ACTUAL pepper spray SHU ratings, Spitfire

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USGuns

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I am researching a pepper spray for my wife to carry and as part of my research I ran across this link which showed the stated SHU ratings for various manufacturers and the ACTUAL lab-tested ratings:
http://www.pepper-spray-store.com/relatedinfo/pepper-spray-heat.shtml#SHU
The results were quite surprising! :scrutiny:
Sabre Red, Spitfire and Heatwave were all at the top while Fox Labs was near the bottom.

So after much research I have settled on Spitfire:
http://www.spitfire.us/about.htm
It appears to be one of the few that are actually *designed* to be an effective OC dispenser, instead of just using existing and cheap-to-manufacture containers. It is small, ergonomic, has natural pointability, is refillable, top real-world SHU rating, easy to practice with, made in USA, affordable refills, etc. To me it seems vastly superior to anything else out there as a complete package but doesn't seem to be quite as popular as some of the other brands? :confused:

:evil:
 
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as advertised

Well my wife's Spitfire arrived today. They really are very small and light. She looked through all the instructions and was pretty happy with the unit overall. After some practicing she's looking forward to having it with her at all times when out and about. Can't ask for anymore than that! :D
 
specifics

Hi Buz,
Sounds like you've had some personal experience with the Spitfire, can you elaborate more please on why it is crap. What in particular was bad about it? I certainly don't want my wife carrying around something that isn't effective!
Thanks!
 
While it is better than nothing there are some flaws with the units.

1) It is not as potent as they claim

2) The units utilize a cone/fog type spray pattern, any head wind and the spray will be basically useless against an attacker due to the reduced range. Also the victim will more then likely get a face full of their own spray! Stream patterns especially heavy spatter stream patterns like fox 5.3 uses is generally not effected by a light head wind.

3) Very limited amount of OC, few sprays and your out!

4) For OC it is critical that the unit shoot @ least eight feet if not ten plus! The key is to spray the attacker then get away. The further the spray reaches the better.

Have been teaching defense classes for many years and have been hosed many a times by all sorts of different sprays and can vouch for the heat/pain created by FOX & SABRE.

I would highly recommend fox 5.3 2oz stream unit or sabre red 1.8-2.0 oz 1.33% MC in stream.



Get one of these for your wife and purchase one or two extra so she can familiarize herself with it, you wouldn't give someone a gun to carry that has never held or fired one would you? The same kinda goes for spray, very important she know the spray patten distance ect.

http://www.defensedevices.com/fox-pepper-spray1.html



The only real way to know it's true effectiveness is to test it on yourself or someone you know, take a dose from the spitfire brand and then from the sabre or fox brand and you'll know the difference! Last time I got hit with sabre was a few years back when I was reserve deputy, I swear even though I decontaminated and used sudecon wipes my nostrils & eyes stung for the better part of 8 hours!
 
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Spitfire recovery time

Thanks again for the feedback Buz!
Some folks seem to prefer the cone spray pattern, less need to "aim", even if you both get a dose it's better than missing altogether? Spitfire claims an 8ft range, is that bogus? Also, the 3rd party independent testing claims a very high *actual* SHU rating but I guess we can't believe everything we read.
Just out of curiosity, how long did it take to take effect and then to recover from being sprayed by the Spitfire?
Thanks!
 
I have never taken a hit from the spitfire model however an employee of mine has, he has also taken level three sprays like sabre.

He said it was less effective then def-tec which is a weak spray. I have been hit with def-tec and was still fully functional, it still stung like a SOB. For your wife to get even a little blow back would probably incapacitate her, go with a can of sabre or fox (stream) and from ten feet or less she will not miss! Tell her to fire in one second bursts until she hits the attacker in the face (with a good dose)!

Fire the spray in one second bursts, just holding down the trigger can actually make sprays less effective, can dilute the solution!

Little tip, if you periodically test fire the unit you carry be sure that you run the nozzle under hot tap water for 15-20 seconds after your done. This will insure that none of the OC solution has gummed up the tip (which could cause a failure of the unit)!

Sabre uses (HPLC) High Preformance Liquid Chromatography to guarantee the strength of their sprays, nobody else does this!

Here is a vid I saw a while back on youtube, some dumb kids that had no idea what they were getting into! They were sprayed with sabre red 1.33% very nasty stuff! As you will see in the vid sabre is very effective, not only were they blinded but it also effected their breathing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jr6LR6iIZEA

Warning there are a couple F bombs throw out in the vid.
 
