Effective pepper spray

Yesterday the boss and I peppersprayed one of my coworkers (who volunteered) for the sake of science. We ended up trying two different brands and the difference between the effectiveness of the two was astounding, or perhaps disappointing.

The first one we tried was the Kimber Pepper Blaster. I shot this one. My coworker walked toward me while I pointed the blaster at him (we reviewed my aim on video – it was pointed straight at his head) and pulled the trigger. It shot a very short burst of spray- straight over his head. We both coughed for a second and then my coworker went “No, do that again.” so we tried it again, with the same result.

Following this disappointing failure my boss went back into the store and grabbed a canister of the Sabre Red Keyring Self Defense Spray. The same pink canister as the one that was recently given to me and lives happily in my purse. I was curious to see how this one would effect my coworker, since this is something I might rely on in a pinch. My boss shot it this time, it started out spraying over my coworker’s head but it sprayed a steady stream and the boss man was able to walk the spray down – into my coworker’s face. A few seconds later my coworker is leaning forward shouting “Holy **** that stuff actually works” between coughs. He spent the next hour in the cleaning room with his head in the sink and a carton of milk.

Later in the day he explained that as soon as he had been hit with it he couldn’t open his eyes, because every time he opened them they hurt more and more. I suppose if someone’s coming after me I would much prefer them to not be able to see than asking what the stream I just shot over their head was.

The Kimber Pepper Blaster is essentially useless. The short burst that comes out of it is not enough to aim, you would be better off with a SureFire. Something like the Sabre with a steady stream that can just be hosed on someone is going to be much more effective in a tight situation. I feel more comfortable with what’s in my purse now. (A SureFire and a canister of Sabre defense.)

3 Comments

  1. Any chance you can get someone to volunteer to get sprayed with Fox Labs’ Mean Green pepper spray? That’s what my wife and I carry. I’d like to know how effective it is. Please take pictures. I understand if you want to wait until Halloween first.

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