What’s a good pepper spray model to get, and where to get it? My girlfirend is going to be working in a not-so-safe neighborhood, so I figured it wouldn’t be too bad of an idea to get her something.
That or a taser, but those things are ridiculously expensive.
Any suggestions?
Be very careful of local laws. They can either be perfectly legal to carry or completely illegal. In some jurisdictions there is a limit on the strength of OC spray that the public can carry. Probably a question better asked locally.
Encourage her to take a womens’ self defense course instead. Pepper spray is not as great as you’d think it’d be- if you are not well trained you are unlikely to use it effectively.
A real self-defense course will teach her more important skills regarding how not to get attacked in the first place. A big part of self defense is learning how to evaluate threats and not looking like a worthwhile victim. Actually fighting back is just a small part of self-defense. The bigger part is confidence.
Fox Labs.
Well, it’s Buffalo, NY.
The self defense course… that’s a good idea. I’ll have to find her one. But I still wanna do the pepper spray, if for nothing else than a gag gift (of sorts).
I couldn’t agree more. Pepper Spray is a fine tool, if you know how to use it, but if a guy is close to you, it can back spray at you. If someone is close enough to grab you and you spray, all it does is enrage the guy and he grabs you and beats the crap out of you even harder 'cause all you’ve done is made him mad. It doesn’t necessarily imobilize you. And if the guy is high on drugs, it’ll just make him madder.
Tasers are also difficult 'cause both of the elctrodes have to be on the guy for it to zap him. And if you’re that close, there’s a good chance a bigger guy can take it off you and then zap you.
I’m not saying it’s not a good idea but learn to use them. Also remember as one poster noted there are problems. For instance, I’ve heard of many women spraying men in hallways and that’s too small an area and they get the back spray which isn’t good.
Good luck to your friend.
I can attest to the amazing effectiveness of some Fox Labs sprays, and will also mention it’s important to carry one that’s never been sprayed (‘unsealed’, as it were).
Years ago I bought a few for my wife, and stupidly sprayed one of them at a target to assess its spray pattern. The other I gave to her to carry. A bit must have dribbled from the one I discharged onto the knuckle of my first finger because six hours later I quickly rubbed my eye to scratch an itch and found myself in more pain than I experienced in the riot gas chamber of Army basic training. I mean, it hurt.
Since then I’m a believer in the intensity of those sprays, but also in the above points about it potentially becoming a liability in a real situation, which is important to remember of any weapon.
I don’t know if we have any law enforcement officials or lawyers from New York. I doubt we have any from Buffalo. It is probably possible to find the correct laws for the state on line. It is much more difficult to find how they have been interpreted. Local ordinances would be even harder to find. You need to find out locally about the legality of carrying in Buffalo.