The right form for your pepper spray
Which form to choose for your pepper spray?
Hi Makers,
We’ve covered in the previous articles the right patter for your pepper spray and the distinction between the various terminologies used to describe a lachrymal spray. Let’s understand now which form you should use based on your personal environment.
Cylinder shape
The typical shape for a pepper spray is a metallic cylinder of the length of a hand palm and actionable with your thumb. Don’t use it with your index finger, you might not have enough strength and, more importantly, you won’t handle you spray with strength. A hit in your hand or arm might make you lose your spray.
It exists tear gas spray of larger volumes for law enforcement officers that have a handle with a trigger either on top for the thumb to press (photo below) or at the from for the index to press.
Gun shape
Several gun shape products exist on the market. A gun shape has advantages and inconveniences.
The gun shape helps you to increase your accuracy. You handle it more easily, you have an aim mechanism, the spray pattern is a stream and generally the propulsion of the gas is very powerful. Targeting the eyes of your aggressors will be easier, at least if you used guns a couple of times or if you trained with a gun-shaped pepper spray.
This being said, I do NOT recommend you to use a gun-shaped pepper spray. If it looks like a gun, it should be a gun. Period. If it looks like a gun but it is not a gun, you MUST NOT use it. Period. The reason is that your aggressor, policemen or external observers might perceive your gun-shaped spray as a real gun and intervene lethally to prevent you from supposedly killing someone. At the speed of an aggression, being a bit far away, at an angle, with visual obstacles between them and your aggression, if there is some obscurity, etc. they will shoot and you might die.
Another reason not to use those is that the number of spray shots are limited, with does not make it effective under stress, as you might miss a moving target, and you will not be able to deal with multiple aggressors.
This being said, the most famous model is the Piexon Guardian Angel, with 2 shots:
A more violent version is the Piexon JPX. You can now see its resemblance with a real gun that might confuse policemen, acknowledging they might have to make a decision and intervene in a fraction of a second.
Keyring spray
You might be interested in keeping your spray on your keyring, if your keys are within easy reach. You may think of having a keyring spray on your home keyring or on your car keyring. You should follow the same decision principles, not the same decision, for your keyring spray as for your usual pepper spray, in terms of pattern, shape, etc.
Concealed sprays
Various forms of sprays exist to hide your spray under the shape of a common item, such as a pen or a lipstick. I would only recommend to use those if you don’t feel owning a proper cylinder pepper spray, for example if it is illegal in your country.
However, such tools won’t help you against multiple attackers, won’t have the same stopping power or spray power than that of cylinder shape sprays.
Which shape for your pepper spray?
Which shape to choose for your personal pepper spray? It depends of your personal context.
I use the cylinder shape of a small size, so it is easier to carry and more discrete in my urban setting. Because of French regulations, I only add it in my EDC when I have to travel in an insecure area. I do not want to use the gun-shape spray for the reasons aforementioned. I don’t have a keyring spray as I don’t keep my keys handy, but I might add one in the future on my car keyring in case I need to use one while driving. It will be positioned permanently within easy reach. But I will have to test that setting before advising you to use it.
What about you? Which shape do you carry? In case you don’t carry a pepper spray, which one do you think fit your needs?
Have a great day!