Dispenser

Too bad Fox or Sabre didn't make a dispenser like the Spitfire but with their more effective OC and in a slightly larger size. I find that style of dispenser much more intuitive and easier to manipulate and point, especially in a moment of panic.
 
To me there is really no difference, on either one you simply press a button and the OC is dispensed! I would get one of each and see what your wife likes best, if she can fire the sabre or fox cannisters with no problem I would definitely go with that!

Have fired off several of these units, it's a cone/fog patten however it's not a fine mist like most fog style sprays! Very natural feel to it with the trigger and it projects a nice heavy fog. The trigger is exactly like an air duster that you use on your PC, just be sure if you purchase one to remove the little tab on top before you carry it.

http://www.defensedevices.com/fox-labs-trigger-pepper-spray.html

urdefense_1962_13122374


urdefense_1961_6221665
 
This is what I give to my students, fox 5.3, sabre red DPS 1.33% & DPS X-Stream-range! All very effective law enforcement grade sprays!

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p1170003xb9.jpg
 
BUZ

Here is a vid I saw a while back on youtube, some dumb kids that had no idea what they were getting into! They were sprayed with sabre red 1.33% very nasty stuff! As you will see in the vid sabre is very effective, not only were they blinded but it also effected their breathing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jr6LR6iIZEA
Click to expand...

That was the water based Sabre Red, so much for people saying water based sprays are weak.
 
Does anyone know anything about the new Kimber "Guardian Angel" OC dispenser and what kind of stuff it dispenses?
Click to expand...

I would not carry a derringer for self defense nor would I carry a guardian angel (two shots and your out)!

If for the first split second you mis with a can of OC you can simply correct and sweep the stream over the perps face with the unit like the guardian angel you cannot!

Here are examples of what I mean!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzkd_GvTe5Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnyuSQ5sM2Y
 
videos

All these videos are pretty handy, eh? ;) Good thing there are plenty of people out there who are willing to let themselves be videotaped while getting pepper sprayed! :evil:
 
I replaced my wifes old Fox with Spitfire. Much better package and delivery system IMO. Spitfire also has the advantage of having refills and practice canisters for dirt cheap.

One of these days, I am going to have her dose me with it and see just how much fun Spitfire is.

Fox just needs to offer something in the same size and I would switch back.
 
kid-proof

Another nice advantage of the Spitfire is the relatively kid-proof design. We let both our 5yr old and 3yr old try to spray some of the practice canister and they couldn't get it to go.

Spitfire just needs to come up with a larger design and, as was suggested in this thread, improve the effectiveness of their OC formula.
 
trigger top safety

BUZ,
I like the idea of the trigger spray top but once you remove the safety tab to carry the spray around, isn't it just a matter of pressing the trigger to dispense the OC? No safety mechanism like the flip-top lid some dispensers have or the sliding button of the Spitfire? Seems like if you just carry it in your pocket then an OC accidental discharge is just waiting to happen and if you carry it in some kind of holster, that will slow down your response time and result in a bigger carry package???
Thanks!
 
socks still on

Thanks BUZ, I'll check it out. So far there's nothing out there that I've seen yet that knocks my socks off but I think I'm setting my standards too high. We'll see what the future brings in non-lethal self-defense! :scrutiny:

Have you seen this one before? http://www.capstun.com/vexor/index_consumer.html
Claims 15million SHU! What do you think?
 
Yes have tested it! They claim 15 million SHU but they don't tell you thats before they mix it.

It is less potent then sabre red!
 
misleading

Yes have tested it! They claim 15 million SHU but they don't tell you thats before they mix it.

It is less potent then sabre red!
Click to expand...
Well that's not very ethical of them! :mad:
There needs to be some standards, as I'm sure folks have probably been complaining about for years! :banghead:
 
When I certified in OC spray, we were taught that SHU was basically garbage, and that LEO grade canisters were different in that they were much more directed.

Best kind to get in the kind with the highest levels of OC. That's the stuff that incapacitates. We used to use Cap Stun, but it was part of our escalation of force procedure. For civilian use a cone spray is better than a stream. Firstly, the stream is hard to direct, and normally OC is only used to gain control of the situation. For SD work, cone sprays are better. The more OC, the better. Collateral damage? Who cares? Spray, pray, DD.

Indoors or outdoors, makes no difference. Spay or foam, doesn't make a difference. Get the stuff that drops them completely, causes them to choke, and takes everyone around them out too. Then run for your life.
 
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