepper spray that are important for you to know so you can make a good, informed decision and come up with the best value for your product.
The Canister Content– this is the approximate number of shots that are available from the canister you buy. Obviously the more shots you have the better the value. Not all canisters of equal size have the same number of shots. Some manufacturers provide better value than others
Shelf Life– the longer that the product is effective the better the value for you. Most pepper sprays have a shelf life of three years. But some have a shelf life of four years-obviously a better value.
Percentage of OC– oleoresin capsicum or OC is a major ingredient of all sprays. Much has been made of this as a measure of hotness of the pepper spray which is very misleading.
Percentage of Major Capsaicinoids– this is a true level of hotness of a defensive spray. Capsaicin is the strongest of all capsaincinoids. Civilian and law enforcement pepper sprays range from.18% to 1.33% major capsaicinoids. Bear sprays range from 1% to 2% major capsaicinoids.
Scoville Heat Units– is a common measure of hotness and is used by a lot of manufacturers to indicate the relative effectiveness of their product. This is not necessarily the case. A more accurate measure of hotness is the strength of the spray after it has been diluted to make it usable.
Price– is always a major consideration. But look for value in terms of what you get and the effectiveness of the product. That provides a more accurate measure of what it really costs you.
The Supplier– often overlooked as a major consideration. If you have questions about a product, is someone able to answer them? Or as most distributors do this on a part-time basis, will you get an answering machine?
Safety Device– most defensive sprays have one level of safety built-in; some have two.
Those are some important considerations in making a decision about which pepper spray to purchase. Hopefully they have clarified the situation for you to help make your decision easier.
Sabre Pepper Sprays consistently have more shots per ounce than any other spray making it a great value.
Streetwise Pepper Sprays are independently tested and have a shelf life of 48 Months.
The Home Security Superstore is one of the oldest and largest independent distributors of high quality home security, surveillance, spy, self-defense, survival and safety products. We carry a wide range of self-defense products including tasers, stun guns, pepper sprays and other nonlethal weapons that can save your life in the event of an attack.