There is no doubt that pepper spray is the number one selling self-defense product for personal protection. Pepper spray or OC spray as it is sometimes called, is preferred by millions around the world as their product of choice when it comes to self-defense especially for female self-defense.
Every law enforcement officer in the country has a canister of pepper spray or defensive spray on his utility belt. The United States Postal Service has issued all their letter carriers with pepper sprays to defend against dog attacks.
So what makes pepper spray so effective? What makes it the number one product for personal protection? In our opinion it is close to obvious. In summary, it is relatively cheap, very effective and can be used from a distance. Let us elaborate a little more on these characteristics.
OC sprays are without a doubt the least expensive of all self-defense products. Many of them are available for less than five dollars each.
Defensive sprays are on average close to 90% effective in disabling an assailant in an assault. They come in a wide variety of styles, colors and disbursement methods from dozens of different manufacturers in the United States. So there are plenty of choices to choose from.
They can disable an assailant for up to 45 minutes from a short burst in the face, which will cause near debilitating pain, excessive tearing of the eyes and it makes breathing very difficult. It is truly nasty stuff.
Defensive sprays have a range anywhere from six up to 25 feet which for many is a distinct advantage over a stun gun, for example, which must be physically applied to an assailant for it to work. A lot of people, women especially, do not like that physical contact if it can be avoided. That is why they prefer pepper sprays.
Some come disguised which may be an advantage in certain situations. Probably the most popular disguised spray is the lipstick pepper spray, but there is also a pen that has spray in it.
There is a lot of confusion about how they are rated for effectiveness. Here are some terms to become familiar with. Scoville heat units is a common measurement of hotness. The minimum for any pepper spray is 2 million Scoville heat units while some claim to have as many as 5.3 million. The percentage of OC in the product is another common measurement of hotness. Most units are 10% concentration of oleoresin capsicum but some go as high as 18%.
Another measurement is the CRC (capsaicin and related capsaicinoids) strength. Most defensive sprays have a minimum of 1.3% while bear sprays have a minimum of 2% CRC’s. One more measurement is a certified heat rating as verified by an independent laboratory.
So now you know what makes it so effective and thus the number one selling self-defense product in the world. Remember, it is your life that you’re protecting. So choose wisely when picking a one.
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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