I'm going to leave that up to the wife to actually get her to "change her mindset" however impossible that seems to do to people. I just need some info on non-firearm SD tools. Having something is better than nothing. I'll make sure to preach a tool is nothing until you learn to use it, but at least it's a push in the right direction. A combination of the protek key and guardian angel would seem effective, spray and if the threat comes closer slash.
All right, let's talk about gadgets, then.
The ProTek Key looks silly and relatively useless. I say this as someone who has, on her keychain, a kubotan -- which is also silly and relatively useless, but helps me avoid losing my keys. (Yeah, yeah, I've had the classes in using a short baton, and know the pressure points. Does
she know where the pressure points are and where to strike? No? Then mark that one down as relatively useless for her, too.)
The advantage of keychain gadgets is that they are more likely to be in your hand when attacked than are most other types of gadgets. The disadvantage (which
farrrrr outweighs that advantage) is that these things pretty well require you to go hands-on with the bad guy. A woman's best defense is staying outside of grabbing distance from a stranger in the first place.
If she does get grabbed, then that keychain gadget might do some good ... if she actually has it in her hand rather than in the bottom of her purse to be dug out when she gets to the car, if she's already holding it in the correct orientation (she won't be), and if the hand in which she's holding it is able to move enough to strike effectively. Oh, and if she knows where to strike with it. Flailing away at her attacker is good if that's all she knows how to do, but if it stops him it will only be because he didn't like the noise & attention she was drawing, not because her activity threatened his ability to do what he wanted with her.
Oh, and even though you didn't want to talk about mindset, mindset is far more critical with striking/poking implements than you would think. These little half-effective gadgets are completely useless if they are in the hands of someone who "doesn't want to hurt" her attacker. You know that old saw about taken away and used against her? The attacker won't bother with that. He'll take it away, hurl it into the bushes, and beat the crap out of her with his bare hands. The reason these things don't get used against victims is because they
don't work.
Next up: OC spray.
OC is concentrated heat from a hot-pepper plant. It is an oleoresin, which means it sticks to the skin and cannot be simply rubbed away, and it is an irritant, which means that the reaction does not rely upon allergies or sensitivities. Only about 1 person in about 10,000 doesn't really react to the stuff, so it can be an effective mid range defense tool.
If OC gets into or near your eyes, your eyes will immediately slam shut and begin watering profusely; getting them open again is NOT going to happen just by willing it so, but you can reach up and pry one eye open with your hand if you keep your wits about you. Snot production kicks into high gear. The hands usually drop whatever they're holding, and reach for the face in a reflexive motion. The skin will burn like a bad sunburn or worse. If the OC gets down into the airways, breathing burns like fire and the person will have the sensation that they are choking or suffocating (they won't be, unless they are among the
truly miniscule portion of the population who experiences an anaphylactic allergic reaction to the stuff).
All of this tends to stop the attack. That's the good news. The bad news is that the reactions take up to 5 seconds to begin, and a lot of very bad and very permanent things can happen during that 5 seconds. Furthermore, if the attacker knows the victim is armed with pepper spray, there are certain specific things he can do to protect himself from the spray, or to mentally prep himself to fight through the reaction. Pepper spray does not make a good "stop or I'll use this" type of deterrent for that reason. (And any ex-con has very likely been sprayed before, knows what it'll do to him, and knows he can fight through it if he must; warning
him that you are about to use OC spray just preps him for a fight.)
You can get OC in three basic spray patterns: a fog, a stream, and a foam.
The foam was intended for use inside correctional facilities and other places where contaminating the air was a concern. I'm aware of at least two jails where they're no longer using the foam pattern because inmates have learned to simply swipe the foam off their skin and then smear it into the faces of the guards. The foam is least likely to get into the attacker's lungs, so scratch all the "I'm suffocating" stuff above; and unless you score a direct hit on the attacker's face you won't get the eyeball reactions either, leaving only the bad-sunburn sensation on whatever patch of skin you do happen to hit, and maybe not even that if you hit his clothes rather than his skin. So aim it carefully.
The stream was designed to combine the advantages of the fog with the advantages of the foam. It is more likely to get into the attacker's eyes, but still won't get into his lungs unless you are very fortunate and he was inhaling with his mouth open at the moment you hit his face. Like the foam, however, it is less likely to contaminate the user herself than the fog is. And like the foam, it has to be directly aimed at the attacker's face; a near-miss won't do anything useful.
The fog is most likely to get the full reaction: eyes, nose, lungs, skin. It requires the least precision in use, and a near miss with it is almost as good as a hit. It is quickest to disperse in the open air, however, and most likely to contaminate the user as well as the attacker.
The intensity of OC is measured in Scoville Heat Units (SHU), and also by the percentage of product within the can. In order to get the true, at-the-nozzle effectiveness rating, you multiply the SHU by the percentage of product. This gives you a common denominator to directly compare a can of OC with an SHU of 10,000 at 2% with one with an SHU of 8,000 at 5%.
Most instructors will tell you to use OC in 2-second bursts, and to
immediately move to one side after you spray the attacker. The attacker will very likely lunge directly for the spot he last saw you in, with his arms wide open to try to grab you.
You cannot just spray and stand there to see what happens. Flee to one side or the other rather than straight back for your best chance of getting away.
Fox Labs produces probably the best-regarded spray on the market. There are others. Stay away from any product that doesn't give you both the SHU and the %; stay away from any product that looks gimicky; and stay away from anyone charging $50 for less than a half-ounce of OC.
In a minute here, someone is going to come along and suggest a Taser, if they haven't already. "Tasers" come in two types: the type that costs roughly $1000, looks like a gun, and fires two probes into the attacker's body from across-the-room distance. And the type that costs roughly $50, looks like a garage door opener, and has to be held against the attacker's body. The second type isn't really a "Taser", but is sometimes called a Taser by the uninformed.
A true Taser provides a 5-second burst of electrical energy that completely disrupts the brain's ability to transmit messages along the neural pathways. The muscles lock up, the person often loses bladder control, and they fall over without being able to break their fall. Although being Tased hurts really bad, the Taser is not a pain-compliance tool; it relies for its effectiveness on its ability to disrupt the messages being sent from brain to muscles and back again.
In contrast, a shocker does not disrupt the neural pathways except in a very limited and localized manner. If you hold it against the attacker's arm, his arm might lose 10% of its strength during the time the shocker is held against it, but he won't exactly be incapacitated by that. As with the Taser, getting shocked hurts; unlike the Taser, the effectiveness of this tool relies upon pain compliance. So it absolutely will not work against an enraged, determined opponent, or against someone who is stoned or drunk. Oh, and in order to use it at all, you have to physically hold the device against the attacker's body, an iffy proposition at best.
pax